Team USA Wins PING Junior Solheim Cup
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2017-08-18
(Photo/Ladies European Tour)
The United States team won the PING Junior Solheim Cup, 14.5-9.5, for a fifth consecutive victory in the biennial event’s history.
“This is the future of women’s golf, and I could not be more thrilled,” said American captain Alice Miller during the closing ceremonies, where both captains reflected on the quality of play. “I knew this week would be a blast, no matter what the result.”
Modelled after the Solheim Cup, the PING Junior Solheim Cup features the 12 best female junior golfers (ages 12-18) from the United States against the 12 best junior girls from Europe for the ninth year. The team match play event includes foursomes, four-ball and singles matches played over two days and rotates between U.S. and European host sites coinciding with the Solheim Cup. The biennial PING Junior Solheim Cup was staged for the at Des Moines Golf and Country Club and for the first time domestically at the same host venue.
The United States now leads the all-time series 6-2-1 and has won the previous four contests, including 2015, which was the first time either team won on foreign soil.
The day started with a rain-delayed resumption of play for five foursomes matches, ending in an even 6-6 draw before singles matches began. The United States took a 4-3 lead after Tuesday, but four matches came down to the final hole.
The American triumvirate of Emilia Migliaccio of Cary, North Carolina, Alyaa Abdulghany of Newport Beach, California, and Kaitlyn Papp of Austin, Texas, led the team in their final event of junior golf. Migliaccio (Wake Forest), Abdulghany (USC) and Papp (Texas) begin college in the next week but ended their careers on a high note.
Two-time PING Junior Solheim Cup alum Papp won first during singles, needing 13 holes for a dominating win, 6&5. Migliaccio won all three of her matches during the week, including both Wednesday, 1-up. Abdulghany took her match to 18 and narrowly missed a chip onto the green and was the last match to finish, giving the United States a final half-point on its victory.
Rachel Heck of Memphis, Tennessee, No. 2 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, put an exclamation point on a big summer by going undefeated in her matches. Brooke Seay of Rancho Santa Fe, California, also won all three matches and finished the summer 6-0-1 after PING Junior Solheim Cup and Wyndham Cup play.
For the Europeans, Esther Henseleit of Germany, and two-time PING Junior Solheim Cup player Emma Spitz of Austria, did not lose a match during the event, finishing with records of 2-0-1. In singles, both won their matches 3&1, and partnered up to halve in foursomes.
Henseleit, who finished sixth in the Allianz German Girls’ Open, never lost the lead in her singles match with five birdies. Spitz traded blows early, even down a hole through the front nine but built a lead over the final eight holes.
Since the first PING Junior Solheim Cup in 1992, 19 players have graduated to play in the Solheim Cup and 13 are competing this week. The PING Junior Solheim Cup teams will attend the Opening Ceremonies on August 17.
The 2019 PING Junior Solheim Cup will be hosted at Gleneagles Golf Club in Scotland, September 8-10.
WEDNESDAY SINGLES MATCHES RESULTS
Gina Kim of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, (USA) def. Maja Stark of Sweden, (Europe) 4&3.
Frida Kinhult of Sweden, (Europe) def. Jennifer Chang, of Cary, North Carolina, (USA) 2&1.
Rachel Heck of Memphis, Tennessee, (USA) def. Amanda Linnér of Sweden, (Europe) 4&3.
Rose Zhang of Irvine, California, (USA) def. Beatrice Wallin of Sweden, (Europe) 3&1.
Emilia Migliaccio of Cary, North Carolina, (USA) def. Julia Engström of Sweden, (Europe) 1-up.
Esther Henseleit of Germany, (Europe) def. Youngin Chun of Gainesville, Florida, (USA) 3&1.
Yealimi Noh of Concord, California, (USA) def. Letizia Bagnoli of Italy, (Europe) 4&3.
Emma Spitz of Austria, (Europe) def. Lucy Li of Redwood Shores, California, (USA) 3&1.
Alyaa Abdulghany of Newport Beach, California, (USA) vs. Alessandra Fanali of Italy, (Europe) halved
Brooke Seay of Rancho Santa Fe, California, (USA) def. Linn Grant of Sweden, (Europe) 1-up.
Kaitlyn Papp of Austin, Texas, (USA) def. Mathilde Claisse, of France, (Europe) 6&5.
Erica Shepherd of Greenwood, Indiana, (USA) def. Alessia Nobilio of Italy, (Europe) 2&1.
TUESDAY / WEDNESDAY FOURSOMES MATCHES RESULTS
Yealimi Noh of Concord, California, and Gina Kim of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, (USA) vs. Beatrice Wallin of Sweden, and Frida Kinhult of Sweden (Europe) halved.
Rachel Heck of Memphis, Tennessee, and Brooke Seay of Rancho Santa Fe, California, (USA) def. Maja Stark of Sweden, and Letizia Bagnoli of Italy, (Europe) 4&3.
Emilia Migliaccio of Cary, North Carolina, and Lucy Li of Redwood Shores, California, (USA) def. Alessia Nobilio of Italy, and Alessandra Fanali of Italy, (Europe) 1-up.
Rose Zhang of Irvine, California, and Youngin Chun, of Gainesville, Florida, vs. Emma Spitz of Austria, and Esther Henseleit of Germany (Europe), halved.
Mathilde Claisse of France, and Julia Engström, of Sweden, (Europe) def. Jennifer Chang of Cary, North Carolina, and Erica Shepherd of Greenwood, Indiana, 5&3.
Linn Grant of Sweden, and Amanda Linnér of Sweden, (Europe) def. Alyaa Abdulghany of Newport Beach, California, and Kaitlyn Papp of Austin, Texas, 1-up.