After much anticipation, the team captains Juli Inkster and Annika Sorenstam have announced the pairings for the opening day foursomes.
Four rookies, two from Team USA and two from Team Europe, will get their first taste of the lively first tee, on top of their first ever Solheim Cup matches.
The first ball will be struck at 8.10 a.m. Central Time, so let’s take a look at how the teams pair up for these opening matches.
The all-English pairing of Mel Reid and Charley Hull will battle it out against veteran Cristie Kerr and World No. 2 Lexi Thompson, in the Solheim Cup opening foursomes match. The European duo were paired together in the 2015 Friday morning foursomes, where they defeated Michelle Wie and Brittany Lincicome 2&1.
At the 2015 Solheim Cup, Kerr and Thompson played one foursomes match and won, and were also undefeated in an additional two, four-ball matches which earned them a win and a half. Thompson has been battling illness throughout the week, but has a reliable partner in Cristie Kerr who is making her ninth appearance at a Solheim Cup.
In match number two, Europe’s Carlota Ciganda and Caroline Masson take on Team USA’s Danielle Kang and Lizette Salas. Both Ciganda and Masson are making their third appearances at a Solheim Cup byt have never been paired together in foursomes. Ciganda will be looking to improve her already impressive Solheim Record of 4-1-2.
Kang will be the first of the seven rookies appearing at the 2017 Solheim Cup to play a ball in a competitive match. Although seeming very relaxed throughout the week, there is no doubt she will look to her experienced playing partner Salas for tips on handling those first day nerves.
A duo of rookies feature in the penultimate foursomes match as Anna Nordqvist and Georgia Hall battle it out against Paula Creamer and Austin Ernst. Nordqvist has picked up half of her wins at Solheim Cups in foursomes matches, so you could argue that rookie Hall couldn’t have a better partner. Playing in the Friday morning foursomes could also suggest that Nordqvist is over her reported illness, and ready to give 100% for Team Europe.
Ernst also has a reliable foursomes partner in the vastly experienced Creamer, who is making her seventh appearance at a Solheim Cup. Creamer has an impressive foursomes record, picking up 7.5 points for her team and will definitely be a calming influence on the rookie Ernst. This could potentially be the match to follow in the morning.
The final foursomes match of the day sees Europe’s Karine Icher and Catriona Matthew take on Team USA’s Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller. This will be Matthew’s ninth Solheim Cup and Icher’s fourth. Matthew has picked up eight points in foursomes matches including two foursomes victories in 2015. Despite being an alternate, Matthew’s versatility in match play shows in being entrusted with a position in the final match of the morning.
Lewis and Piller will be looking to pick up from where they left off in the 2015 foursomes, as they won their only match 5&4 against Anna Nordqvist and Caroline Hedwall. In fact, they are undefeated as a pair, as they also won their Saturday four-ball match 1up.
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