By: Max Bechtoldt
The United States has done it, winning the Solheim Cup for the first time since 2017, and for the most part, in dominant fashion. There were a lot of terrific performances from the Americans this week, and I grade them here:
Megan Khang – A+
The clear heart and soul of this American team over the last couple years, Khang is 7-0-1 in her last eight Solheim Cup matches dating back to 2021. Khang went 3-0-0 this week, and never had a match reach hole 16. She brought the absolute best out of Nelly Korda and Alison Lee in their partnerships and crushed Emily Pedersen on Sunday. Clearly the vocal leader of the team, Khang once again leaves as the American MVP.
Rose Zhang – A+
How about this performance from Rose Zhang? I will admit that I was dead-wrong worrying about her this week after her poor performance in Spain. Rose’s putter was absolutely red-hot all week, fueling her 4-0-0 record. She looked like the future of team USA as many hoped she would be. Rose was the first player ever to go 4-0-0 and never reach hole 17 in a Solheim Cup. Rose was clearly having fun and playing some of the best golf we have ever seen out of her.
Lauren Coughlin – A+
Coughlin’s dream season continued in her home state of Virginia, performing phenomenally in her first Solheim Cup. It seemed she never hit poor shots over the first two days, building up a 3-0 record heading into Sunday. While she did halve her match against Maja Stark, she battled back from a large deficit to almost win the clinching point for the United States. If not for a terrific putt by Stark on 18, we’d be talking about a legendary Solheim Cup story.
Nelly Korda – A
Elephant in the room, Korda got crushed on Sunday by Charley Hull and clearly didn’t have her A-game. Luckily, she did indeed have her A-game the rest of the week. Korda and Allisen Corpuz continued their foursomes dominance, extending their record to 4-0-0 across the last two seasons. Nelly was unstoppable in her Friday four ball match with Megan Khang, making four birdies and two eagles in just 14 holes. The No. 1 player in the world certainly looked the part, and was having more fun than ever before on a golf course.
Allisen Corpuz – A
Allisen Corpuz just quietly goes about her business and plays phenomenal golf in the Solheim Cup. Going 3-1 this week, she continued to show how she is part of the future of this team. We already talked about her phenomenal pairing with Korda, that is one of the most dominant duos ever, but to come out and play the way she did against Anna Nordqvist on Sunday was truly special. Corpuz defeated one of Europe’s hottest and most experienced players 4&3 in a match that never seemed that close.
Andrea Lee – A –
How about Andrea Lee this week? A player who performed better than her record in 2023 absolutely stole the show at times. Her eagle on 14 during Friday four ball included one of the best shots of the entire tournament, and her partnership with Rose Zhang led to a 2-0 record heading into Sunday. On Sunday, she grinded out a tough and clutch halve against Esther Henseleit in one of the most pivotal matches of the event. I’ve never seen this much energy out of Lee and it was fun to watch.
Sarah Schmelzel – B
Schmelzel got off to a dream start in her first Solheim Cup appearance, going 2-0 on Friday and playing some really solid golf. Her iron play in particular just looked elite. She stumbled pretty significantly on Saturday, as her putter went ice cold and she was missing iron shots. She bounced back on Sunday though and despite a loss, brought her match against Madelene Sagström to 18 with some spectacular hole outs and putts.
Lilia Vu – B
Lilia Vu once again didn’t exactly have a great Solheim Cup, but it is hard to deny that she showed up when it mattered most. Down 2 with two holes to play on Sunday against Albane Valenzuela, Vu hit a long putt for birdie on 17, and followed it up with a spectacular second shot on 18 to clinch the halve and the cup for the United States. While her record of 1-2-1 is underwhelming for the No. 2 player in the world, two great holes can clearly make the difference.
Jennifer Kupcho – C+
Kupcho had a very strange Solheim Cup. Obviously her 1-2 record doesn’t look great on paper, as the Ally Ewing pairing didn’t exactly work out as well as many believed it would, but there were great moments. Kupcho and Ewing fought hard on Friday foursomes, coming back from a huge deficit to make the match interesting. On Sunday, in the anchor match that became more important than initially thought, Kupcho bounced back from some back nine struggles to defeat Linn Grant.
Lexi Thompson – C+
In likely her last Solheim Cup, Thompson served more as a motivation for Team USA than a point producer. It is clear by the post-event celebrations that the team was playing for Thompson, chanting her name as Lewis handed her the trophy first. Thompson was out there on the first tee Friday morning getting the crowd fired up and was always out there on the course with whatever match needed her. Thompson did get a win alongside Lauren Coughlin on Friday afternoon but lost her other three matches. That includes on Sunday against Celine Boutier, where Thompson held a three-hole lead.
Alison Lee – C
Lee obviously had the most viral moment of the 2024 Solheim Cup, when she holed out for eagle on hole 2 during Saturday four ball, resulting in her and Megan Khang’s caddies celebrating by taking their shirts off. Her and Khang did finish that match off in dominant fashion, but she went 0-2 the rest of the week. In her Sunday singles match, her putter went ice cold, seemingly missing everything, which led to a crushing defeat to Georgia Hall.
Ally Ewing – D+
It is clear from listening to other players that Ally Ewing’s impact on the team goes far beyond her performance on the course. That is valid and obviously important, but it doesn’t cover up her 0-4-0 record this week. Ewing is now 3-12-1 in her Solheim Cup career, which is strange since she has performed well in match play before, winning the 2021 Shadow Creek match play event. She also was in great form this season and seemingly had a perfect pairing with Jennifer Kupcho. She gets some benefit of the doubt from me for team room reasons, but the play on the course hasn’t matched that.
