For the first time since 2017, Team USA captured the Solheim Cup!
The American squad, captained by Stacy Lewis, won 15.5-12.5 Sunday at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia, with world No. 2 Lilia Vu earning the cup-clinching point.
Vu, was down two in her match against Albane Valenzuela with just two holes to play – in the middle of a serious push by the European team.
But Vu flashed her well-known brilliance as the match ended, knocking a wedge to just a few feet and banging in birdie for the win on 18.
“It meant the world because I really felt today that when I was kind of letting myself get down that I wasn’t doing anything for this team and didn’t see light at the end of the tunnel,” Vu said.
Rose Zhang, in her second Solheim Cup, was the highest point-earner on either side, going 4-0-0. Megan Khang also went undefeated for the week, going 3-0-0. Khang went 3-0-1 in last year’s Solheim Cup, and she continues to be undefeated in her last two Solheim Cup starts.
Sunday’s final day started with the American side with a commanding 10-6 lead, but world No.1 Nelly Korda – in the first match of the day – was soundly defeated by Charley Hull 6 and 4 for the first European point on the board. With three points this week, Hull was the highest point-earner for Europe.
Khang quickly got a point for the American side, defeating Emily Pedersen 6 and 5.
Allisen Corpuz and Zhang defeated Anna Nordqvist and Carlota Ciganda, respectively, while Georgia Hall and Celine Boutier earned two more points for Europe. Andrea Lee tied Esther Henseleit before the stage was set for a dramatic finish.
Maja Stark blasted her birdie try on No. 18 about 15 feet past but calmly made the comebacker to tie Lauren Coughlin, giving the USA 14 points. Vu and Valenzuela were the next match to come up the final hole with almost the whole of both teams surrounding the green to watch Vu close the door thanks to back-to-back birdies.
“This has been everything,” Vu said. “I have a picture of the U.S. Team winning the Solheim Cup a while back, so it’s on my wall in my room. So, this is a dream of mine, and so happy that I was able to do that for them.”
Madelene Sagstrom and Leona Maguire added two final points for Europe while Jennifer Kupcho defeated Linn Grant 2 and 1 in the final match of the day.
The Solheim Cup was played in back-to-back years to get it on track to be played in opposite years of the Ryder Cup after cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year’s Solheim Cup ended in a 14-14 tie, but that meant Europe retained the title. The American side hadn’t won the Solheim Cup since it defeated Europe 16.5-11.5 in Iowa seven years ago.
“This is so cool. So stressful to watch. It’s awful watching. But just so proud of the players. It’s amazing how these things come down to half a point here and there,” said American captain Stacy Lewis, who was the captain for two years in a row, along with Suzanne Pettersen on the European side. “Fortunately, this time we were on the right side of it.”
The U.S. now leads the all-time series 11-7-1.
The next Solheim Cup is set for Sept. 7-13, 2026 in the Netherlands.