GAINESVILLE, Va. – Suzann Pettersen went with her gut. In her two Solheim Cup appearances, Leona Maguire has never sat out a match. That won’t be the case this week as Pettersen has chosen to sit the Irishwoman players call “MVP” in morning foursomes (alternate shot) on Friday.
The ever-popular Charley Hull, who doesn’t like to sit around, and rookie Esther Henseleit will kick things off for Europe at 7:05 a.m. ET against World No. 1 Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz, who went 2-0 together in foursomes last year in Spain.
“I wanted to send some experience out first,” said Lewis, “and no better than No. 1 in the world and a pairing that was very successful last year and they’re very comfortable together.”
Last year, the U.S. swept the morning foursomes session for the first time history. Europe led only four holes the entire session. The cup ultimately ended in its first-ever tie, with Europe retaining. Pettersen joked that she had her fingers crossed they’d at least put up a ½ point on the board this time around.
Solheim Cup: Scoreboard, teams | Photos
“Yeah, it was a tough start for us last year,” said Pettersen, “but that being said, you can – I don’t know if I would have done the pairings any different. Sometimes you can play good golf and still lose. You can literally get outplayed. That’s just the game.”
There are a total of four rookies in this year’s cup and all of them are heading out in morning foursomes. Switzerland’s Albane Valenzuela will be paired with Celine Boutier for Europe while Sarah Schemzel will go out with World No. 2 Lilia Vu, and Virginia’s own Lauren Coughlin heads out with Rose Zhang.
“There’s no point for them to sit around and kind of wait and wonder what it’s going to be like,” said Pettersen. “Let’s just send them out and let them kind of experience it.”
The view of one of the Team Europe golf carts prior to the Solheim Cup at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club on September 12, 2024 in Gainesville, Virginia. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Lewis, who relied heavily on the stats for a starting point, began the week with a list of potential pairings for each player and then used player feedback throughout the week to narrow it down.
Not everyone plays same golf ball at Solheim Cup
The hardest part, she said, has been getting everyone comfortable with potentially playing a different golf ball depending on partner.
Eight players on Team USA play at Titleist ball, with…
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