It is hard to imagine the pressure a professional golfer must be feeling when faced with the putt which will decide the fate of the Ryder Cup or the Solheim Cup.
There are 28 points to be played for over five sessions at the start of the week. And yet, there have still been a couple of occasions when the fate of either the Ryder Cup or Solheim Cup has come down to the very last putt out on the course.
Few will forget how Bernhard Langer’s putt to win the 1991 Ryder Cup slid by to hand USA victory at Kiawah Island.
But it was better news for Europe nearly three decades later, when Gleneagles hosted the Solheim Cup in 2019.
How Europe won the 2019 Solheim Cup with the very last putt
Europe had the edge over the first day in Scotland, taking a 4.5-3.5 lead. Despite that, it was the visitors who enjoyed the two most emphatic victories of the day, with the Korda sisters winning 6&4 in the morning and Ally McDonald and Angel Yin thrashing the Swedish pair Anna Nordqvist and Caroline Hedwall 7&5 in the afternoon.
Nelly and Jessica Korda won 6&5 on Saturday as the spoils were shared in the morning session. But Europe’s slender lead disappeared after the US won two and only lost one of the final four ball matches of the week.
What it did mean was that the event was perfectly poised at 8-8 with only the singles to come.
It appeared that USA were on the cusp of retaining their trophy when they found themselves 13.5-11.5 ahead with just three matches out on the course. Crucially, Europe were only ahead in one of those games still going on.
Nordqvist – who will captain Europe in 2026 – did close out her match against Morgan Pressel. But Catriona Matthew’s side still required Bronte Law and Suzann Pettersen to both win.
Law did go ahead on the 16th hole, but it did appear that Pettersen’s match with Marina Alex was destined to finish all square, with Alex not doing a great deal wrong down the long par five 18th.
Alex put her third shot to 12 feet after Pettersen had spun hers to about half the distance. The American was unable to make the putt which would have secured her side the trophy.
Incredibly, back on 17, Law ended up wrapping her game with McDonald while Pettersen was gearing up to hit her putt.
With that, it was confirmed that the fate of the Solheim Cup simply rested on whether the Norwegian’s putt dropped in or not.
The ‘perfect’ way for Suzann Pettersen to end her playing career
It was something of a chance at redemption for Pettersen. She had barely played over the previous two years and had been a controversial captain’s pick from Matthew. She had also been at the centre of a controversial incident in Germany in 2015’s event which seemed to inspire the US to a comeback every bit as good as Medinah three years earlier.
It was impossible not to draw parallels with Langer, a fellow two-time major champion.
However, Pettersen managed to roll the putt in, sparking wild scenes amongst anyone around the 18th green wearing blue and gold.
It turned out to be Pettersen’s final putt as a professional. At the press conference afterwards, she confirmed that she would be retiring from playing.
“Yeah, I think this is a perfect closure — the end for my at least Solheim career, and also a nice ‘the end’ for professional career. It doesn’t get any better,” she said.
“And to do it with these girls, I never thought I was going to be here four months ago until I met Beany this summer. And to have the confidence from Beany [Matthew] to give me the go, yeah, this is it. I’m completely done.”
It is difficult to think of a better way for one of Europe’s greatest ever players to call time on their illustrious career.