Korda sits out the four-balls and will only play 4 matches at the Solheim Cup. It's a trend

DEN BOSCH, Netherlands (AP) — Nelly Korda was hitting balls on the range as eight of her U.S. teammates went out in the afternoon four-balls at Bernardus Golf on Saturday.

She won’t be playing all five matches at this Solheim Cup.

And that’s something of a trend.

This will be the fifth straight Solheim Cup where Korda, the world No. 1, plays four out of a possible five matches for the American team.

On each of the previous four occasions — 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024 — she sat out one of the four-ball sessions. It has happened again in the Netherlands.

On Saturday morning, Korda played with Allisen Corpuz in a previously unbeaten pairing and lost 3 and 2 to Maja Stark and Linn Grant.

That left her with a 1-1-1 record — for 1½ points — in the 2026 edition, and an overall Solheim Cup record of 11-6-2.

Speaking after selecting her lineup for the four-balls, U.S. captain Angela Stanford suggested there was never any intention to play Korda in all five matches — no matter the status of the contest.

For the record, Europe is 7-5 ahead after three sessions.

Lauren Coughlin will be the only American to play all five sessions and asked if that was always the intention, Stanford said: “She was one that I spoke to before we ever came over here.