PORTLAND, Ore. – Stacy Lewis took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Cambia Portland Classic in her bid make a big donation to hurricane relief in her hometown and end a long winless streak.

From The Woodlands in the Houston area, Lewis has pledged to give her earnings – first place is worth $195,000 – to the relief efforts. The 11-time LPGA Tour champion also is trying to win for the first time since June 2014.

“You try not to think about the finish line and what could happen tomorrow, but it would definitely be up there with a major,” said Lewis, a two-time major champion. “It would be probably one of my most special wins, just to be able to do this for the people in Texas and do it, too, when everybody is watching. I kind of put all the eyeballs on me and put some pressure on myself, so it’s nice to kind of see myself performing, too.”

Her husband, Gerrod Chadwell, is the University of Houston women’s golf coach.

Tied for the second-round lead with two-time defending champion Brooke Henderson and In Gee Chun, Lewis had eight birdies – five on the front nine – in a 7-under 65 at tree-lined Columbia Edgewater. She had a 17-under 199 total after opening with rounds of 70 and 64.

Moriya Jutanugarn was second after a 66. Chun was another stroke back after a 69.

Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., had a 74 to drop into a tie for 13th at 8 under. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp fired a 69 and is 7 under while Maude-Aimee Leblanc (75) of Sherbrooke, Que., is 2 over.

Ai Miyazato also was 8 under after a 72 in her final start in the United States. The Japanese star plans to retire after The Evian Championship in two weeks in France.

Lewis is trying to break through in Portland after finishing second twice – two strokes behind Suzann Pettersen in 2013 and four shots behind Henderson last year.

“I know it’s been a while since I won. Everybody talks about it. I really feel like the last few months I’ve been playing some good golf. I’ve just needed a couple good breaks here and there,” Lewis said.

Lewis calls Columbia-Edgewater “one of my favourite courses we actually play all year,” and her recent results back it up.

“You have to hit shots. You have to hit a little fade or a little draw. You can’t just get up there and bomb it,” Lewis said. “My caddie (Travis Wilson) has been here way more times than anybody probably in this field, and so I think we have an advantage as far as knowing the golf course.”

Jutanugarn briefly flirted with the lead after making six birdies on the first 10 holes. She’s trying to win her first LPGA Tour title after watching younger sister Ariya win six times in the last two years.

“I have been hitting solid and put myself in a lot of really good chances for birdie. Make some, miss some, but it’s still pretty solid round,” Jutanugarn said. “Back nine just a little rush, a little rough sometimes. Still, I think it hit it pretty good.”

Henderson, playing alongside Lewis, failed to break par for the first time in 11 career competitive rounds at Columbia-Edgewater, dashing the 19-year-old Canadian’s bid to become the youngest three-time winner of a tournament in LPGA Tour history.

Lewis rebounded from a bogey at the par-3 16th with a 5-foot birdie putt at the difficult par-4 17th. She’s within reach of the tournament 72-hole record of 21-under 267, set by Henderson in 2015.

Chun is playing the event for the first time. The South Korean player tied for third last week in the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open and has four runner-up finishes this season. Both of her LPGA Tour victories have come in majors – the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2016 Evian Championship.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Two-time defending champion Brooke Henderson of Canada shot a 5-under 67 on Friday for a share of first place after two rounds at the Cambia Portland Classic.

The 19-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., fired six birdies and an eagle to jump up the leaderboard from second to first place, where she was tied with first-round leader In Gee Chun of South Korea and American Stacy Lewis at 10 under.

Chun shot a 68 while Lewis had a 64. The trio have a two-shot lead over Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Moriya Jutanugarn and Ai Miyazato heading into the weekend.

Brooke Henderson’s 2nd consecutive 67 puts her at 10-under and tied for the lead going into the weekend @PortlandClassic.

Highlights>> pic.twitter.com/62e4ise88F

— LPGA (@LPGA) September 2, 2017

“It was a little bit up and down today,” said Henderson. “I made a lot of birdies and an eagle, which was awesome, although I made a couple bogeys that I’d like to take off the card for the next two days.

