An Historic Triple First – Europe Proudly Holding Both Ryder Cup & Solheim Cup While GB & I Denied USA Walker Cup.

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It is a first in the history of golf with Europe now in possession of the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup’s while a fortnight ago GB & I regained the Walker Cup to also deny the USA three of the prime team trophies in golf.

The Ryder Cup was first staged in 1927, the Solheim Cup in 1990 whereas it was in 1922 that saw the first staging of Walker Cup.

So, in the short 36-years all three trophies have been held the trio are not to be found in the US hands.

While golf fans particularly in the UK and Ireland are still soaking in the Lahinch delight of a fortnight ago all of Europe is standing to applaud the efforts of the European Solheim Cup after an impressive singles display saw them beat Team USA 15-13 in an eventful day in the Netherlands.

Charley Hull got the ball rolling grabbing three birdies in a 3 & 2 opening match victory and no sooner had the Brit captured a first match of the three days and Linn Grant put Europe two points clear thanks to a 4 & 3 third match triumph over American Angel Yin.

However it was Lottie Woad in match eight who assured it. Carlota Ciganda out in match 11 who sealed it.

Woad holed a putt from 2 feet on No. 17 to win her match and guarantee the Europeans would reach the 14½ points needed to reclaim the crystal trophy from the United States.

Woad punched the air and jumped into the arms of her teammates, who flooded onto the green in celebration.

Victory was official about 10 minutes later, when Ciganda, who had the decisive point when Europe retained the Solheim Cup in 2023, got her team past the winning target three years later. She completed a 4-and-2 victory over Jennifer Kupcho, the feisty American who had roared “Vamos!” (“Let’s go!”) when holing an outrageous 93-foot putt on the way to beating Ciganda in a spiky four-balls match on Saturday.

“Today I knew she had no chance,” Ciganda said. “I was like, I want to kill you.”

Strains of “Olé, Olé, Olé, Olé” drifted across the course as the last matches finished and the European team and staff celebrated with Champagne.

European Captain Anna Nordqvist, her assistants as well as the players and their caddies formed a line, put their arms over one another’s shoulders, and walked as one up the 18th fairway toward the green where Celine Boutier — the remaining European player on the course — was wrapping up her match.

When Boutier finished, she piled into the mass celebrations.

The final score: Europe 15, the United States 13.

Nordqvist savours ‘amazing’ win as Stanford praises Europe

Team Europe captain Anna Nordqvist:

“There’s just been so much hard work this week and in the last two years leading up to this from not only me, but all the background team. The helpers have been amazing this week, making it easy for the players just to play.

“We just had a really good vibe all week. Everyone’s been really good team-mates. We talked a lot about the fast starts this week with the way the golf course was. I’m just really, really proud of the players for starting strong and even finishing strong.”

Team USA captain Angela Stanford:

“I think that we did a lot of things right leading up to it and I know we did. They fought hard and we seemed to always be on the same page.

“The Europeans played great today and that’s the way it goes. Their backs were against the wall, they had nothing to lose, and that’s exactly what they did. They came out and played well, so good for them.”

Back to winning ways: Europe’s win in numbers

  • That was Europe’s eighth win in 20 editions of the Solheim Cup and their first since 2021, while Europe have now won six of the 10 Solheim Cups on home soil.
  • Seven points won in the singles is Europe’s best return since the 7.5 they earned in 2013.
  • Linn Grant top-scored for Team Europe with four points from four matches, despite winning zero points from four in 2024.
  • Carlota Ciganda becomes the second European in history to win multiple Solheim Cup-clinching points, joining Catriona Matthew (2003 and 2013)
  • Nastasia Nadaud and Mimi Rhodes became the first rookie pair in history to win two matches together


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