All square after first day

Honours are even at four points each between the USA and Europe after the first day of The Solheim Cup at Interlachen GC in Minnesota.

The USA recovered from a 3-1drubbing in the morning foursomes on Friday and reciprocated with the same scoreline in the afternoon fourballs where thousands of fans witnessed some scintillating golf from 16 of the finest women golfers from each continent on a sun kissed afternoon.

Spain's Paula Marti and Laura Davies almost committed the golfing equivalent of grand larceny as they took Americans Rosie Jones and Christie Kerr the distance, despite being four down after nine holes. The US pair held on for a one-hole victory.

Americans Laura Diaz, who stood in for the flu-ridden Beth Daniel, teamed up with rookie Emilee Klein and swept past Sophie Gustafson and Karine Icher by 4&3.

World number one Annika Sorenstam and Maria Hjorth from Sweden witnessed a barrage of putts from Minnesota resident Michelle Redman and Meg Mallon as they were defeated 3&1.

But the saving grace for Europe was from rookie Mhairi McKay from Scotland who gelled perfectly with Sweden's Carin Koch as they denied both Juli Inkster and Kelli Keuhne a point during their first day of the event.

While it would appear one sided in the afternoon matches, nothing could be further from the truth. Marti and Davies, heroines of the morning foursomes matches after dispatching Inkster and Diaz, found the American pair sprinting out of the blocks winning the first two holes and closing the front nine four holes up.

But Davies and Marti won the tenth and 13th to set the match on a knife edge coming down the stretch and after dodging bullets with the Americans missing short putts at the 14th, 15th and 16th the European pairing turned the gas up at the 17th when Davies hit her approach from the fairway trap and holed the ensuing 30-footer for birdie and forced the match down the 18th.

Davies, fuelled with adrenaline, belted her tee shot a full 285-yards through the air into what she though was position A. The big hitting Europeans had the distance advantage over their shorter hitting opponents until Davies discovered that her ball had taken one bounce and ended up in the water hazard.

Jones and Kerr played cagily to the fairway with Marti in the greenside bunker in two, needing to make birdie. Davies meanwhile stunned everyone with a world-class third shot from 225-yards, knocking it to 12 feet for the most unlikely birdie of the day. But Jones, a wily veteran of four Solheim encounters, relieved the anxiety of her captain Patty Sheehan as she stroked in the four footer.

Sorenstam and Hjorth left the premises more bewildered than disappointed. The Swedish combination were seven under par after 17 holes, losing to a nine under total in a match plentiful of holes halved in birdie.

"Michelle made every putt she looked at today," Hjorth said. "Surely she can't go on like that for the rest of the week."

Sheehan was delighted with her team fightback.

"My players took it upon themselves to be self-motivated in the afternoon and they were very controlled, and they obviously didn't panic," said Sheehan.

"I really have never seen them panic before, and they obviously knew that this afternoon was going to turn around for them. I tell you what, I have got some 'studmuffin rookie pit bulls out there!"

Reid, delighted at the start to the day was naturally disappointed with the overall score and felt that Europe should have been ahead by at least two points.

"Obviously, after this morning, I would have liked to have been ahead this afternoon, but I think a 4-4 result is quite fair the way everybody has played today," said Reid.

"I was actually hoping for a 5-3, but, you know, things turn in fourball and I believe most of the Americans putted and played extremely well this afternoon. So, you know, if you are getting beaten by good golf, you can't complain."

Saturday's matches look as if the crowd will witness more of the same drama, but Reid, having studied Sheehan's pairings against her own is more upbeat about the situation in the fourballs.

Sorenstam partners Koch once again to face Redman and Kerr, while Iben Tinning and Mhairi McKay head off against the rookie pairing of Emilee Klein and Wendy Ward.

The Marti-Davies combination have another chance to impress as they face an out of sorts Juli Inkster and Meg Mallon in the third group, with the devastating grouping of Helen Alfredsson and Suzann Pettersen facing Laura Diaz and Kelly Robbins in a match that has been billed already as a potential firecracker.

"Europe to win 4-0 in those," said an upbeat Reid.

Nothing would please Reid better than to respond to Dottie Pepper's critique a few years back when the outspoken American stated that if it was not for the LPGA, the European players would be packing groceries - Saturday morning may well see the golfing equivalent of 'Dale's supermarket sweep'.

SATURDAY MORNING FOURSOMES

0745CST Sorenstam/Koch vs Kerr/Redman
0757CST Tinning/McKay vs Ward/Klein
0809CST Davies/Marti vs Mallon/Inkster
0821CST Alfredsson/Pettersen vs Diaz/Robbins

Europeans takes early 3-1 lead

Europe take a 3-1 lead heading into the afternoon fourball matches after England's Laura Davies and Paula Marti from Spain led the way for after posting an impressive 2up victory over Americans Juli Inkster and Laura Diaz in the morning foursomes of The Solheim Cup.