“But overall I feel like I have a solid game plan and any time I’m double digits over two days I’m really happy. So I hope I can continue that trend over the next two days.”

Henderson won the tournament in 2015 and 2016 and is trying to become the first golfer to win at Portland in three straight years.

Alena Sharp of Hamilton was 4 under after a 71 and Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., had a 73 to sit at 1 under after two rounds.

Henderson eagled on the par-4 11th hole. She also had three bogeys.

“It was pretty cool,” Henderson said of her shot on the 11th. “It was a really tough shot and to see it go in just made me really happy and it changed my day. I was able to go 4 under par after that point which was really important and help me get to 10 under.”

In Gee Chun shot a 6-under 66 on Thursday in the Cambia Portland Classic to take a one-stroke lead over two-time defending champion Brooke Henderson and five others.

Playing the event for the first time, the sixth-ranked Chun had seven birdies and a bogey at tree-lined Columbia Edgewater.

“Before coming here everyone said the course is really good,” Chun said. “I agreed. I like big trees. It’s amazing. And the greens are very consistent and really good condition.”

The South Korean player tied for third last week in the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open and has four runner-up finishes this season. Both of her LPGA Tour victories have come in majors _ the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2016 Evian Championship.

“I have not been able to win, but I think it was a strong finish,” Chun said. “Sometimes I had small stress from that part. … Just keep going, enjoying the process.”

Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., had six birdies and a bogey to match Cheyenne Woods, Cindy LaCrosse, Moriya Jutanugarn, Nicole Broch Larsen and Nasa Hataoka at 67.

“I think it just suits my eye,” Henderson said. “I love tree-lined courses and I love when it’s so green everywhere you look. The grass is very lush, and I love that. Just playing here I have so many incredible memories from two years ago, last year, and I just try to feed of the energy and adrenaline that I felt over the past couple years.”

After bogeying the par-4 eighth, the 19-year-old Canadian got up-and-down from a fairway bunker on the par-4 ninth, hitting a 7-iron from 157 yards to inches for a closing birdie.

“That bunker shot in the fairway on No. 9 really saved my whole round,” Henderson said. “I would’ve liked to finish a little bit lower today. I was 4 under through the front nine and things were going really well. I tried to make a few more birdies on the back but they just didn’t fall.”

Henderson set the tournament 72-hole record of 21-under 267 in 2015. She had a hole-in-one Wednesday in the pro-am playing alongside Nancy Lopez, the only three-time winner in event history. Henderson has four LPGA Tour victories, also winning the major KPMG Women’s PGA last year and the Meijer LPGA Classic in June.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp is 3 under after a 69 while Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., fired a 70. Calgary’s Jennifer Ha is 3 over and Augusta James of Bath, Ont., is 7 over.

Lexi Thompson had an eagle and a double bogey in a 68. Also making her first start in the event, the second-ranked Thompson eagled the par-5 fifth to reach 4 under and was 5 under after a birdie on the par-4 11th, but dropped back with the double bogey after driving to right on the par-4 17th. She rebounded with a long birdie putt from the fringe on the par-4 18th.

“Definitely a ball-striker’s golf course,” Thompson said. “I have a good amount of wedges out there, but the greens get so firm. It’s important to get the landing yardage right so it stays pin-high and not bounce over the green.”

Ai Miyazato had a 69. Making her final start in the U.S., the Japanese star plans to retire after The Evian Championship in two weeks in France.

Stacy Lewis shot 70. The Houston-area player is donating her earnings to hurricane relief.

“A lot of messages and texts and people wanting to know how they can help,” Lewis said. “That’s kind of the point behind it, to get more people involved and create some awareness.”

Juli Inkster, the oldest player in the field at 57, had a 72 in the group with Chun.

Top-ranked So Yeon Ryu, playing alongside Thompson, opened with a 74.

Click here to view the full leaderboard.

The key to Maude-Aimée LeBlanc’s improved play of late has been lightening up on herself, in more ways than one.

The challenge for Maude-Aimée LeBlanc has never been talent.

The 6-1 native of Sherbrooke, Que., uses her long levers to power a swing that has her ranked eighth on the LPGA Tour in average driving distance at close to 270 yards, just three behind leader Lexi Thompson.

