Recap of Saturday's action at the 2009 Solheim Cup
Here is a glance at how Saturday's matches unfolded at the Solheim Cup, which ended with Team USA and Europe tied at 8 points a piece:
Saturday morning fourball
Match 9: USA
Christina Kim/Michelle Wie
5&4 over
Helen Alfredsson/Tania Elosegui
Recap: The first match of the day began with the Europeans jumping out to a two-stroke lead through two holes, but close friends Kim and Wie, behind four straight birdies, rallied for what turned out to be an easy win.
Kim quote: "Oh, for us to win as the first team out, I thought it was huge. It was great to be able to say that Michelle and I made a great enough team that we were able to beat two such great players - it was pretty impressive."
Match 10: halved
Angela Stanford/Brittany Lang
halved with
Catriona Matthew/Diana Luna
Recap: Trailing by two with two to go, Matthew and Luna fought back to win the final two holes - taking the 18th on Luna's birdie putt - to halve their match and pick up a huge 1/2 point for Europe.
Luna quote: "It's just amazing. Catriona said to me, 'Come on, knock it in for the glory.' I had a great partner today. We got really lucky, I think."
Match 11: Europe
Suzann Pettersen/Anna Nordqvist
2 Up over
Nicole Castrale/Cristie Kerr
Recap: Nordqvist continued to play like anything but the Solheim Cup rookie she is, notching birdies on two of her final three holes and then calmly nailing a 20-foot putt on 18 to seal the deal for the Europeans.
Pettersen quote: "It was very close. I mean it was 1 Up, level, 1 Up to them. We got it back, and we never really gave them a leash too far ahead of us. And then Anna makes her putt on 16, which was huge, and then I make a great birdie on 17. And Anna pulled it off again on 18."
Match 12: Europe
Gwladys Nocera and Maria Hjorth
1 Up over
Brittany Lincicome/Kristy McPherson
Recap: Despite a strong close by the Americans, one that cut a 3 Up lead by Europe to all square, Nocera and Hjorth held on for dear life and sealed the deal on Hjorth's short par putt on No. 18.
Hjorth quote: "We got off to a very, very good start but then just didn't make any putts after that. All of a sudden they make three birdies in a row and we lose three in a row ..."
Afternoon foursomes
Match 13: Europe
Janice Moodie/Sophie Gustafson
4&3 over
Paula Creamer/Juli Inkster
Recap: The American duo which won the final match on Friday couldn't regain their magic against veterans Moodie and Gustafson, who led the entire way.
Creamer quote: "We lost the first two holes and from there on we were always fighting back. And we won a lot of holes out there, but we just kept giving them back afterwards, and you can't do that in match play, unfortunately."
Match 14: USA
Kristy McPherson/Morgan Pressel
2 Up over
Helen Alfredsson/Suzann Pettersen
Recap: With the U.S. trailing for the first time in Cup play, the little engines that could - Pressel and McPherson - did, coming through in the clutch with a victory over two of Europe's best.
Pettersen: "I mean, we kind of struggled so much. We kind of fought back and gave ourselves a chance for half a point. It would have been nice to grab a half a point."
Match 15: Europe
Becky Brewerton/Gwladys Nocera
5&4 over
Natalie Gulbis/Christina Kim
Recap: The popular American duo was awfully quiet in this one, falling behind early and never really getting back into the match. Brewerton continued her solid play and Nocera improved to 3-0.
Gulbis quote: "Horrible. We got beat up really bad. I felt horrible. It was horrible. I mean they flat out beat us."
Match 16: USA
Cristie Kerr/Michelle Wie
1 Up over
Anna Nordqvist/Maria Hjorth
Recap: This one came down to the absolute last putt of the day when Hjorth missed a shortie on 18 to allow the Americans to squeak by with the win, a win that evened the score at 8-8 heading into Sunday's showdown.
Nordqvist quote: "We had a good birdie try. That's what mattered. Michelle and Cristie, they played great. It was a great win for them. But I think we hung in there. It came down to 18, but I guess congratulations to them.