But at least we have done better in the singles than for a long time so that was good

“But at least we have done better in the singles than for a long time so that was good.”When the bottom match had cleared the first green, Europe were up in seven matches and square in three, giving them a tied match overall but it did not last. Recent history in international competitions is for the team behind going into the singles to make a strong comeback but just as for the Americans at Valderrama last year in the Ryder Cup, five points was too great a deficit to overcome.The victories for Davies, who had played in every series of each Solheim Cup, and Pepper kept them tied with 121/2 points as the leading scorers in the competition’s history. Kelly Robbins then holed 12-foot putts at the 16th and 17th to defeat Charlotta Sorenstam and when Sherri Steinhauer hit her eight- iron third shot close at the 15th to go dormie three up on Catriona Matthew, the Cup had been retained. Neumann, who had played better than her record of being on the losing side on all her three previous matches, rallied from two down after six against Brandie Burton to win at the last.But by then Dottie Pepper, undefeated in the match, had beaten Trish Johnson 3 and 2 and Rosie Jones completed a comfortable win over Catrin Nilsmark. “It was not great golf,” Davies admitted, “but it was a great match.”
Alfredsson then beat Juli Inkster 2 and 1, and Sorenstam, the world No 1 who had been dormie four up, achieved the same winning margin over Donna Andrews.

Hurst squared the match at the 17th, where Davies failed to match her opponent’s up and down from sand, but two putts at the last gave the Englishwoman what she and her team were looking for, the vital first point of the day. Laura Davies, Helen Alfredsson, Annika Sorenstam and Lotta Neumann – who with Australia’s Karrie Webb comprise the top-five on the world rankings – each recorded victories but could only delay the moment when America retained the Solheim Cup 16-12 at Muirfield Village. Davies continued her erratic play but beat Pat Hurst at the 18th despite going round in an approximate 80. Davies won the fifth with a six but lost the 14th when she put her third, a chip, across the green into a stream. FIVE POINTS down going into yesterday’s 12 singles, Europe’s captain, Pia Nilsson, had no option but to send out her four best players at the top of the order.

He should go home and stay there.”Nigel Mansell’s season in the series ended quietly, the 1992 Formula One world champion unable to even match his team-mate Will Hoy in the uncompetitive Ford Mondeo and finished 14th in the sprint, hampered by suspension damage sustained in an early skirmish.In the feature race he almost made it into the points in 10th place, until he was tapped into a spin by fellow former grand prix driver Warwick. He hoped for better results in the future, saying: “Ford has a new strategy to put all its resources into next year.”. Nissan’s David Leslie, Peter Kox in the other Honda, and last year’s champion Alain Menu all featured near the sharp end before getting involved in sundry shunts.Kox had to retire, Leslie dropped to the back and Menu was pushed down the field to have a run-in with fellow former champion John Cleland’s Vauxhall.The rivalry continued verbally, with Cleland offering: “His trouble is that he thinks he can walk on water, but he can’t And Menu: “The truth is that he’s past it. A fierce series of engagements with eventual race winner James Thompson’s Honda left Reid down the field and nursing a damaged car.
Thompson drove a superb race to win, with Rydell second, Yvan Muller (Audi) third, Jason Plato (Renault) fourth and Reid fifth.