The 28-year-old has shown such abilities throughout her career, winning the 2006 Canadian Junior Girls championship, the 2006 Junior Orange Bowl International and the 2010 NCAA Division I Team Championship for Purdue University.

The challenge for LeBlanc hasn’t been work ethic either.

At the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, she took up a spot on the far left side of the range at Sahalee Country Club. A crowd formed to watch the tall woman with the athletic swing knock out long shot after long shot.

People wandered off to watch other players tee off, followed them for nine holes and when they made the turn, walked by the range to see LeBlanc still in the same place, still knocking out long shot after long shot.

No, LeBlanc has always had an extreme talent for the game since she took it up at five, accompanying her dad, Gaston, to the course. She’s always had the drive and motivation too.

LeBlanc’s challenge, almost since the day she picked up a club, is controlling herself and the fire that she admits is sometimes all consuming, a greater obstacle than the course, the distance between her and the cup or even one of her opponents.

You might call her The Towering Inferno.

At the 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur, Leblanc told Golfweek: “I think I have the worst temper here.”

Later that summer she stormed off the course at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open when, still an amateur, she hit a shot into the water on her 36th hole, made a double-bogey and missed the cut by a stroke. She said she brooded for weeks and didn’t sleep because of that chunked shot into the drink at Priddis Greens near Calgary.

A year later, when she was at Purdue, her self-loathing on the golf course was judged to be unacceptable. She was the sixth-ranked player in the nation when her coach, Devon Brouse, sent her to the clubhouse after 11 holes of the second round of the Tiger/Wave Classic in New Orleans for unsportsmanlike conduct. She was 11 over par at the time. Brouse repeatedly used the word “disrespect” in explaining his decision.

Two months later, LeBlanc led the Boilermakers to that national championship.

She knows it. She knows she can’t conquer this game until she learns to find a way to regulate the pressures that threaten to suppress her talent and work ethic.

Pressure. It’s a word in a couple different definitions that defines what is happening in LeBlanc’s game and life right now.

“I always set really high standards for myself and I’m very hard on myself and I’m still working on that,” she said.

When she doesn’t meet those standards, LeBlanc admits she feels pressured to abandon whatever game plan she’s following at the time.

“Whenever I have a bad week or if I didn’t play the way I wanted that week, I have a lot of doubts in my head about what I’m doing,” she said. “That’s what is affecting me the most — when I start doubting what I’m doing. I’ll start making changes I shouldn’t be making.”

She’s working with her current coach, Diane Lavigne, on all aspects of her game, but mostly on managing pressure in all its forms.

The numbers say LeBlanc is making progress. A graduate of Golf Canada’s national team program, she turned pro in 2011 and earned her LPGA card at Q-School on her first try. Following a severe back injury that stunted her career for a couple of seasons, LeBlanc was demoted to the developmental Symetra Tour in 2015 but with five top-five finishes in 22 starts she earned her way back to the LPGA last year.

After being bothered by a right shoulder injury for the first half of the 2016 season, LeBlanc finished the year making 13 straight cuts (including her best career finish, a T11 at the Marathon Classic) to earn her card for 2017. She enjoyed a fine showing in last year’s CP Women’s Open with a wonderfully consistent run of 69-69-70-69 and a tie for 14th, coincidentally at Priddis Greens.

Of her nearly $300,000 in career earnings, she netted well over half of that last year with $173,443 to finish 81st on the money list.

Then there’s this stat: On March 28, 2016, she was ranked 415th in the world. One day short of a year later, she was 182nd, a climb of 233 spots.

The key, as it turns out, has not only been managing that aforementioned pressure she heaps on her shoulders, but her grip pressure as well. Her climb up performance pecking orders has been in lockstep with a major improvement in her putting.

“The thing that has helped the most for my putting was the simplest thing ever, just grip pressure,” she said. “The one thing I changed in my grip was the pressure I apply on the grip with certain fingers. That made all the difference in the world and it makes my stroke so much more consistent every week.”

Specifically, she’s been focused on loosening the last three fingers of her right hand. “It takes the fingers out of the stroke and makes the face much more square,” she explained.

