U.S. Women fall short in Solheim Cup

Westminster native Jennifer Kupcho and the rest of the U.S. team have to wait another 12 months before they get another shot at winning the Solheim Cup.

The European team retained the Cup for the third straight competition on Sunday, tying the U.S. team 14 to 14 over the three-day battle. The U.S. went out to a 4-0 lead in the Friday morning matches, but the Europeans clawed back and had it tied by the end of Saturday’s matches. Then Sunday the teams split the singles matches evenly, and the Europeans kept the Cup.

On Sunday Kupcho lost to Anna Nordqvist 2 and 1. Nordqvist took a three-hole lead on the front nine with wins on holes number 5,6 and 7, and held on. Kupcho rallied on the back nine with her first birdie on No. 14 and cut Nordqvist’s lead to 1-up with four holes to play but could not close the gap from there.

Overall Kupcho scored fewer points than during her 2021 Solheim Cup debut. This time she and teammate Allisen Corpus tied their Friday afternoon foursome match against Emily Pedersen and Maja Stark. Then Kupcho and Lilia Vu lost to Pedersen and Carlota Ciganda on Saturday. She was part of two winning matches in 2021.

The win means the Europeans have won the Solheim Cup for the third straight time. They will defend their title Sept. 10-15, 2024, when the teams meet again at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va.

The Solheim Cup has been held typically every other year. Next year’s match is expected to return the competition to even-year matches.