What made it extra special is that this was the first time in history that the Solheim Cup was played in the Netherlands. Visitors travelled to Brabant from all over the world, from fans from the United States to supporters from countries such as Spain, Sweden and England. The Solheim Cup is also considered the biggest international golf event for women in the world, so the fact that such an event took place on Dutch soil for the first time really felt like a unique occasion.
Thursday: a morning full of precision, an evening full of ceremony
In the morning, the players walked a nine-hole practice round. Chipping, bunker shots and putting clearly got the most attention. The atmosphere was relaxed, there was laughter between shots, and caddies and players calmly discussed the options on every pin. Still, you could see how much precision they placed their balls with.
At the end of the afternoon came the opening ceremony. After the speeches from both captains and the introduction of the teams, the tournament was officially opened with an enormous fireworks display. This unique event could now truly begin.
Friday and Saturday: an evenly matched battle
Friday and Saturday were played in the classic Solheim Cup format, with a morning foursomes session and an afternoon fourballs session on both days. Even without being there myself, there was plenty to enjoy through the broadcasts.
Friday immediately delivered history: for the first time in twenty editions of the Solheim Cup, the score was tied after both the morning and the afternoon session. Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz also started with a unique feat: as a pair they won their match, bringing them to 5 wins, 0 losses and 0 ties in all the Solheim Cup matches they had ever played together, the first American pair with such a perfect record. At the end of Friday afternoon, Carlota Ciganda provided one of the most beautiful moments of the day, with a gorgeous putt on the eighteenth green that earned her and partner Julia Lopez Ramirez a half point at the very last moment.
Saturday, the battle continued unabated. Maja Stark opened the morning session with a dream start: a hole-out from the fairway on the first hole, good for an eagle and an immediate lead for Europe. That same morning also saw the end of Korda and Corpuz's perfect record, when Stark and her partner Linn Grant defeated them.
In the afternoon, Jennifer Kupcho delivered the most improbable moment of the weekend. In the last match of the day, against Carlota Ciganda and Celine Boutier, she and her partner Lindy Duncan were one hole down when she rolled in a putt of around 28 metres on the seventeenth to win the hole after all. On the eighteenth she did it again, with a putt of over 7 metres that decided the match and thus the day. Two enormous putts in a row, exactly when it really mattered, and enough to lift the Americans to an 8-8 tie after all. At the end of the day the score was therefore level at 8-8, exactly the kind of tension the Solheim Cup is known for, with everything still to be decided on Sunday.
Sunday: goosebumps at hole 1
We were already seated early in the enormous stadium around the tee of hole 1, with a perfect view of both the players' tunnel and the spot where the first tee shot would land. It was raining, but nobody really seemed to care. Every player who walked out through the tunnel received an enormous round of applause, and even the caddies and players encouraged the crowd to make plenty of noise. In the stands were people dressed as bananas or dressed in beautiful yellow and blue outfits, the home advantage was clearly palpable. Where the players still walked among each other relaxedly on Thursday, there was now a tension you only encounter at a Solheim Cup or Ryder Cup. The crowd sang together "Let's go Europe, let's go" to cheer on the players, over and over again, and that repetition alone gave goosebumps even before a single ball had been struck.
Charley Hull opened the day for Europe with a convincing win, and from there it slowly began to tilt towards the European team. Later in the day, Lottie Woad scored the point that brought Europe to the required 14.5 points, the point that effectively decided the Cup. For us, that wasn't immediately clear at the time: there was already a crowd at her hole, but we thought we needed to hurry to Carlota Ciganda's hole to witness the decisive moment there. Only a little later did it sink in that the decision had actually already fallen at Woad's hole. Ciganda soon made it official anyway by winning her own match and adding the crowning point to her name.
In the end it finished 15-13 for Europe. A deserved victory on home soil, with a final day that offered exactly the drama and tension this tournament has been known for since 1990.
Looking back
What has stuck with me the most is how impressively the Netherlands pulled this off. Organising an event of this scale, followed worldwide on television and online, is no small feat for a country where golf is anything but the biggest sport. The stadium at the first tee was truly impressive, one of the largest I've ever seen at a golf course. Along the rest of the course and on the big screens, too, you could follow the match perfectly at any moment, which only made the whole day more captivating.
What also made that atmosphere so special was the sense of us, Europe, versus the US that hung everywhere, without it ever turning unpleasant towards the other side. Fans of both teams stood cheerfully side by side, sang, cheered each other on, and in the end still gave the opponent a round of applause for a good shot. Exactly the sporting rivalry this tournament is known for.
What I also loved seeing were the rookies on both sides. Players who stood on this stage for the first time, visibly enjoying every moment, while still simply bringing home their points when it mattered. That combination of relaxation and sharpness on such a big stage is exactly what makes this sport so beautiful to watch. I'm glad I got to be there this year, on home soil.