In 2013, LeBlanc ranked 109th on the LPGA Tour with an average of 30.56 putts per round. She improved to 75th last year (29.97) and is up to 59th at press time this year, having shaved another third of a putt off her average to 29.60.

“A light bulb came on and since then it’s been really good,” she said of her improved stroke.

It’s been such a revelation that LeBlanc has expanded the grip pressure change to her full swing too.

“Keeping a light grip, very light grip pressure and trying to relax my arms through the swing, take any tension out of the swing. That’s what I’ve been trying to work on the most. It’s really harder than it sounds on the full swing, for me, anyway,” she explained.

“I feel like things are coming together if I can trust things on the course and just get out of my own way, pretty much.

“All these little things and trying to keep it simple on the course and trying not to put too much pressure on myself which is probably the hardest thing to do.”

As it turns out, a lighter touch is what LeBlanc has always needed, in more ways than one.

This article was originally published in the Summer Issue edition of Golf Canada Magazine. Click here to view the full magazine

Saskatoon’s Anna Young fired an even par 72 in the final round of Stage I of LPGA Tour Qualifying School to finish tied for 70th at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and advance to Stage II.

Young finished the four day qualifying tournament at 2 over par (70-73-75-72). She is lone Canadian of the ten who started the week vying for their LPGA Tour card to advance to Stage II of Qualifying school.

This season on the Symetra Tour Young has made three starts. Her best result was a T41 finish at the Fucillo Classic of NY.

The second stage of LPGA Qualifying School will take place at Plantation Golf & Country Club in Venice, Fla., from Oct. 16-22.

The Final Stage of LPGA Qualifying School is Nov. 27 – Dec. 3 at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla. The top 20 finishers at Final Stage of LPGA Qualifying School earn LPGA Tour membership.

Click here to view the full leaderboard.

Ten Canadians will be among the record 362 participants vying for their LPGA Tour card when the first stage of LPGA Tour Qualifying School takes place at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., from Aug. 24-27.

The format is 72-holes of stroke play with a cut after 54 holes. The Top-90 and ties from the week will advancing to the second stage of LPGA Qualifying at Plantation Golf & Country Club in Venice, Fla., from Oct. 16-22.

Canadians in the field

• Caroline Ciot, Brossard, Que.
• Selena Costabile, Thornhill, Ont.
• Josee Doyon, St-Georges, Que.
• Krista Fenniak, Fort McMurray, Alta.
• Karyn Lee Ping (a), Brampton, Ont.
• Muriel Mcintyre, Penticton, B.C.
• Jamie Oleksiew, Surrey, B.C.
• Sabrina Sapone, Montreal, Que.
• Vivian Tsui, Markham, Ont.
• Anna Young, Saskatoon, Sask.

The Final Stage of LPGA Qualifying School is Nov. 27 – Dec. 3 at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla. The top 20 finishers at Final Stage of LPGA Qualifying School earn LPGA Tour membership.

Click here to view the full field.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – Lexi Thompson set the tone by rallying from four holes down. The rest of the Americans took it from there and restored their dominance in the Solheim Cup

“I was just, like, ‘I just have to go all in and go for it all,”’ Thompson said.

Her U.S. teammates followed her lead and the Americans finished off their most-decisive Solheim Cup victory in over 20 years, beating Europe 16 1/2-11 1/2 on Sunday at Des Moines Golf and Country Club.

Cristie Kerr and Paula Creamer won key matches, and Gerina Piller sealed it with a birdie putt that put her 3 up over Florentyna Parker with three to play in a 4-and-2 victory.

“They just bonded. They believed in each other. They played for the person behind them and in front of them. And they played some amazing golf,” said Juli Inkster, who joined Judy Rankin as the only U.S. captains to win the Solheim Cup twice.

The Americans are 10-5 in the biennial tournament after their biggest win since a 17-11 triumph in 1996 in Wales. They rallied to win in Germany in 2015, and have taken five of the last seven matches.

