Published : Aug. 19, 2013 - 19:43
PARKER, Colorado (AP) ― Europe showed Sunday it can win the Solheim Cup anywhere.
Caroline Hedwall became the first player in Solheim Cup history to win all five of her matches, holing a 4-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a 1-up victory that assured the Europeans retaining the cup. Moments later, Catriona Matthew finished off a rally to halve her match against Gerina Piller. That gave Europe 14 1/2 points for its first win on American soil since this event in 1990.
And it wasn’t even close.
Charley Hull, the 17-year-old teenager and the youngest player in Solheim Cup history, capped off her amazing week by demolishing Paula Creamer in a match that set the tone for Europe. Carlota Ciganda of Spain handed Morgan Pressel her first lost in singles in four appearances to go 3-0 for the week.
European team members celebrate their Solheim Cup victory. (AFP-Yonhap News)
Not even a one-hour delay due to lightning in the area could damper this European celebration. Suzann Pettersen was lining up her putt on the 16th hole when she heard the cheers from the 18th, got the news and began pumping her first.
Europe still trails 8-5 in the competition, but this was the first time it has won back-to-back.
“It’s a fantastic feeling right now,” European captain Liselotte Neumann said. “I’m so proud of them. They played such good golf this week. They just played tremendous golf.”
Wyndham Championship
GREENSBORO, North Carolina (AP) ― In the span of a couple of strokes, Patrick Reed went from almost certain disaster to his first PGA Tour victory.
Reed won the Wyndham Championship on Sunday for his first title, beating Jordan Spieth with a most improbable birdie on the second hole of a playoff.
Reed recovered from a drive on the par-4 10th that came a few feet from going out of bounds and stopped in some pine needles in the woods near a television cable.
Reed pulled out his 7-iron, uncorked a baseball swing from an uphill lie and sent the ball under a tree branch ― yet away from the tree trunk ― to land his second shot 7 feet from the pin.
“It was the best shot of my life, that’s for sure,” Reed said.
Spieth, who called it “one of the best shots I’ve ever witnessed,” had reached the green in two strokes, but his 10-foot birdie putt trickled wide of the cup.
Reed then sank his short birdie putt that “felt like it was 40” feet to end it.