ST. LEON-ROT, Germany – After being infuriated by a call they found unsportsmanlike, the Americans staged the biggest comeback in Solheim Cup history Sunday to wrest the trophy back from Europe.
Paula Creamer defeated Germany’s Sandra Gal to complete the turnaround and secure a 14 1/2-13 1/2 victory for the United States, which had trailed by four points going into the singles.
The match turned after American rookie Alison Lee was penalized for picking up the ball when she thought her putt was conceded in the morning fourballs, which had been suspended on Saturday.
“There’s no way they could ever justify that. I don’t care what you say, you just don’t do that to your peers,” US captain Juli Inkster said. “I don’t know if my team needed to be fired up anymore, but they were real fired up.”
And they dominated the singles to claim their first title since 2009, denying the Europeans their first threepeat. The US extended its series lead to 9-5. No team had ever come from more than two down going into the singles.
“I am so proud of our team. We were in there this morning and we were just so fired up and ready to get out there and just play good golf,” said Creamer, who won 4 and 3. “And this was so awesome. I played great. Seeing the girls and seeing the red on the board, I’m so proud of them.”