DEN BOSCH, Netherlands — Lottie Woad assured it. Carlota Ciganda sealed it.
Vamos! The Solheim Cup is back in the hands of Team Europe.
The blue wave came early in the Sunday singles at Bernardus Golf and never went away, all the way through to Woad holing a putt from 2 feet on No. 17 to win her match and guarantee the Europeans would reach the 14 1/2 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.
The point that officially took Europe to its victory target in the Netherlands was secured by — who else? — Ciganda about 10 minutes later.
The Spaniard, who got the decisive point when Europe retained the Solheim Cup in 2023, completed a 4-and-2 victory over Jennifer Kupcho, a 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 was really motivated to beat her,” Ciganda said, “because I knew it was going to be important.”
Strains of “Olé, Olé, Olé, Olé” drifted across the course as the last matches finished and the European team and staff celebrated with Champagne.
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.
The Europeans have now won three of the last five editions, the only loss in that stretch coming in Virginia two years ago. The U.S. team didn't have possession of the trophy for long and is still without a win on the road since 2015.
“The Europeans played great today, and that’s the way it goes,” U.S. captain Angela Stanford said. “So their backs were against the wall, they had nothing to lose, and that’s exactly what they did — they came out and played well.”
The teams were tied at 8-8 after two days and set out Sunday in heavy rain for the 12 singles matches, with Europe going out fast, putting blue all over the scoreboard and ultimately winning six of the first eight matches. Ciganda, in Match 11, added the crucial other victory.
Early wins for Charley Hull and Linn Grant laid the platform for victory, the only wobble for Europe coming when U.S. player Alison Lee came from 4 down after 11 holes to beat Esther Henseleit, 1 up, for the greatest comeback in Solheim Cup history.
Rookies contributed massively for Europe all week and especially Sunday, with Woad, Nastasia Nadaud and Julia Lopez Ramirez all winning matches in the singles.
“I think it’s been one of the best teams that we’ve had in the last few years,” Ciganda said. “Everyone just a unit, a team. That’s what Europe is about.”
The U.S. leads the all-time series 11-8, with one draw.
___