US lead Solheim Cup by 1 point

August 22, 2009

Paula Creamer made a 20-foot putt to give the United States a 4 1/2-3 1/2 lead against Europe at the Solheim Cup, and make Juli Inkster the highest-scoring US player in the events history on Friday.

The 49-year-old Inkster has scored 17 1/2 points, one more than Meg Mallon, now an assistant captain for the U.S.

That just means Im the oldest, Inkster cracked after hers and Creamers 2-and-1 foursome victory over Catriona Matthew and Janice Moodie.

Only Europes Annika Sorenstam (24 points) and Laura Davies (23) have scored more points than Inkster in the Solheim Cup.

Inkster, a seven-time major champion, showed her talent time and again with sharp iron shots and clutch putts.

I love playing with Juli, said Creamer, who also won her fourball match with Cristie Kerr. We have a great chemistry together on the golf course. We know when we need to talk to each other and when we need to pump each other up, we just have that good connection. We went out, we played good, we got up early and we just stayed there.

Inkster hasnt won on tour since 2006 but U.S. captain Beth Daniel didnt hesitate to make her a captains pick, and Inkster showed why with a critical point against Matthew and Moodie.

The Americans led by 1 1/2 points after the fourball matches, and looked to end the day ahead with Natalie Gulbis and Christina Kim easily handling Sophie Gustafson and Suzann Pettersen and Inskter and Creamer up 3-up after 12 holes.

But Inkster missed par putts on the next two holes, putting a big dent in their lead. With Becky Brewerton and Gwladys Nocera and Maria Hjorth and Anna Nordqvist winning their matches right about the same time, the Europeans seemed poised for a big shift in momentum.

Inkster, however, is quite possibly the most competitive person on the team, and she responded with a spectacular chip on the par-5 15th, running it a foot past the hole from 120 yards. After halving the 16th hole, the worst the Americans could do was a half-point for the match.

We got them back to 1, and then they made a good birdie at 15 to go back to 2, Matthew said. I thought we had a chance there, but cant do much about that.

They wanted that full point, though. The Americans need 14 points to win their third straight Solheim Cup while Europe needs 14 1/2 points to win its first on U.S. soil. There are another eight doubles matches on Saturday.

Matthew missed a long putt that would have won the hole, leaving Creamer with that 20-footer. She struck the ball perfectly, and was pumping her fist before it even dropped in the hole.

About time my partner made a putt, Inkster joked. No, it was good. We had some sloppy play in the middle - I did. We were fortunate enough to throw a few birdies in there, and Paula had a phenomenal putt on 17.

Europe might be in a different spot if it could have gotten something - anything - out of Pettersen and Gustafson, its top pair.

Pettersen, the top European player in the world, and Gustafson came in with a combined 14-8-7 record in doubles, including a 1-3-0 record together. But the two couldnt get anything going all day. Creamer and Kerr beat them 1-up in fourball, and Gulbis and Kim cruised to a 4-and-2 win.

Just because they lost, it doesnt mean they really played bad, Inkster said. They just might have run into a buzz saw.