Europe takes control over USA at rain-delayed Solheim Cup

When controversial captain’s pick Paula Creamer teamed with Morgan Pressel to give the U.S. the early lead on day one of the Solheim Cup, the Americans appeared poised to end their two-time winless streak.

“I have faith in her,” skipper Juli Inkster said on Thursday about Creamer, who entered the fray in the wake of four straight missed cuts on the LPGA Tour. “I have all the confidence in the world in her. It was a no-brainer for me.”

The gamble paid off immediately, as Creamer-Pressel batted leadoff and took a 3-and-2 win over Suzann Pettersen and Anna Nordqvist in foursomes.

Then came Friday afternoon.

With Europe grabbing two early matches, and ahead and tied in the two in progress, that morning victory for the U.S. -- combined with Cristie Kerr-Lexi Thompson’s 2-and-1 win over Karine Icher-Azahara Munoz to square the tilt at 2-all -- seemed a distant memory.

And when Carlota Ciganda, with darkness descending, holed out for eagle from the fairway on the 17th hole to square up the fourball match against Kerr-Thompson, any momentum the Americans hoped to take into the night disappeared at the bottom of the cup.

Ciganda’s dagger ripped the heart out of Team USA, which seemed to have the third match of the afternoon sewn up after two straight birdies and a par from Thompson-Kerr got them to 2-up with three to play over Ciganda-Melissa Reid. The fateful decision to play the 17th with little light turned out to be a good one for the Europeans, who, when play resumes on Saturday, will have a chance to sweep the fourball matches.

“We’ve kind of run into a couple of buzzsaws but that’s going to happen in match play,” a subdued U.S. skipper Juli Inkster told Golf Channel during a rain halt when blue dominated the scoreboard. “This weather delay might give us a little chance to regroup and get our heads back on straight and get out there.”

Not so much.

The Euro faithful welcomed the players back to St. Leon-Rot outside Heidelberg after the deluge blew through and Team Europe responded by storming into a commanding lead.

Nordqvist, paired with Caroline Hedwall, rebounded spectacularly from the morning’s loss to clobber the Creamer-Pressel tandem, 4-and-3. The Swedish duo went 3-0-0 as a Solheim team.

For Hedwall, it was her sixth straight Solheim Cup triumph, though the spotlight shone brightly on Nordqvist, who drilled eight birdies in 15 holes.

“Anna played great. I mean she was pretty much out there on her own all day today. I don’t know if Caroline really helped her that much on any of the holes,” said Pressel, no doubt providing additional motivation for the Euros. “I don’t think she missed a shot but we certainly didn’t give her much of a fight ... Just didn’t play our best.”

The Alison Lee-Angela Stanford pairing fared little better. They fell victim to Charley Hull-Gwladys Nocera, 3-and-2, and the Europeans held a comfortable cushion when play ended for the day.

Creamer attempted to put a smiley face on the proceedings, though she was as sober in her post-match comments as Inkster had been earlier in the day.

“It’s one match and we have a couple more days. It doesn’t determine everything,” Creamer said after the Nordqvist-Hedwall drubbing. “But we had a good morning and we’ve got to remember that as well.”

They’ll try just as hard to forget that hole-out.

While things looked bleak on the board, Friday was not a total loss for Inkster’s charges. The visitors had a clear advantage over the home team in the “John Daly would be so proud” category.