Lilia Vu was 2 down with two holes to play. The Europeans were making a push. The World No. 2 slammed the door shut.
The American ended their drought in the Solheim Cup thanks to Vu’s late heroics. She birdied the par-4 17th hole to extend her match against Albane Valenzuela, and then she hit a dart on 18 to a couple feet to win both holes, tie the match and earn a half point to give the United States its first win in the Solheim Cup in seven years, coming out on top at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
“I can’t even put it into words,” Vu said. “I felt like I didn’t do my part this week and I wanted to get something done. I said to my caddie on 16, I felt like I haven’t done anything for this team, and then 16 comes, and I’m in the back bunker.
“I feel like, ‘oh, no, I have to make up-and-down,’ and she’s been making one-putts on almost every single green so I thought she was going to birdie that hole too. She didn’t, and the then I ended up making up-and-down from the bunker and somehow birdied 17 and got it done on 18 to get the half point.”
Solheim Cup: Sunday singles scores, results for U.S. vs. Europe
Andrea Lee and native Virginian Lauren Coughlin also earn important half points Sunday afternoon, while Megan Khang, Rose Zhang and Allisen Corpuz won their matches for the U.S. to bounce back.
“I fight, that’s kind of what I do. I don’t give up on a round ever,” Coughlin said. “As long as I’m still in it, I’m going to keep playing.
“So I kind of just kept pushing and eventually started hitting shots how I normally do and finally started making some putts at the end.”
For Khang, it’s her second straight Solheim Cup going undefeated.
“The atmosphere is just electric,” she said of the week at Robert Trent Jones Golf club. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting the crowd very much involved. My voice can clearly be the victim of that. But I’d do it a million times over.”
The U.S. now leads the all-time series 11-7-1. The next Solheim Cup is scheduled for Sept. 7-13, 2026, at Bernardus in Netherlands.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: United States captures 2024 Solheim Cup for first win in 7 years