Kerr beat Mel Reid 2 and 1 for her record-extending 21st point in the competition, and Creamer edged Georgia Hall 1 up to raise her total to 19 1/2 – second on the U.S. career list.

Thompson ended up halving with Anna Nordqvist, and Angel Yin halved with Karine Icher as the teams split the 12 singles matches. Lizette Salas and Danielle Kang also won for the U.S. Salas edged Jodi Ewart Shadoff 1 up, and Kang beat Emily Pedersen 3 and 1.

For Europe, Catriona Matthew beat Stacy Lewis 1 up, Caroline Masson topped Michelle Wie 4 and 2, Charley Hull edged Brittany Lang 1 up, Carlota Ciganda beat Brittany Lincicome 4 and 3, and Madelene Sagstrom defeated Austin Ernst 3 and 2.

“We just got outplayed, no doubt about it,” European captain Annika Sorenstam said. “I’m just so proud of how hard they fought. What can I say? Just congratulate the USA because they played some awesome golf.”

Her team five points down entering the day, Sorenstam tried to keep the mood light by dressing up in a blue and yellow Viking hat and wig and dancing for the cameras before play began.

Nordqvist did her best to set the tone for the Europeans in the opening match, winning the first four holes.

But after a birdie on No. 10, Thompson holed out from 112 yards for eagle on the 11th hole – a shot so impressive that even Nordqvist was compelled to high-five her.

The 22-year-old Thompson followed with an eagle putt on the 15th hole, and a birdie on 16 put her ahead for the first time. Though Nordqvist rallied, earning the half-point by sticking her 154-yard approach on No. 18 within a foot, an American win was inevitable after Thompson’s run.

“To me, that was like six points,” Inkster said. “It’s probably fitting they both got half a point. Both played amazingly. It just shows the heart of her and her determination. You think she’s out of it and then the switch goes off.”

Nordqvist went 3-0-1 during the week to lead the Europeans.

Creamer was 3-1 filling in for the injured Jessica Korda, matching Kang and Salas for the top U.S. records. Creamer kept her celebration muted following Hall’s missed 4-foot par putt on the 18th hole. But this was a huge bounce back event for Creamer after her recent struggles kept her off the U.S. roster until Korda got hurt.

“For Juli to play me four matches, you know – I knew my game was there, but obviously it didn’t look like it was,” Creamer said.

The 47-year-old Matthew was 3-1 after replacing the injured Suzann Pettersen.

Two years ago, the United States staged the biggest singles comeback in Solheim Cup history.

Only the biggest letdown the event has ever seen will keep the Americans from retaining the cup.

The United States took a 10 1/2- 5 1/2 lead over Europe on Saturday, matching its biggest advantage entering the final day.

The Americans took three of the four afternoon fourball matches after splitting the morning foursomes at Des Moines Golf and Country Club. The biennial event concludes Sunday with 12 singles matches.

The U.S. also led 10 1/2-5 1/2 in 1998 and won by four points.

“We’re confident. So we just want to keep it going,” American Austin Ernst said.

Cristie Kerr set a record for career points by an American with 20, teaming with Lexi Thompson to win both of her matches. U.S. captain Juli Inkster held the previous mark with 18 1/2.

Kerr and Thompson beat Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Caroline Masson 5 and 3 in the morning, and topped Georgia Hall and Catriona Matthew 4 and 2 in the afternoon.

In the other U.S. afternoon victories, Brittany Lincicome and Brittany Lang beat Carlota Ciganda and Mel Reid 2 up, and Ernst and Paula Creamer edged Karine Icher and Madalene Sagstrom 2 and 1. Shadoff and Anna Nordqvist beat Lizette Salas and Angel Yin 4 and 2 for Europe’s lone point.

Creamer and Ernst also won in the morning, topping Reid and Emily Pedersen 5 and 3. Europe took the other foursomes, with Nordqvist and Hall beating Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller 2 and 1, and Matthew and Karine Icher defeated Michelle Wie and Danielle Kang 2 and 1.

“I’m ecstatic,” Inkster said. “I think anytime we can split in foursomes that’s a win for us.”

