Solheim Cup: Europe captain Suzann Pettersen's pep-talk inspired win over United States

Europe's stunning fightback to retain the Solheim Cup only came after tough talking from skipper Suzann Pettersen during a team meeting in which she "laid into" her players.

The Norwegian's hard-hitting words inspired one of the most memorable weekends of the 2023 golf season as her team recovered from losing the first four matches of the September contest to force a 14-14 tie with the United States.

It meant the crystal trophy remained in European hands for an unprecedented third match in a row. Yet at lunchtime on the opening day, the home side's prospects at Finca Cortesin in Spain looked bleak to say the very least.

America swept Friday's first session, winning all four matches, including a 5&4 thrashing of Charley Hull and Emily Pedersen by Ally Ewing and rookie Cheyenne Knight.

• Listen: 5 Live Sport All about - The Suzann Pettersen and Solheim Cup One

"We never got a look in," assistant captain Dame Laura Davies told the BBC Sounds edition of All About Suzann Pettersen and the Solheim Cup.

"Four-nil, never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought we'd be losing four nil," the Englishwoman added. "We were in the locker room thinking limit the damage, not trying to win it.

"Because at four-nil down, as early as it is and with so many points to go, you're almost thinking we don't want to be absolutely thrashed here and a record breaking loss.

"I don't think we knew what to do, to be honest with you, but Suzann came up with a great plan and we went out in the afternoon and did OK."

Europe won the post-lunch fourballs 3-1 but still trailed 5-3 at the end of the opening day. Pettersen was pleased with the fightback, but still felt it was time for her team to hear some home truths.

"When we were all done on the Friday there was a kind of devil that went through me and I feel like I had to let the players know exactly what I felt," Pettersen revealed.

The captain says the details should remain for "internal ears" but it is clear that there had been issues in the team room that week which needed to be addressed.

"She went in early with a nice well done girls," Davies said. "But she also laid into them about how she is the captain and what she says goes because, you know, there were a couple of little things that might have got under her skin a bit.

"She just asserted her captaincy and it was the best thing to do."

Pettersen insists it was a necessary intervention, despite the seeds of the fightback having already been sown by winning the afternoon session. "I feel like the players were waiting for that speech," said the 42-year-old from Oslo.

"It was like I'd been too nice to them earlier in the week and finally I had showed up with the feistiness, the fighting spirit that I kind of had through my playing career."

All was quiet when Pettersen, her husband Christian and her vice-captain Davies left the golfers to attend a news conference. "We walked out the room and it was dead silence after she finished," Davies said.

"And she asked 'was that too much?' And her husband Christian said 'no that was brilliant, I really enjoyed it'. That was the point where the girls realised that they're not just there for a fun week, they are there to try to win this thing."

The following morning's foursomes session was shared before Carlotta Ciganda and Linn Grant dramatically closed out a 2&1 fourball win over Danielle Kang and two-time major winner Lilia Vu to level the overall score at eight-all heading into the final day.

Fortune fluctuated throughout an enthralling denouement, but again Europe appeared beaten when they trailed 13-11 and Caroline Hedwall seemed to be headed for defeat against Ewing as they started to come down the closing stretch.

Pettersen was convinced her team would come up half a point short of the 14 required to retain the trophy. But, three down, Hedwall canned a monster putt on the 13th and it proved the catalyst.

The Swede won the last three holes to secure the vital point that meant Ciganda had the chance to complete the job by beating Nelly Korda. The Spaniard birdied the 16th to go one up and her breathless captain issued another telling message.

"I just looked at her and said, 'is this how you wanted it?'" Pettersen revealed. "'All in your hands, in Spain, at home, with this crowd watching. It's all yours, so here you go. It's on a silver plate, show me what you are made of.'"

Ciganda duly obliged, nearly holing her tee shot at the par-three 17th to claim the point that meant Europe could not be beaten. "That was very special," the Spanish star told the programme.

"I was very inspired by her and it was an amazing moment for me."

It capped an extraordinary three days that - from a European perspective - had begun in such an unpromising way. Pettersen's heated words on the Friday evening proved pivotal in providing one of the great golf stories of the year.

"It almost made it sweeter that we could pull it off after such a rough start," she said. "It was a huge team effort to get everyone on board and turn the ship around."