DEN BOSCH, Netherlands. Revenge came quickly for Carlota Ciganda at the Solheim Cup.
Team Europe's Spanish star was hurting after a double gut-punch on Saturday night by feisty U.S. player Jennifer Kupcho, who poured in 120 feet worth of putts on Nos. 17 and 18 to overturn her fourballs match against Ciganda and give the Americans renewed hope of victory.
Later that evening, Ciganda discovered who she'd be meeting in the singles on Sunday.
"I was really happy," Ciganda said, "to see I was playing against Kupcho."
The next-day response was clinical and emphatic: Ciganda birdied four of the first five holes to go 4 up, before completing a 4-and-2 win over Kupcho that just so happened to clinch the point that officially won back the cup for the Europeans.
"She's a fighter, I'm a fighter, and I told her, 'Look, great playing,'" Ciganda said. "Yesterday, what she did was amazing on Nos. 17 and 18.
"But today I knew she had no chance. I was like, I want to kill you."
Ciganda was at the center of most of the big moments at Bernardus Golf this week.
On Friday, an out-of-nowhere par on No. 18 snatched a half-point in fading light in the final four-balls match of Day 1 to draw Europe level at 4-4.
On Saturday, she was on the end of that outrageous finish by Kupcho, which turned a potential 9-7 lead for the Europeans into an 8-8 tie.
On Sunday, she got the point that officially took Team Europe past the winning target of 14 1/2 points, three years after scoring the decisive point in her native Spain to retain the Solheim Cup.
Europe controlled the singles session to reclaim the trophy with a 15-13 victory in the Netherlands, washing away the American hopes that Kupcho's Saturday heroics had briefly revived.
"I mean, I love this week," she said. "I love playing for the team, for my teammates, for everyone here. Yeah, I just don't know what happened, but I just love it. I mean, I love beating the Americans."
The 34-year-old from Pamplona has now been involved in the deciding moment of two consecutive Solheim Cups. In 2021 at Finca Cortesin, her match against Nelly Korda produced the half-point that kept the cup in European hands. This time, in the Netherlands, she didn't need to share the spoils.
Kupcho's Saturday performance had been the talk of the American camp. The 27-year-old from Colorado, playing in her second Solheim Cup, drained a 60-foot putt on 17 and followed it with another from similar distance on 18, flipping a match that seemed lost and sending momentum across the Atlantic.
Ciganda watched it all unfold. She was the one walking off the 18th green having let a point slip. She was the one who had to sit with that feeling overnight, knowing she'd face the same opponent 24 hours later.
The response was immediate and brutal. Four birdies in the first five holes put Kupcho on the back foot before the match had settled. There was no fightback. There was no Sunday drama. Just a Spanish player who wanted the ball and the moment.
"Playing for something bigger than yourself," she added, "I guess my mind gets to be very focused and I love this week. This is why I play golf."
Europe's victory was built on a dominant singles session, with the home side winning 7.5 points from a possible 12 to seal the cup with matches still to finish on the course. The 15-13 margin was identical to the scoreline in Spain three years ago.
Ciganda finished the week with three points from her four matches, dropping only that fourballs defeat to Kupcho. The rematch, though, belonged entirely to her.
According to Yahoo Sports.