Charley Hull, Lottie Woad made the wrong kind of history at the 2026 Solheim Cup - Golfweek
CROMVOIRT, Netherlands — Anna Nordqvist hitched her wagon to Charley Hull and Lottie Woad and refused to change course at the 2026 Solheim Cup. Not after the English pair managed only a half point after two sessions on Friday. Nor after they suffered a 6-and-5 thrashing on Saturday morning.
By the time Nordqvist sent them out for an unprecedented fourth time on Saturday afternoon at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands, the success of her captaincy might hinge on the result. The Swede was going to live and die by this top-10 pairing, and she must have figured, what are the odds they can’t win one of four?
This time it was Yealimi Noh and Andrea Lee who defeated what was thought to be Europe's marquee pairing, 1 up. Noh poured in six birdies in the first nine holes to build a lead the two Englishwomen couldn’t overcome.
“Just couldn't buy a putt,” said Hull.
“I don't think anyone would have beaten who we played this morning,” added Woad, speaking of Lauren Coughlin and Alison Lee. “They were 7 under through 14. So credit to them, everyone's played amazing when we've played them.”
The fact that Europe enters last day of the 20th edition of the Solheim Cup tied 8-8 with Hull and Woad managing only a half-point between them is a testament to the grit of a couple of rookies ― Mimi Rhodes and Nastasia Nadaud ― and the inspired play of Swedes Maja Stark and Linn Grant, who put together a highlight reel of heroics to win three matches in two different formats.
After Europe took a two-point lead into Saturday afternoon four-balls, Stark holed out for eagle on the first hole of the first match to send a packed crowd into a frenzy.
Stark’s emphatic birdie on the 17th ended the match, 2 and 1, and put Europe’s first point on the board in the afternoon. The loss ended two significant streaks for the Americans: Khang’s win streak capped at six; and Coughlin suffered her first loss in the Solheim Cup in her eighth career match.
Meanwhile, the last match on the course looked almost certain to go Europe’s way until Jennifer Kupcho poured in a winding putt from off the green that Dame Laura Davies’ pegged at 91 feet from her perch in the commentator’s box.
U.S. captain Angela Stanford took off running behind Nordqvist, who could only crack a wry smile of disbelief. Both Carlota Ciganda and Celine Boutier missed much shorter birdie looks to tie the hole. Then on the 18th, Kupcho drained a second birdie putt from 25 feet to bring win the last match on the course and bring the standings back to an overall tie.
Europe needs 6.5 points to win the cup while the U.S., as defending champions, needs only 6 points to retain.
Though the U.S. team has traditionally held a strong advantage in singles play, that hasn’t been the case in recent years. Europe won the singles session in 2019 and 2024, and the two teams tied in 2017, 2021, 2023. The U.S. team has won on foreign soil only three times, the most recent coming in 2015.
Coming in, both teams were strong at the top of their lineups but thin down low. That’s probably why Nordqvist decided from the start that Hull and Woad would both play all five matches. That they would play all four paired matches together, Woad said, was always Plan A.
Randy Robles of Elias Sports Bureau has been cranking out stats all week for the media, and he uncovered an unfortunate new record for this pair: In the history of the Solheim Cup, there have been 43 instances of players competing in all four matches prior to singles. Woad and Hull are the only ones who have earned less than a full point. in total.
Woad, the rookie, isn’t hanging her head about it.
“Doesn't matter who wins the points,” she said of the team’s position. “I would happily lose my matches if we win.”
Beth Ann Nichols is a senior writer for Golfweek covering the LPGA and all things women's golf. Follow her on X/Twitter (@GolfweekNichols).