Lincicome started her round with six straight birdies _ and Lang made eagle on No. 7 by holing out from about 100 yards. The Europeans were within a hole of tying the match for much of the back nine, but Lang put her approach on the 18th hole within inches.

“It just seemed like the hole was the size of Texas. It made it easier,” Lincicome said.

Creamer and Ernst never trailed in winning their second matchup of the day.

Kerr holed out from a sand trap on No. 15 for an eagle that essentially sealed the match _ though Matthew missed a long putt that would’ve extended it by less than a foot.

“Lexi had to make some great putts on top of that and I had to make some great putts on top of that,” Kerr said. “We really ham and egged out there. I think that’s why we make such a good team,”

No team has ever rallied from more than four points down to win at either the Solheim Cup or the men’s Ryder Cup.

But Nordqvist, who has yet to lose this week, is hoping to do to the Americans on Sunday what they did to Europe two years ago in Germany.

In those matches at St. Leon-Rot, the U.S. _ infuriated by Suzann Pettersen’s claim that Europe hadn’t conceded a short putt to Alison Lee in the completion of the rain-delayed fourballs _ overcame a 10-6 deficit entering the singles to win 14 1/2-13 1/2.

“We saw what happened in ’15,” Nordqvist said. “If there are matches left, I think there’s still a chance.”

Click here to view the leaderboard.

The favoured Americans found themselves trailing Europe after a sluggish start to the Solheim Cup.

The U.S. settled down on Friday afternoon, pulling away with a record-setting fourball performance.

The United States swept the afternoon fourball matches to take a 5 1/2-2 1/2 lead at Des Moines Golf and Country Club.

Lizette Salas and U.S. newcomer Danielle Kang each won two matches, teaming to beat Carlota Ciganda and Caroline Masson 1 up for the Americans’ lone full point in the morning foursomes, then leading the U.S. to its first ever fourball sweep in the afternoon.

“This is the history we really don’t want. We want the history on Sunday night. We want the Cup,” U.S. captain Juli Inkster said. “We’ve got a lot of work (ahead). I know (European captain) Annika (Sorenstam) is going to get that team fired up.”

"I loved the fans on the 1st tee – they were so happy and having fun and hope they will stay our fans forever" @daniellekang #Solheim2017 pic.twitter.com/xfALfz39yp

— #SolheimCup2017 ???? (@LPGA) August 19, 2017

Salas and rookie Angel Yin routed Ciganda and Emily Pedersen 6 and 5, and Kang and Michelle Wie topped Madelene Sagstrom and Jodi Ewart Shadoff 3 and 1.

In the other fourball matches, Brittany Lincicome and Brittany Lang beat Masson and Florentyna Parker 3 and 2, and Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller edged Charley Hull and Georgia Hall 2 and 1

In the morning foursomes, Americans Cristie Kerr and Lexi Thompson rallied to halve with Hull and Mel Reid. For Europe, Hall and Anna Nordqvist beat Paula Creamer and Austin Ernst 3 and 1, and Karine Icher and Catriona Matthew topped Lewis and Piller 1 up.

The U.S. would find a lot more success in fourball play – dominating so thoroughly that it never trailed in any of the four matches.

Salas and the 18-year-old Yin set the tone for the afternoon. Salas opened with three straight birdies to win those holes, and wins on consecutive par 5s helped the duo end the match in 13 holes.

The 6-and-5 win was the second-largest in Solheim history.

“Everything kind of fell together,” Salas said.

History! For the first time in Solheim Cup history, Team USA sweeps a session!

Going into Day Two:

USA: 5.5
Europe: 2.5#SolheimCup2017 pic.twitter.com/zq8JbrU8U9

— #SolheimCup2017 ???? (@LPGA) August 19, 2017

Kang’s putting was solid throughout the day – and back-to-back birdie putts sealed her and Wie’s win after 17 holes.

Lincicome and Lang improved to 3-0-0 as a four-ball tandem, and Lewis made a short birdie putt on No. 17 to complete the sweep.

“It was beautiful. Never seen anything prettier,” Lang said about seeing the leaderboard lit up in the Americans’ red colour.

