Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz made Solheim Cup history on Friday morning, becoming the first partnership to win five straight matches in the event's 35-year history with a 4 and 3 victory over Europe's Charley Hull and Lottie Woad in the opening foursomes at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands.
The American duo's perfect 5-0 record as a pairing spans three Solheim Cups, with their dominance highlighting the opening session that ended in a rare 2-2 split between the teams. It marks just the third time in Solheim Cup history that the competition has been tied after the first session.
"I would be worried if it weren't these two players," said U.S. captain Angela Stanford, who sent Korda and Corpuz out first in her debut as captain. "Look, we can talk about Nelly, and we can talk about her being the No. 1 player in the world, but don't sleep on Allisen. Allisen, I've called her the backbone of our team. She's pretty tough. So that dynamic, there's a lot of good things going on in that pairing that they just complement each other really well."
Europe struck first when Woad made a 15-foot birdie putt on the opening hole to put her team 1 up. But Hull and Woad won only one more hole after that early advantage. The Americans took control on the par-4 seventh hole when Corpuz sank a 10-foot birdie putt to put the U.S. 2 up, and they closed out the match on the 15th green.
The Americans doubled their lead in the second match as Alison Lee and Lauren Coughlin defeated Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Céline Boutier 3 and 2. The momentum shifted to Europe in the final two matches, however, with Esther Henseleit and Leona Maguire beating Andrea Lee and Lindy Duncan 2 up, while Maja Stark and Linn Grant took down Rose Zhang and Jennifer Kupcho 3 and 2.
"Really happy with it," Stanford said of the split session. "First session out away from home, two points on the board, really happy with the way we played and really happy with what we did out there. Fought to the end with the last two matches, so I like where we are."
Stanford's decision to lead with Korda and Corpuz reflected both their proven chemistry and the captain's own Solheim Cup pedigree. The TCU Hall of Fame member clinched the last American Solheim Cup victory in Europe in 2015, beating Suzann Pettersen 2 and 1 in singles at St. Leon-Rot in Germany.
The historic nature of Korda and Corpuz's achievement underscores their remarkable partnership in team competition. Their five consecutive victories represent not just individual excellence but a rare chemistry that has proven unbeatable across multiple Solheim Cup appearances.
With the teams deadlocked at 2-2 after Friday morning's foursomes, the afternoon fourball matches will determine which side carries momentum into Saturday's play. Europe will look to capitalize on home soil advantage while the Americans aim to build on their historic pairing's continued success.
