Europe builds 7-5 lead at Solheim Cup after Korda, Corpuz falter

DEN BOSCH, Netherlands -- Team Europe finally took down the record-setting U.S. partnership of Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz at the Solheim Cup on Saturday on the way to winning the morning foursomes and building a 7-5 lead after three sessions.

The top-ranked Korda and Corpuz had won their first five matches as a team dating to 2023 -- an unprecedented feat in the Solheim Cup -- but were beaten, 3 and 2, by Swedish pair Maja Stark and Linn Grant in the lead match at Bernardus Golf early on Day 2.

The Europeans got another point from Mimi Rhodes and Nastasia Nadaud, who became the first rookie duo to win two matches at a single Solheim Cup, before Leona Maguire and Esther Henseleit rallied to beat Jennifer Kupcho and Rose Zhang, 1 up, in the final match of the session and the only one that went to No. 18.

The only negative on a big morning for Europe was another setback for its star English pairing of Charley Hull and Lottie Woad, who were thrashed 6 and 5 by Alison Lee and Lauren Coughlin in a result that tied the record margin of victory in a Solheim Cup foursomes match.

Hull and Woad, the only European players in the world's top 10, have contributed just a half-point from three outings together so far this week but have been retained as a pair by captain Anna Nordqvist for the afternoon four-balls.

After back-to-back split sessions on Day 1, there was finally separation between the teams, and history suggests that is significant. Since 1998, the team that held a lead at the end of the third session has gone on to win 11 of those 13 occasions.

The United States, which has an 11-7-1 advantage in a series that dates to 1990, is the defending champion and needs 14 points to retain the crystal trophy.