Thompson, fueled by a surge of adrenaline provided by the pro-American crowd singing songs and chanting “USA! USA!” drilled her tee shot on the first hole to set up Kerr’s 12-foot eagle putt to open the three-day, biennial event.

USA USA USA!!!@Stacy_Lewis & @Gerinapiller lock in the USA afternoon SWEEP! #SolheimCup2017 pic.twitter.com/zrpJf1P9h0

— #SolheimCup2017 ???? (@LPGA) August 19, 2017

But the Americans stumbled, and they appeared to be finished after Hull’s long birdie chip on No. 16. Thompson birdied the next hole, and Kerr halved the match with another 12-footer on 18 – pumping her fist in the air before the ball even dropped in.

“It was pretty much a you-know-what sandwich out there,” Kerr said. “I’m glad it ended up the way it did.”

Nordqvist dealt with a case of mononucleosis this summer. But she and Hall, playing in her first Solheim Cup, cruised to the only point that came easy for the Europeans.

Europe will likely need Nordqvist and Hall’s teammates to emulate those performances if it hopes to pull closer to the surging Americans.

After more foursomes and fourballs Saturday, the event will closes with 12 singles matches Sunday.

Click here to view the Solheim Cup leaderboard.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – If the last Solheim Cup was any indication, golf fans should be in for a treat this weekend in Iowa.

In 2015 in Germany, the Americans rallied from 8 1/2 points down to beat Europe 14 1/2 to 13 1/2 – the largest rally in the history of the biennial event that began in 1990.

The Americans hold a 9-5 advantage in the series, winning three straight from 1994-98 and from 2005-09. But Europe has had the upper hand of late, winning in 2011 and 2013 before its collapse two years ago.

Here are some of the things to watch as play kicks off Friday at Des Moines Golf and Country Club:

THE COURSE

The par-72, 6,894-yard course, located roughly 10 miles from Iowa’s capital, is the second-longest in Solheim Cup history behind the Colorado Golf Club in 2013. The front nine figures to have its fair share of birdie opportunities, while the back nine could be much stingier. It also rained quite a bit Tuesday and Wednesday, softening the course that suffered through drought-like conditions all summer. “The greens are a lot more receptive than they thought it would be,” European captain Annika Sorenstam said. “Earlier on, the ball was rolling in the fairways, but now they won’t. So it’s going to add some distance to it.”

WIE’S JOURNEY

American Michelle Wie has been a member of every U.S. Solheim Cup team since she was 19. But after a dismal 2016 in which she made just 13 of 25 cuts, Wie needed a strong start to this season to make the team on points. She did just that, finishing in the top five seven times and tying for third at the Women’s British Open two weeks ago. “This year, more so than any other year, it’s more special to me just because of what I had to do to get here,” Wie said. “I clawed my way up here. I made my way on to the team. And for me this year it’s just so much more special because it’s already a victory for me just to be here, just to be part of this experience.”

ALTERNATES

Paula Creamer became the first alternate in Solheim Cup history to earn a spot on a 12-player team after Jessica Korda withdrew because of a forearm injury. But the Europeans were also forced to bring in another player, Catriona Matthew, after Suzann Pettersen withdrew because of a back injury. Pettersen will take Matthew’s spot as a vice captain. “Obviously was disappointed when I didn’t (earn a spot). But I’m very excited to be playing now,” the 47-year-old Matthew said. I’m “upset for Suzann not playing, but excited for myself to be playing now.”

CAREFREE AMERICAN ROOKIES

If U.S. rookies Danielle Kang and Angel Yin are nervous about the prospect of playing in front of packed galleries cheering them on for every shot, they weren’t showing it earlier this week during a relaxed and jovial press conference. Yin, 18, said she was mistaken for a junior player and remarked that “it means a lot, from Junior Solheim to two years later I’m playing the adult Solheim. The big Solheim.” Upon hearing that, Kang, 24, turned to her younger teammate and said, “Adult Solheim? Really?”

ROAD TRIP

The Europeans have traditionally struggled when the U.S. hosts the tournament, winning just once in seven tries in America. But that lone win came during their last trip to America four years ago – and it was a big one. Europe routed the U.S. 18-10 in Colorado.