CROMVOIRT, Netherlands — The United States seized control of the 14th PING Junior Solheim Cup on Monday, sweeping five of six morning foursomes matches and building a 6½-2½ lead over Europe with the afternoon fourball session still on the course at Bernardus Golf.
Morgan Pressel's team needs 12 points from the 24 available to retain the trophy it won so convincingly in 2024. Europe, captained by Anne van Dam, needs 12½ to take it back. Twelve singles matches on Tuesday will settle it.
The margin was established before lunch. Asterisk Talley and Amelie Zalsman set the tone in the opening match, winning six of the first 14 holes against Alice Kong and Axelle Guillemard for a 6-and-4 victory that was the most lopsided result of the session. Behind them, the Americans converted three of the four matches that reached the closing stretch.
Monday foursomes: United States 5, Europe 1
| Match | United States | Europe | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Asterisk Talley / Amelie Zalsman | Alice Kong / Axelle Guillemard | USA, 6 & 4 |
| 2 | Eliana Saga / Kelly Zhang | Lauren Crump / Annabel Peaford | USA, 1 up |
| 3 | Grace Carter / Iris Lee | Adriana Garcia Terol / Carolina Pérez-Tasso | USA, 2 up |
| 4 | Madeleine Conser / Aubrey Hilgers | Carlota López Minguela / Marta Muñoz | USA, 4 & 3 |
| 5 | Anna Fang / Lily Peng | Anna Ludvová / Lana Guyot | Europe, 2 & 1 |
| 6 | Honorine Ferry / Amber Lee | Sofia Maier-Borst / Lena Geier | USA, 1 up |
Two of the American points came the hard way. Saga and Zhang lost their lead at the 16th, halved the 17th and won the last to edge Crump and Peaford, while Ferry and Amber Lee were square standing on the 18th tee before closing out Maier-Borst and Geier. Europe's lone point came from Anna Ludvová and Lana Guyot, who took Fang and Peng down 2 and 1.
Monday fourballs: three matches in, honors even
Europe steadied itself after lunch. Through the first three completed matches the session was level at 1½-1½, with Carolina Pérez-Tasso and Adriana Garcia Terol handing Lily Peng and Amelie Zalsman a 4-and-3 defeat and Lauren Crump and Annabel Peaford halving a tight match with Anna Fang and Talley that went the distance.
Iris Lee and Kelly Zhang provided the American answer, going 3 up through 14 and closing out Kong and Guillemard 3 and 2.
| Match | United States | Europe | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anna Fang / Asterisk Talley | Lauren Crump / Annabel Peaford | Halved |
| 2 | Iris Lee / Kelly Zhang | Alice Kong / Axelle Guillemard | USA, 3 & 2 |
| 3 | Eliana Saga / Grace Carter | Carlota López Minguela / Marta Muñoz | USA 2 up thru 16 |
| 4 | Lily Peng / Amelie Zalsman | Carolina Pérez-Tasso / Adriana Garcia Terol | Europe, 4 & 3 |
| 5 | Honorine Ferry / Amber Lee | Anna Ludvová / Lana Guyot | USA 1 up thru 15 |
| 6 | Aubrey Hilgers / Madeleine Conser | Sofia Maier-Borst / Lena Geier | USA 4 up thru 14 |
The United States held the advantage in all three matches still out, meaning Europe's task on Tuesday morning looked likely to get steeper before the singles even began.
A first for the two Cups
This is the first time the PING Junior Solheim Cup and the Solheim Cup have been contested on the same golf course in the same week. The juniors are playing Monday and Tuesday; the professionals take over the Kyle Phillips design from Friday through Sunday, September 11-13, with Anna Nordqvist captaining Europe and Angela Stanford leading the United States.
There is a second first attached to the week. Van Dam is serving as a PING Junior Solheim Cup captain while also working as one of Nordqvist's Solheim Cup vice-captains — no one had held both roles concurrently before. Bronte Law, a former Junior Solheim Cup teammate of Van Dam's, is her assistant with the juniors.
Bernardus Golf opened in 2018 and hosted the Dutch Open on the European tour from 2021 through 2023. It had never staged a match of this scale before this week.
The teams
United States (captain: Morgan Pressel)
- Grace Carter
- Madeleine Conser
- Anna Fang
- Honorine Ferry
- Aubrey Hilgers
- Amber Lee
- Iris Lee
- Lily Peng
- Eliana Saga
- Asterisk Talley
- Amelie Zalsman
- Kelly Zhang
Europe (captain: Anne van Dam)
- Lauren Crump
- Lena Geier
- Adriana Garcia Terol
- Axelle Guillemard
- Lana Guyot
- Alice Kong
- Carlota López Minguela
- Anna Ludvová
- Sofia Maier-Borst
- Marta Muñoz
- Annabel Peaford
- Carolina Pérez-Tasso
Format and history
The PING Junior Solheim Cup is contested by 12 girls per side, ages 12 to 18, over six foursomes, six fourballs and 12 singles matches. Twenty-four points are available. College golfers are ineligible regardless of age.
John Solheim established the match in 2002, and its alumni list has become an argument for the event's value on its own: Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson, Charley Hull and Carlota Ciganda all played here before graduating to the senior competition. The United States entered this week leading the all-time series 8-4-1 after an 18½-5½ win at Army Navy Country Club in 2024.
The 12 singles matches begin Tuesday.
