Team USA entered the afternoon four-ball matches on Friday, down a point, but after a clean sweep, the Americans will take a 5.5 to 2.5 lead into Saturday’s Solheim Cup matches at Des Moines Golf and Country Club.

 
The Americans never trailed for a single hole in any of the four afternoon matches. They were led by the duo of Lizette Salas and Angel Yin, who blew out Carlota Ciganda and Emily Pedersen, 6-and-5.

Michelle Wie teamed up with Danielle Kang to edge Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Madelene Sagstrom 3-and-1 for point two. The two Brittanys, Lang and Lincicome, earned the third full point with a 3-and-2 victory over Caroline Masson and Florentyna Parker.

And in the final match, the two veterans, Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller, took the fourth and final point with a 2-and-1 win over the dangerous duo of Georgia Hall and Charley Hull.

It marks the first time in history that Team USA swept an entire session of play. And since the event changed to a five session format, each time the U.S. has entered the weekend with the lead, they have gone on to capture the Solheim Cup.

 
“I’ll tell (my players), but I think they know that this is a distance run. It’s a marathon. It’s not a sprint. We have to do the work. We have to do the process,” said U.S. Captain Juli Inkster. “We gotta go out there, and 36 holes, we got 8 points out there tomorrow. That’s a lot of points and we need to get a lot of those. And that’s what I’m going to tell them.

FRIDAY FINAL RESULTS

USA 5.5 EUROPE 2.5

FOURSOMES: EUROPE 2.5 USA 1.5

• Mel Reid and Charley Hull (EUR) HALVED Cristie Kerr and Lexi Thompson (USA)
• Danielle Kang and Lizette Salas (USA) DEFEATED Carlota Ciganda and Caroline Masson (EUR) 1 UP
• Anna Nordqvist and Georgia Hall (EUR) DEFEATED Paula Creamer and Austin Ernst (USA) 3 AND 1
• Karine Icher and Catriona Matthew (EUR) DEFEATED Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller (USA) 1 UP

FOUR-BALLS: USA 4 EUROPE 0

• Danielle Kang and Michelle Wie (USA) DEFEATED Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Madelene Sagstrom (EUR) 3 AND 1
• Lizette Salas and Angel Yin (USA) DEFEATED Carlota Ciganda and Emily Pedersen (EUR) 6 AND 5
• Brittany Lang and Brittany Lincicome (USA) DEFEATED Caroline Masson and Florentyna Parker (EUR) 3 AND 2
• Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller (USA) DEFEATED Georgia Hall and Charley Hull (EUR) 2 AND 1

SATURDAY MORNING FOURSOMES SCHEDULE

• 7:10 AM – Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Caroline Masson (EUR) v. Cristie Kerr and Lexi Thompson (USA)
• 7:22 AM – Mel Reid and Emily Pedersen (EUR) v. Paula Creamer and Austin Ernst (USA)
• 7:34 AM – Anna Nordqvist and Georgia Hall (EUR) v. Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller (USA)
• 7:46 AM – Catriona Matthew and Karine Icher (EUR) v. Michelle Wie and Danielle Kang (USA)

Credit/Source: Getty Images, LPGA Communciations