GAINESVILLE, Va. – Suzann Pettersen went with her gut. In her two Solheim Cup appearances, Leona Maguire has never sat out a match. That won’t be the case this week as Pettersen has chosen to sit the Irishwoman players call “MVP” in morning foursomes (alternate shot) on Friday.
The ever-popular Charley Hull, who doesn’t like to sit around, and rookie Esther Henseleit will kick things off for Europe at 7:05 a.m. ET against World No. 1 Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz, who went 2-0 together in foursomes last year in Spain.
“I wanted to send some experience out first,” said Lewis, “and no better than No. 1 in the world and a pairing that was very successful last year and they’re very comfortable together.”
Last year, the U.S. swept the morning foursomes session for the first time history. Europe led only four holes the entire session. The cup ultimately ended in its first-ever tie, with Europe retaining. Pettersen joked that she had her fingers crossed they’d at least put up a ½ point on the board this time around.
Solheim Cup: Scoreboard, teams | Photos
“Yeah, it was a tough start for us last year,” said Pettersen, “but that being said, you can – I don’t know if I would have done the pairings any different. Sometimes you can play good golf and still lose. You can literally get outplayed. That’s just the game.”
There are a total of four rookies in this year’s cup and all of them are heading out in morning foursomes. Switzerland’s Albane Valenzuela will be paired with Celine Boutier for Europe while Sarah Schemzel will go out with World No. 2 Lilia Vu, and Virginia’s own Lauren Coughlin heads out with Rose Zhang.
“There’s no point for them to sit around and kind of wait and wonder what it’s going to be like,” said Pettersen. “Let’s just send them out and let them kind of experience it.”
Lewis, who relied heavily on the stats for a starting point, began the week with a list of potential pairings for each player and then used player feedback throughout the week to narrow it down.
Not everyone plays same golf ball at Solheim Cup
The hardest part, she said, has been getting everyone comfortable with potentially playing a different golf ball depending on partner.
Eight players on Team USA play at Titleist ball, with Andrea Lee and Rose Zhang playing Callaway and Nelly Korda (TaylorMade) and Lexi Thompson (Maxfli) rounding out the group.
Pettersen handled things a bit differently. Georgia Hall said players haven’t really talked at all about pairings with their captain this week.
“Obviously a lot of us have played together before,” said Emily Kristine Pedersen, “but Suzann has pretty much decided who’s playing together. We’re lucky in our team that everyone gets along really well, and I feel like everyone’s a good match.
“For us, it doesn’t really matter who plays together. We’re happy to play with each other, and our games suit each other well.”
Pettersen chalked it up to not being able to please everyone.
Lexi Thompson, who hit the first shot at last year’s cup and won the opening match with Megan Khang, will sit out the morning session along with Khang. Alison Lee and Andrea Lee will also sit out the first match for Team USA.
For the Europeans, Anna Nordqvist, Madelene Sagstrom, Hall, and Maguire will not play Friday morning.
Friday foursomes at the 19th Solheim Cup
7:05 a.m. ET
Esther Henseleit/Charley Hull vs. Nelly Korda/Allisen Corpuz
7:17 a.m. ET
Celine Boutier/Albane Valenzuela vs. Rose Zhang/Lauren Coughlin
7:29 a.m. ET
Emily Pedersen/Maja Stark vs. Ally Ewing/Jennifer Kupcho
7:41 a.m. ET
Linn Grant/Carlota Ciganda vs. Lilia Vu/Sarah Schmelzel
Golf Channel has live coverage starting at 7 a.m. ET.
Sitting out Friday morning foursomes
U.S.: Megan Khang, Alison Lee, Andrea Lee, Lexi Thompson
Europe: Georgia Hall, Leona Maguire, Anna Nordqvist, Madelene Sagstrom