Following close on their heels were the seven time Solheim Cupper Helen Alfredsson from Sweden and Suzann Pettersen from Norway, who birdied their last six holes to cruise past the formidable pairing of Kelly Robbins and Pat Hurst by 4&2.

World number one Annika Sorenstam teamed up with compatriot Carin Koch and made light work of Meg Mallon and Kelli Keuhne, dispatching them 3&2 in a one sided affair.

Only Beth Daniel, the oldest member of the US team could salvage a point for the hosts as she joined rookie Wendy Ward in a tough fight against European number one Raquel Carriedo and Iben Tinning. The match went the distance with the USA breathing a huge sigh of relief when Carriedo lipped out at the final hole, which would have squared the match.

Marti led the way by hitting the opening shot of the 7th edition of The Solheim Cup and it was not long before Europe took the lead in this thrilling match after a Marti putt from ten feet to go one up. The US conceded the third hole but Inkster responded with a piercing shot to 8 feet at the fourth to pull a hole back.

A three putt at the eighth hurt the Europeans cause, but Marti rammed in a ten-footer on the ninth, to lift Europe back in front.

Inkster knocked a wedge close enough at the 10th for a concession, but Marti, whose putter was warming up beautifully, boxed a five footer and turned with both hands high acknowledging the increasingly vocal European fans - Europe 1 up again.

Inkster sparked the home crowd into action with a birdie at the 13th to go all square but then Marti stepped up to the plate and reminded everyone how hot her putter was, holing from 12 feet at the 14th.

The only time the pair was in trouble was at the 16th when Davies carved her tee shot behind a tree. But the Spaniard played a shot her hero Seve Ballesteros would have been proud of, slicing a five iron around a tree into a bunker. Davies splashed out and the 22-year-old from Barcelona finished the job from eight feet, much to the chagrin of Diaz, who had to hole from four feet to prevent from going two down.

Marti had the chance to close the match at the 17th, but missed. And at the final hole, Davies pummelled her drive applying pressure to Inkster who found thick rough, preventing her team-mate from going for the green in two.

Diaz had to lay up, then Marti pulled off the shot of the day, hammering the first nail in the American coffin with a scintillating three wood from 220-yards to ten feet at the par five - The Americans had enough and conceded the putt for an approximate 66 and the first point.

"It was a brilliant start," said Davies "We gelled really well together and she putted extraordinarily good today. It was just fantastic.

"Paula's long game was good but her putting was unbelievable, and I thought if I can keep hitting shots into the green, and hope for a couple of good putts, but I thought if we shoot 66, that usually wins a foursome's match, so that was good!"

Pettersen and Alfredsson endured a tight match, at least until the ninth hole when the Norwegian rookie pulled off a miracle, holing from 12 feet for par to stay one up at the turn.

But from the 12th, it was carnage for the historically strong pairing of Hurst and Robbins. Six birdies closed out the match and Alfredsson's caddie Rikard Aberg summed the day up perfectly.

"Six birdies to close - what can they (the US) do about that? Nothing."

Alfredsson was more than complimentary about the 21-year-old rookie, who Captain Reid has nicknamed 'mini-Alfie' such is her strong temperament.

"Suzann made an absolutely incredible putt on nine for par. We could have gone one down there, but that was a crucial putt," said Alfredsson.

"And then we got the game going, we never got in trouble, and I holed the put on 11, and then we holed on 12, and then we just got in it, and then, you know, she hit some incredible iron shots that it's like it would be such a waste not to make them."

Sorenstam and Koch breezed past Mallon and the super confident rookie Keuhne, keeping the crowd - and Keuhne - quiet with a merciless display of accuracy and slick putting.

"We had a lot of fun out there," said the World number one, "We hooked up well and Carin just knows how to make the putts at the most important times, it was great."

Daniel and Ward were relieved with their victory after a scare at the last when Carriedo lipped out to halve the match.

"I knew we had to do something special out there, we were the last American group standing."

Scores:

Paula Marti and Laura Davies beat Juli Inkster and Laura Diaz by 2up Iben Tinning and Raquel Carriedo lost to Beth Daniel and Wendy Ward 1 down Helen Alfredsson and Suzann Pettersen beat Kelly Robbins and Pat Hurst 4&2 Annika Soresntam and Carin Koch beat Meg Mallon and Kelli Keuhne 3&2

Afternoon pairings; Fourball matches

1215CST Laura Davies and Paula Marti vs Rosie Jones and Christie Kerr 1230CST Sophie Gustafson and Karine Icher vs Laura Diaz and Emilee Klein 1245CST Annika Sorenstam and Maria Hjorth vs Michelle Redman and Meg Mallon 1300CST Mhairi Mckay and Carin Koch vs Juli Inkster and Kelli Keuhne

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