Sunday 20 September 2015 16:32, UK
A round-up of the first six singles matches of the 2015 Solheim Cup as Team USA pulled off a stunning comeback victory in Germany.
Carlota Ciganda halved with Lexi Thompson
Ciganda spurned a golden opportunity to pull off an upset victory over America's strongest player in a high-quality top match in the singles.
The Spaniard three-putted the final green, missing a four-footer for par after Thompson had failed to get up and down from an awkward lie in a greenside bunker.
Ciganda got off to the perfect start, holing a nerve-settling putt for birdie on the opening green, and the second was halved in birdie-fours before Thompson converted an excellent tee-shot to the short third to level.
The match stayed all square at the turn before Thompson made a good three at the 10th, and Ciganda's three at the 13th was cancelled out by the American's birdie at the next.
But Ciganda hit back with a superb up-and-down from thick rough at the 16th, and the point looked to be heading Europe's way when she striped her drive down 18 with Thompson in trouble.
However, the short putt for the win never touched the hole and Thompson was relieved to escape with a half.
Catriona Matthew lost to Morgan Pressel 2up
A rollercoaster encounter featuring only six halved holes went to the Americans despite another typically gritty performance from the experienced Matthew.
After an early blip at the second, Matthew twice hit back from being a hole down before Pressel birdied the eighth and 10th to establish a two-hole lead.
The veteran Scot replied with birdies at two of the next three holes either side of another Pressel birdie, and the impressive American rolled in another putt for a two at the 15th.
Matthew got back to one down with two to play with a well-crafted four at the long 16th, but she was unable to better Pressel's par at 17.
But a poor drive left Matthew unable to hit the 18th green in two, and she conceded defeat after failing to save par.
Karine Icher bt Brittany Lincicome 3&2
Karine Icher claimed her second point of the Solheim Cup with a surprisingly easy victory over one of the USA's in-form players.
Lincicome managed only two birdies against Icher's five as the French star claimed the first win of the singles for Europe.
Icher won the first and the fourth before the American birdied six, and a par at the seventh was enough to get back to all-square at the turn.
Icher started the back-nine birdie-birdie to go two up again only for Lincicome to respond with a two at the 12th, but Icher restored her two-hole advantage with another birdie at 14.
Lincicome got into all sorts of bother at the long 16th, and was forced to concede after failing to avoid running up a double-bogey seven.
Melissa Reid bt Brittany Lang 2&1
Reid completed a memorable Solheim Cup with a hard-fought victory in an entertaining singles featuring a raft of birdies.
The English star raced out of the blocks with a birdie at the first followed by a rare eagle at the second, but Lang refused to buckle and won the fifth and seventh holes to level.
A par at the 10th was enough to reclaim the lead for Reid, who went back to two up with a birdie at 11 before her lead was halved after a poor tee shot at the short 12th.
Both birdied the driveable 13th and Reid rolled in a cracking putt for a three at the next, but she could not match Lang's birdie at the 16th as nerves set in down the stretch.
But Reid defied the pressure to knock her approach to 12 feet at the 17th, and the putt found the centre of the cup as Saturday's birthday girl jumped into the arms of her caddie.
Gwladys Nocera lost to Alison Lee 3&1
Lee somehow managed to overcome the highly-controversial events of the morning to produce a powerhouse performance which stunned Nocera in match five.
The only rookie in the competition looked to be in for a short afternoon when she made a mess of the first and conceded, and Nocera rubbed salt into the wounds with an eagle at the second.
But Lee steadied herself and hit a purple patch as she reeled off three consecutive birdies from the fifth to take a slim lead by the turn.
Nocera got back on track with a birdie at 10 only for Lee to respond with a winning birdie at the next, and the American two-putted the 13th for another birdie to go two up.
The veteran Frenchwoman missed a couple of chances to halve the deficit over the next three holes, and conceded defeat after failing to salvage a par at the 17th.
Caroline Masson lost to Gerina Piller 1up
In what proved to be the most pivotal match of the singles for the USA, Piller produced a superb up-and-down on the final green to clinch a priceless point for her team.
A halved match would have retained the Solheim Cup for Europe, but Masson failed to convert a delightful approach to 12 feet at the last and Piller held her nerve to save par from 10 feet for the win.
Roared on by her home fans, Masson won the first but soon found herself two down as Piller birdied the second and fourth and won the fifth with a par.
But the German won seven and nine to level, and she cancelled out Piller's birdie at 10 with a nice four at the 11th before the American birdied the next two for wins.
Piller answered Masson's birdie at 14 with a two at 15, but she then bogeyed the penultimate hole and opened the door further for Masson when she pushed her approach to 18 into the greenside rough.
But after chipping out to 10 feet and watching Masson's birdie putt slide by the cup, Piller's winning putt found the centre of the hole.
