CASARES, Spain — Three of the four pairings that helped the United States sweep Europe in Friday morning foursomes (alternate shot) are returning for Saturday.
U.S. captain Stacy Lewis and European captain Suzann Pettersen announced their pairings for the third session of the 2023 Solheim Cup at the luxurious Finca Cortesin on Spain’s southern coast, and on paper it’s advantage Americans.
The Red, White and Blue hold a 5-3 lead entering the second day of play after Europe fought back to win the Friday fourball session, 3-1.
Check out the four matches and pairings, as well as the eight players who will ride the pine pony for the third session of matches at the 2023 Solheim Cup on Saturday morning. (Note: Spain is six hours ahead of Eastern Time in the U.S.)
Live coverage is on TV on Golf Channel and streaming on Peacock starting at 2 a.m. ET Friday until 1 p.m. ET.
2:10 a.m. ET – Lilia Vu, Jennifer Kupcho vs. Emily Pedersen, Carlota Ciganda
Emily Pedersen stole the show with her hole-in-one on Friday afternoon and will look to bounce back after a rough foursomes showing Friday morning alongside fan-favorite Spaniard Carlota Ciganda, who sat the first session.
Rookie Lilia Vu and Jennifer Kupcho are the one U.S. pairing playing Saturday morning that wasn’t involved in the Friday morning sweep. Kupcho won her only other foursomes appearance in 2021 alongside Lizette Salas, who isn’t on this year’s team.
2:22 a.m. ET – Lexi Thompson, Megan Khang vs. Anna Nordqvist, Leona Maguire
Thompson and Khang were first off and put the first point of the week on the board for the U.S. with a 2-and-1 win on Friday and will be out in the second group this time around.
Anna Nordqvist and Leona Maguire lost a close match on Friday but the pair of match-play mavens are back as captain Suzann Pettersen praised their similarities as to why they were originally paired together. Both are too good to lose again, let alone with each other. This is a must-watch.
2:34 a.m. ET – Nelly Korda, Allisen Corpuz vs. Georgia Hall, Celine Boutier
Celine Boutier and Georgia Hall were 2-0-1 in foursomes over the last two Solheim Cups before they were beaten by Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee on Friday, and the pair are back at it again on Saturday.
Speaking of return pairings, Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz will look to remain unbeaten this week after their 1-up win over Nordqvist and Maguire.
“I think we all learned why Allisen won the U.S. Open today,” said Lewis. “Just those putts that she made under pressure today, it was really, really cool to see. I think being out there with Nelly just kind of maybe helped settle her down and just made it feel like a pretty normal day.”
2:46 a.m. ET – Danielle Kang, Andrea Lee vs. Maja Stark, Linn Grant
The veteran-rookie pairing of Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee took down the previously unbeaten pairing of Boutier and Hall on Friday, and come Saturday they’ll square off against good friends Swedes Maja Stark and Linn Grant, who each performed well (albeit in a losing effort) Friday morning after a slow start. This one could get spicy, too.
“Andrea and Danielle, I mean, they were having a blast out there today, and they complemented each other’s games so well,” said Lewis.
Sitting out Saturday morning
Europe
Gemma Dryburgh, Charley Hull, Caroline Hedwall, Madelene Sagstrom
Pedersen said Charley Hull wasn’t injured despite her struggles in the morning and her admittance earlier in the week that she strained her neck and also addressed why Caroline Hedwall had yet to play. This will be her third straight session on the bench.
“I mean, we have to put our A team out, and (Hedwall’s) completely in with that,” explained the European captain. “I’ve been a part of teams where we play all 12 the first day. I’ve been a part of teams where not everyone gets to play first day. How this all lined up, it’s obviously turned out that we didn’t play all 12. But she’s a hundred percent in it, she’s feisty, she’s ready to go tomorrow, so she’s all over it.”
United States
Ally Ewing, Cheyenne Knight, Angel Yin, Rose Zhang
Ewing and Knight rolled to a 5-and-4 victory and are the lone pairing to not get selected again for foursomes after the Friday sweep.
“I think what I learned this morning was our little theory and kind of the way we did our pairings, it works. So what you’re going to see is really going to be pretty similar,” said Lewis of her selections. “I’ve been working on these pairings for so long and just the theories of why you put certain players together and it just showed that it worked. That was a huge relief for me (Friday morning).”
