Team USA’s Nelly Korda was a bit concerned about a lack of support from the galleries ahead of the Solheim Cup. However, she remained adamant about not letting that affect her performance. Turns out, she didn’t. Paired with Allisen Corpuz, Korda faced off against Europe’s Charley Hull and Lottie Woad. What followed was utter dominance in Friday’s foursomes at Bernardus Golf.
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Europe came out firing, with Woad immediately setting the tone by rolling in a birdie at the opening hole to put her and Charley Hull 1-up on the heavily favored American duo of the World No. 1 and Corpuz. Europe’s early spark wasn’t limited to the opening match, either. Sweden’s Maja Stark and Linn Grant traded blows with early birdies, while Esther Henseleit and Leona Maguire also grabbed an advantage of their own.
But the Americans soon flipped the script. The stakes were already higher given Korda and Corpuz’s flawless 4-0 record together in Solheim Cup foursomes. Korda and Corpuz found another gear, stringing together consecutive wins through the middle of the round to wrestle control away from Europe.
They never looked back, sealing a commanding 4 & 3 victory to become the first completed match of the Cup and hand the USA an early 1-0 lead. More importantly, the win etched their names into Solheim Cup history, making Korda and Corpuz the first partnership ever to win five consecutive matches.
Comparing this to the men’s Ryder Cup, Arnold Palmer and Gardner Dickinson are the only pair in history to win each of their first five matches. Meanwhile, Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal went unbeaten in eight consecutive matches together from 1989 to 1991, winning six and halving two. Regardless, when Woad was asked about what went wrong on Friday, she blamed it on “momentum.”
“I think we just lost a bit of momentum kind of at the end of the front nine. They made a couple birdies, and we missed some good chances,” Woad said. “So I think once you lose momentum, it can be tough to come back.”
Despite the crushing loss, Woad appears to have had fun.
“It was great fun. I really enjoyed it. The first tee was incredible. Foursomes is a tricky format. On this course it’s really weird; I hadn’t really hit an iron shot until like hole 11, so felt like I was only hitting putts for most of it. But, yeah, it was really fun.”
In the aftermath, fans quickly took to social media to express their thoughts about Friday’s opener.
One user was expecting a tough battle. “Korda and Corpuz have completely outclassed [Charley] Hull and Woad in the top match. Thought it would be a proper tussle, but looking like it might be over by the 14th hole,” they commented.
Another criticized Hull and Woad for how they performed. “Absolutely abysmal performance from Charley Hull and Lottie Woad. Does not bode well for the rest of the weekend,” they wrote.
The next user felt Hull’s focus was somewhere else. “Charley Hull more concerned about putting her jacket on and off than playing golf here,” wrote the user.
Someone else felt Charley Hull seemed unwell. “Korda & Corpuz proving what a dangerous pairing they are for @SolheimCupUSA Charley Hull appears unwell but battling on,” they claimed.
Finally, one user quickly compared Korda to men’s World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. “Nelly Korda is what Scottie Scheffler wishes he was,” the user claimed.
With the first-round lead, Team USA gets one step closer to securing consecutive victories at the event, having won the 2024 Solheim Cup. If they continue this dominant victory till Sunday, the Americans will win the event for the first time since 2015 on European soil.