The United States held off a brave fightback from Europe to win the Solheim Cup for the first time since 2017 in dramatic fashion in Virginia.
World number two Lilia Vu birdied the final two holes at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville to halve her match with Swiss rookie Albane Valenzuela and edge the home side over the line.
Trailing 10-6 heading into Sunday's singles, Charley Hull gave Europe a dream start in the opening match as she thrashed the previously unbeaten world number one Nelly Korda 6 and 4, only for Megan Khang to swiftly close out a 6 and 5 victory over Emily Pedersen.
Georgia Hall’s 4 and 3 win over Alison Lee reduced the deficit to 11-8 before wins for Rose Zhang and Allisen Corpuz over Carlota Ciganda and Anna Nordqvist respectively meant the home side needed just one and a half more points from the seven remaining matches.
That apparently simple task proved anything but, however, with Europe narrowly ahead in three of the matches and tied in the other four as they threatened to pull off an extraordinary comeback.
Andrea Lee’s halved match with Olympic silver medallist Esther Henseleit edged the home side within a point of victory only for Celine Boutier to birdie the 18th to beat Lexi Thompson, having been three down with seven to play.
"I feel like I've been playing really great golf all week in practice, and it was a bitter pill to swallow to be sat out for as many sessions as I was, but I thought I had a point to prove today, and I love the Solheim Cup" - Leona Maguire
Leona Maguire’s 4 and 3 win over Ally Ewing kept European hopes alive, as did Maja Stark’s brave par putt on the 18th to halve her match with Lauren Coughlin.
However, Valenzuela was unable to hold on to a two-hole lead against Vu, who bravely kept the match alive on the 16th before making decisive birdies on the last two holes.
"I can’t even put it into words," Vu said. "I felt like I didn’t do my part this week and I wanted to get something done.
"I was in the back bunker on 16 and had to get it up and down, somehow birdied 17 and birdied 18 to get the half point."
Maguire, whose only other appearance this week came alongside Hall in a 6 and 4 fourball loss to Khang and Korda, was delighted with her own performance on Sunday and expressed a degree of frustration that she had been denied the opportunity to contribute more by Suzann Pettersen, Europe's captain.
"I felt like I played great golf today," Maguire, who boasted a 7-2-1 Solheim Cup record arriving in Gainesville, said.
"I feel like I've been playing really great golf all week in practice, and it was a bitter pill to swallow to be sat out for as many sessions as I was, but I thought I had a point to prove today, and I love the Solheim Cup."
"She didn't give much reason, to be honest," the Cavan woman said of her captain's decision to use her sparingly.
"The feeling I got was that I was a little bit too short and didn’t make enough birdies, but I think proved today there’s more than one way to skin a cat, and I think I made plenty of birdies today.
"It's Solheim Cup, I don’t need any extra motivation but yeah, there probably was a little bit extra there, not going to lie.
"But ultimately it’s what’s best for the team this week, and I would have loved the opportunity to try and deliver more points for the team, but I did what I could today."
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