Europe leave it late to win Solheim Cup in Killeen Castle thriller!

Europe, led by Alison Nicholas, performed a late smash-and-grab in the singles matches to wrestle the Solheim Cup back from the United States team at Killeen Castle, Ireland and claim their first win in the competition since 2003.

With the match delicately poised at 8 points apiece, a day of drama lay ahead for both teams and so it turned out during a rain-lashed final day which forced three suspensions of play.

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Top 10 Golf Courses – Jack Nicklaus

Many touring professionals whose playing days are numbered or indeed a thing of the past have taken to golf course design with great enthusiasm and, as you would expect, a great deal of proficiency. Jack Nicklaus, the greatest player of them all, is one of the leading lights in golf courses design and his firm have now completed stunning golf courses all over the world. Here are ten of the best from his collection that are all fantastic options for your next golf break. Read more

Hedwall celebrates Solheim Cup place with Austria win

Swede Caroline Hedwall celebrated her call-up to Alison Nicholas’ European Solheim Cup team to face the United States at Killeen Castle, Ireland by overhauling a seven-shot deficit to capture the UNIQA Ladies Open at Golfclub Fohrenwald, near Vienna, Austria.

It was Ladies’ European Tour rookie Hedwall’s third win of the season, following earlier triumphs in Slovakia and Finland, making her the first player to win three LET tournaments as a rookie since Trish Johnson in 1987.

Overnight leader Kaisa Ruuttila of Finland began the day one shot ahead of France’s Caroline Alfonso, and the Finn soon built up a commanding four shot advantage after just six holes. However, jitters set in when Ruuttila bogeyed the 7^th hole, and added a double-bogey at the 9^th to give the chasing pack some encouragement.

And it was Hedwall who took best advantage of the faltering Finn, carding birdies on the 2^nd, 4^th and 8^th holes before a further gain at the 11^th. After driving the green at the par-4 12^th hole, the Swede rolled in a 15-footer for eagle to tie the lead with Alfonso and Italy’s Giulia Sergas, and moved ahead with a tap-in birdie at the 15^th – a lead she never relinquished as she came home a comfortable four shots clear as her nearest rivals fell apart, signing off on her win with a round of 64.

A look at Europe’s Solheim Cup team

Last week, European captain Alison Nicholas announced the team that will attempt to wrest the Solheim Cup back from the United States later in the month at Killeen Castle, Ireland.

Where Nicolas’ opposite number Rosie Jones has named a strong side to defend the trophy, Nicholas’ team contains a few more unknown quantities but nonetheless, the European Team is a strong one with no less than four of the team being captain’s wild-card selections.

So who will represent Europe at Kileen Castle?

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Pettersen overhauls huge deficit to win Safeway Classic

Suzann Pettersen overhauled a monster 9-shot deficit in the final round of the LPGA Tour’s Safeway Classic to beat Na Yeon Choi in a sudden-death playoff and claim her second Tour event of the year, following earlier success in the Sybase Match Play Championship in May as well as the Ladies Irish Open two weeks ago.

Pettersen dedicated the win to her close friend Anna Henneie, who died in a sky-diving accident last week; the tragedy coming hard on the heels of the bombing and mass shootings that killed 77 people in her hometown of Oslo.

Pettersen had believed herself to be too far back to win after shooting 74 on Saturday, and instead looked to close up on world number one Yani Tseng with a good round of golf that would take her into second place in the women’s rankings.

However, she proceeded to shot a stunning 64 to post a 6-under par 207 total, and enter a playoff with Choi, who failed to hold onto a three-shot overnight lead from reigning Kraft Nabisco champion Stacy Lewis. Choi stumbled to a 3-over par 39 on the front nine of the Ghost Creek course at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, but still held a one-shot lead playing the final hole.

But Choi missed a par putt that would have sealed the win, and instead she would face off with Pettersen in a play-off. When Choi dumped her approach to the same hole into the water it was the end of her challenge and Pettersen’s victory was assured.

“I definitely didn’t think I was going to sit here when I started the day warming up,” Pettersen said afterwards.  “I did not anticipate this, but I’ll take it.”

The win also helped cement her place in the European Solheim Cup team that will face the United States team at Killeen Castle, Ireland next month.

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