Casares, Spain: Lexi Thompson starred as the United States romped to a clean sweep of the opening morning foursomes against Europe at the Solheim Cup in Spain on Friday.
Aiming to prevent Europe from claiming a third straight title, Stacy Lewis’s American team went into the match as underdogs but romped into a 4-0 lead.
It is the first time since 2009 that the USA have won the opening session.
Thompson and Megan Khang set the tone in the top match, winning the opening three holes against European rookies Linn Grant and Maja Stark.
The Swedish pair, who had never lost as a foursomes pairing as amateurs, fought back to level the match with five holes to play.
But Thompson, who has endured a poor season, rose to the occasion and made a vital 15-foot birdie putt at the 15th and another win at 17th closed out a 2 and 1 victory.
The second match was close all the way, but a winning birdie from Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee at the 17th proved decisive and was good enough for a one-hole win over Celine Boutier and Georgia Hall.
The European pair had never lost in four previous Solheim Cup outings.
The third match was also nip and tuck but Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz sneaked a one-up victory over the experienced Anna Nordqvist and Leona Maguire.
In the final match, Ally Ewing and rookie Cheyenne Knight trounced Charley Hull and Emily Pedersen 5 and 4.
