Throughout the 2024 Solheim Cup, USA have been on top of proceedings, with one particular aspect being their dominance on par 5s, something that their players commented on during the Sunday singles.
In the team portion, where there were two foursomes and four ball sessions, the USA claimed 12 victories on par 5s, whereas the Europeans had eight, with six ties taking place in the foursomes.
However, in the fourballs, USA dominated proceedings, as they won 15 times on par 5s, with the Europeans claiming just five wins in the afternoon session and 12 ties. That means, overall, USA secured 27 wins on par 5s, Europe 13 and 18 ties.
Along with the team aspect, there were also 12 singles on Sunday and, in those matches, USA once again won the sessions in terms of par 5s, with the squad claiming 18 wins, whilst Europe managed 12 and 16 ties.
Obviously, we know that the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club is made up of just four par 5s and that there are 14 other holes on the course but, in total, USA won 55 pars 5s compared to Europe’s 25.
That’s a huge factor in the overall result and, according to Megan Khang, who went a second successive Solheim Cup undefeated, “I think captain (Stacy Lewis) definitely put it in our favor in the sense of some holes being a little softer than others and the par 5s being reachable for all of us.”
USA won the 14th hole a near 50% of the time they played it at the Solheim Cup
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Along with Khang, Rose Zhang, who also went undefeated in Virginia, added: “We’re overall aggressive players, but I think we know where to place the ball, and we allow the slopes to do their thing and just allow the golf balls to ride with it. I think that’s been pretty pivotal with everyone. We’ve been pretty creative with how we’ve been playing the hole and able to get the job done.”
At the end of play, it was the Americans who won the Solheim Cup for the first time in seven years, as a dramatic final day concluded with a 15.5 – 12.5 victory for Team USA, despite them starting 10 – 6 ahead on Sunday. Although Europe fought back, Lewis’ side managed to get over the line, following a birdie-birdie finish from Lilia Vu to get to the magical 14.5 number.
