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Recap of first two rounds of the 2009 Solheim Cup

Here's a closer look at how the United States took a 41/2 to 31/2 lead after the first two rounds of Friday's competition at the 2009 Solheim Cup:

Morning fourball

Match 1: USA

Cristie Kerr/Paula Creamer

1 Up over

Suzann Pettersen/Sophie Gustafson

Recap: The top two American players were the first to tee off Friday morning, and six hours later, a birdie putt by Kerr sealed the victory.

Kerr quote: "It was an amazing match. I could just kind of feel the momentum switching, and I told Paula, if we could hang in there, make a putt at the right time, and then at 12 I made a great putt and then they fought back at 13. And from there on in it was all us, so we played great."

Match 2: Europe

Helen Alfredsson/Tania Elosegui

1 Up over

Angela Stanford/Juli Inkster

Recap: The European duo fell behind early but rallied to all square on the eighth hole and then took a lead they wouldn't relinquish on No. 9. Alfredsson's birdie on No. 18 sealed the win.

Alfredsson quote: "Knowing the Americans so well, I knew that they were going to pick up, and Juli is such a great competitor, and so is Angela, so I knew that they were going to come on strong the last few holes. And they did. It was nice that we were able to pull it off."

Match 3: USA

Brittany Lang/Brittany Lincicome

5 & 4 over

Laura Davies/Becky Brewerton

Recap: Team Europe kept things close early but the Brittany's - and in particular Lincicome - were just too much to handle in this one as they cruised to a lopsided victory.

Brewerton quote: "Brittany (Lincicome) played fantastic. She put us under pressure from early on and we just weren't able to do the same thing and get in close enough really and get inside them. It's always frustrating."

Match 4: Halved

Morgan Pressel/Michelle Wie

split with

Catriona Matthew/Maria Hjorth

Recap: With the European's on the brink of falling behind 3-1 in the morning round, Matthew came through with a clutch birdie on No. 18 to halve the match.

Matthew quote: "Yeah, you're looking around and you hear the cheers. We knew for us to get something out of our game was probably really important."

Afternoon foursomes

Match 5: USA

Natalie Gulbis/Christina Kim

4 & 2 over

Suzann Pettersen/Sophie Gustafson

Recap: Europe's powerful duo dropped its second match of the day when Kim and Gulbis went up 2 strokes after 2 holes and never looked back.

Pettersen quote: "Sophie and myself, we haven't really been in any trouble. We just haven't made any putts - and that makes a difference."

Match 6: Europe

Becky Brewerton/Gwladys Nocera

3 & 1 over

Angela Stanford/Nicole Castrale

Recap: Brewerton and Nocera were 2 up after two holes and never trailed throughout to give Europe its first of two wins in the afternoon.

Brewerton quote: "We played very well, paired up very well, and it couldn't have gone any better really."

Match 7: Europe

Maria Hjorth/Anna Nordqvist

3 & 2 over

Kristy McPherson/Brittany Lincicome

Recap: Rookie Nordqvist picked up her first Cup win in her first match and Hjorth finished up with 1.5 points in two matches.

Nordqvist quote: "I've been looking forward to doing this for a very long time, just having a good time with Mimi, and I felt very comfortable on the course today."

Match 8: USA

Paula Creamer/Juli Inkster

2 & 1 over

Catriona Matthew/Janice Moodie

Recap: Creamer was a perfect 2-for-2 and Inkster bounced back from an opening round loss in a big win over a tough European duo.

Creamer quote: "We were looking forward to the match and we had a great time out there and got off to a really good start and just kept going."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Photo Galleries</h2> <ul class="gallery"> <li><a href="/story/?id=315268">Thursday images from the Solheim Cup </a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=314990">Wednesday images from the Solheim Cup </a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=314617">Tuesday images from the Solheim Cup </a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=314310">Monday images from the Solheim Cup </a></li> </ul> <h2>Video</h2> <ul class="video"> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/multimedia/?category=18&type=video&item=3">Solheim Cup Opening </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/multimedia/?category=18&type=video&item=2">Solheim Cup After Sundown party </a></li> </ul> <h2>Related links</h2> <ul class="moreWeb"> <li><a href="/packages/2009/solheimcup/">Complete Daily Herald coverage of the Solheim Cup</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>

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