Europe off to excellent start lead 5.5-2.5

America produced a brave fightback on Friday afternoon but the European’s shaded the opening day of the 2000 Solheim Cup at Loch Lomond with a three point lead.

Dale Reid’s team produced the perfect start by claiming a whitewash in the morning foursomes – the first ever in the event – to take a 4-0 lead but the American’s recorded their first points in the afternoon.

But for much of the afternoon that hard-earned advantage appeared to be slipping away as Pat Bradley's side threatened to close the gap to just half a point.

America recorded their first point in the 2000 Solheim Cup as Becky Iverson and Rosie Jones demolished the British duo of Laura Davies and Alison Nicholas.

It comes as a great relief to American captain Pat Bradley who had to wait for over seven and a half hours before her team caused the scorers any problems.

Davies and Nicholas, so good in victory earlier in the day, were out of sorts after lunch and found their opponents in unforgiving mood.

The European pair failed to win a single hole and were three down after four holes after they went out in 39, with Iverson and Jones out in 33 to account for a six-hole lead that proved too much.

The inevitable end came on the 14th with Davies' wayward drive sticking in heavy rough and when Nicholas could only move the ball a few yards the match was conceded.

In the first halved match of the match, Trish Johnson and Sophie Gustafson had to dig deep to secure a half point with Americans Julie Inkster and Sherri Steinhauer.

Johnson and Gustafson staged a brave fightback from two down after 13 with thre e birdies in four holes to eventually claim a half in their match with Inkster and Steinhauer.

Both sides were all square going down the 401 yard 18th. After two fine drives, Inkster was first to play for America but found the bank at the front of the green and the ball ran back towards her.

The Europeans had a chance for birdie when Gustafson found the centre of the green. Steinhauer hit her 35-foot approach putt to within six feet and Johnson hit hers to four.

With nerves jangling, Inkster and Gustafson coolly sank their respective putts for pars and the half.

Swedish pair Helen Alfredsson and Liselotte Neumann - the only change from the morning - lost to Kelly Robbins and Pat Hurst.

In a tight encounter, neither side took more than a one-hole lead but it was the Americans who eventually took the upper hand.

The Europeans leveled the match when Neumann holed a 15 foot putt for birdie at the 15th but their joy was soon curtailed.

Neumann paid the price for taking on the par-five 16th in two when the ball ended up in the bottom of a ditch.

With two pars needed to secure victory, the Americans managed to hold on to their lead and deny the Swedish pair.

The final match on the course suddenly appeared vitally important and it should have been a comfortable win for Europe with Scot Janice Moodie and Annika Sorenstam three up after 10 holes.

They looked good to go four up on the 11th as well, on the par-three green in one and with their opponents in a bunker, but somehow the home pair contrived to take four putts to get down.

Clearly inspired, the Americans then birdied five of the next six holes and the home pair needed three birdies of their own to go down the 18th all square.

As with the 11th they found the green in regulation and after Meg Mallon and Beth Daniel could only manage a five, had two putts for the match. Moodie coaxed the ball to the hole side to seal the win and two points out of two for the Edinburgh golfer making her Solheim debut.

Morning Report

The British pair of Laura Davies and Alison Nicholas got Europe off to the perfect start in the Solheim Cup at Loch Lomond.

They recorded a comprehensive victory over the dangerous American pairing of Dottie Pepper and Julie Inkster.

"It's important to get the first point on the board," said Davies who went ahead of Pepper as the highest points scorer (13) in the 10-year history of the contest.

"I think it sends a sign to the rest of the team that we took on two of their best and gave them a bit of a hard time," stressed the British number one.

Former US Open champion Nicholas added: "I was hitting it a bit left early on but I had such a great partner it doesn't really matter - does it? We're really pleased."

A par was good enough for the home duo to win the first hole when the American pair missed a four foot putt for par.

Davies and Nicholas extended their lead to three when the former holed a par-saving putt from 12 feet.

Both sides could only manage bogeys at the seventh and eighth where Inkster missed a short putt.

And the Europeans made the most of their reprieve in style as Davies rolled in a 20-footer for birdie at the ninth. Pepper then missed from a much closer distance to leave the home pair three up at the turn.

The Europeans went four-up after being conceded the 10th where the Americans found trouble off the tee. A par on the next was good enough for a five-hole lead.

When the next was halved it meant they could not lose the match and despite the Americans winning the 14th, the hosts closed the game out with a par.

Trish Johnson and Sweden’s Sophie Gustafson won Europe’s second point after leading from the very first hole in their encounter with Kelly Robbins and Pat Hurst.

"We both got off to fliers, we birdied the first two holes, and never really let go," Johnson said. "We did not do a lot wrong and played perfect foursomes really.

"Hopefully we can do the same again this afternoon though it goes without saying that the Americans will be a bit angry and will come out fighting."

Gustafson rolled in a 15ft birdie on the first and Johnson repeated the trick from twice the distance on the next.

A par was good enough to win the fourth but Johnson and Gustafson handed the next to their opponents with a bogey five.

The American pair began to look out of sorts and their frustration was evident when Robbins tossed her ball into Loch Lomond in disgust after another bogey saw them go four down after just seven holes.

The Swedish pair of Catrin Nilsmark and rookie Carin Koch came back from two down to beat Brandie Burton and Becky Iverson in impressive style.

After their indifferent start, Nilsmark and Koch took advantage of some poor play by their opponents - five bogeys in a row from the seventh - to open up a three-hole cushion.

The European duo had now recovered from their earlier problems and began to stamp their authority on the match, building-up a three-hole lead with four to play.

The Americans prolonged the match after taking the 16th but debutante Koch bravely holed a tricky four-foot putt on the 17th to secure Europe’s third point of the morning.

  Annika Sorenstam and Janice Moodie rounded off the perfect morning for captain Dale Reid as Europe recorded their first whitewash in the history of the event.

Europe made it four out of four with a tense one-hole victory against the formidable American duo of Meg Mallon and Beth Daniel.

Sorenstam and Moodie should have sealed victory on the par three 17th after Daniel pulled her tee shot into the loch to the left of the green.

This meant the Americans could only manage a double-bogey five, leaving Europe two putts from 20 feet for the match - after Moodie had splashed out of a greenside bunker.

But Sorenstam's first putt ran three feet past and when Moodie missed the return, Europe were forced to go down the 18th.

Fortunately the European pair closed out the match on the 18th with a solid par four, after Mallon missed a birdie chance.

"I couldn't have believed a whitewash before the start but they just played superbly this morning, absolutely superb," said a delighted Reid.