sweetheart
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SUGAR GROVE, Ill. (AP)—Despite the instructions not to, Juli Inkster couldn’t resist checking out the scoreboard.
She didn’t like what she saw.
The heavily favored Americans, long dominant in singles play at the Solheim Cup, were trailing in six matches with the lead groups already on the back nine. Inkster herself was 2 down to Gwladys Nocera.Callaway x-22 Irons
“I just kept chattering to myself to say, `This is an important match, you’ve got to get at least a half a point here. It’s two holes. If you can’t win two holes, then you don’t deserve to be out here,”’ said Inkster, at 49 the oldest player in Solheim Cup history and a captain’s pick.
Inkster and Brittany Lang, who trailed European great Laura Davies all day, managed to turn around matches that appeared to be solidly in Europe’s win column, scratching out critical halves and helping turn the momentum firmly in the Americans’ favor. It wasn’t long before the Americans were partying on the 18th green, celebrating a 16-12 decision that gave them the Solheim Cup for a third straight time.
And those singles matches? The United States won six of them outright and tied four others, earning eight points and raising its winning percentage over the tournament to .608.Callaway x-22 Irons
“It’s awesome, especially since it was such a hard-fought battle,” U.S. captain Beth Daniel said. “They had to dig deep, they really had to dig deep to win this, and I’m so proud of each and every one of them.”
Callaway x-22 IronsSome performances, though, will linger.
Like that of Inkster, who closed out what she swears is her last Solheim Cup with the type of gritty play that has defined her career. She hit her approach on the 14th to 8 feet, and pumped her right arm when her birdie putt dropped in. She matched birdies with Nocera on the next hole, then evened the match with a solid shot into 12 feet on the par-3 16th.Callaway x-22 Irons
She bogeyed 18, but it didn’t matter. She had gotten the critical half-point.Callaway x-22 Irons
“It’s great,” Inkster said. “I don’t have anything to hang my head at. I played really well today. She played great today. I think we deserved a half there.”
So did Lang.Callaway x-22 Irons
Laura Davies was up 3 on the rookie through 15 holes, and went to 17 knowing the worst she could do was win a half point. But the four-time major champion, benched for the entire day Saturday, closed with back-to-back bogeys.
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“I was obviously very disappointed because it looked like it was going to be 6-all or 6 1/2 one way or another,” Davies said. “But now, as it turns out, it wasn’t that important.”
That the Europeans even had the Americans scrambling is worth something. It was the Americans who had the roster filled with top players, Europe that had four ranked 125th or lower. The Americans had won the last two Solheim Cups, too, and had never lost on home turf.
Callaway x-22 Irons
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