Adrian Dennis/AFP/GettyMichelle Wie found herself on the short end when Suzann Pettersen rallied furiously with birdies on the last three holes.Ouch. This one is going to leave a mark.
What hurts the United States is not so much the underdog Europeans' Solheim Cup upset victory Sunday at Ireland's Killeen Castle, but how they did it. And when.
"They just played better than us in that last 35 minutes," American captain Rosie Jones told reporters moments after Europe's 15-13 victory. "They just played better and just took it away, just stripped it. Just took it away in the last 35 minutes."
The United States, riding a streak of three straight Solheim Cup victories, looked to have positioned itself to keep rolling. Going into Sunday's singles competition, where the Americans appeared to hold a significant advantage, the two teams were tied with eight points each.
Over three previous Solheim Cups, all American victories, the U.S. ran up a 21-9-6 record in singles play. Going back to the inaugural competition in 1990, the U.S. has a 69-42-13 singles advantage.
Also, with seven Americans ranked in the world's top 20 compared with two Europeans, the U.S. women, on paper, looked to be the more talented group.
And that's pretty much the way it was playing out.
Until the very end.
"It's unbelievable," European captain Alison Nicholas told reporters afterward. "I have no words to describe it. Their passion, they never gave up. It was an amazing display of golf. The drama and atmosphere here was just incredible."
One more point would have done it for the United States; a tie retains the cup. The Americans couldn't have been much closer to keeping the trophy without already posing for the team photo.
Then stuff happened.
One down to American Michelle Wie with three holes to play, Norway's Suzann Pettersen birdied the 16th, 17th and 18th holes to grab a 1-up victory. Caroline Hedwall, two down to American rookie Ryann O'Toole with two holes to play, won both to halve the hole, and Spain's Azahara Munoz birdied the 17th hole to go 1 up on American Angela Stanford and win.
"I mean, she's a great player," Wie told reporters. "She's one of the strongest players, and it was a tough match today. For her to birdie the last three holes was pretty amazing. I felt like I matched her back on 17, but just once your opponent does that, it's hard to come back.
"At the same time, I really look up to her. She's a great match-play player. So half of me is happy for her. And half of me, losing sucks."
Throw in American star Cristie Kerr being unable to answer the bell and conceding her match to Karen Stupples because of wrist pain, and Paula Creamer, undefeated in singles play during three previous Solheim Cup competitions, getting waxed 6 and 5 by Catriona Matthew in the day's opening match, and it was not a day for the U.S. to remember.
"I don't know. It was just not a good day for me," Creamer said afterward. "That's golf. That's sports in general. You look at your athlete, it's your body out there, and I just didn't feel comfortable.
"I had a pretty good warm-up, but just when I got out here, I just didn't feel real solid."
So Europe won the Cup -- its fourth in 12 tries -- and a needed shot in the arm for its women's tour.
"A huge amount," Nicholas said. "We haven't won it for a long time. And hopefully the European Tour will grow and grow, and it just says what a great bunch of quality players that we have in Europe."
There were no incidents, no hurt feelings or ugly scenes like those that have happened in the past. Pettersen will leave as the biggest winner, thanks to the comeback victory that will be historic.
Even in defeat, the Americans can find plenty of positives from the week. Morgan Pressel, playing in her third Solheim Cup, was the only American to win every match, going 4-0, including Sunday's 2 and 1 decision over Anna Nordqvist. The two-time LPGA Tour winner now holds an overall Solheim Cup record of 7-2-2 and promises to be a foundation for the U.S. team for years to come.
And the Americans have good reason to be looking ahead.
