USA take lead at Solheim as Maguire named in fourballs

The United States have grabbed the initiative at the Solheim Cup as they took a 3-1 lead after the morning foursomes at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainsville, Virginia.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz led the American charge in the opening session, defeating the European pair of Esther Henseleit and Charley Hull 3&2, with Korda's tight approach shots and Corpuz's tidy putting seeing them to an important victory.

In the second match, Rose Zhang and Lauren Coughlin made it 2-0 to the hosts, triumphing on a 3&2 margin over Celine Boutier and Albane Valenzuela.

The 16th hole would be a scene of glory for the Americans again in match four, debutant Sarah Schmelzel knocking her tee shot stone dead as she and two-time major winner Lilia Vu saw off the European duo of Linn Grant and Carlota Ciganda, again by 3&2.

There was some respite for the Europeans in the third match, however Maja Stark and Emily Pedersen almost tossed away an unassaible advantage, seeing a 4up lead after eight holes fall back to a 1up lead coming to the final two holes.

Solheim Cup: scorecard

Stark drained a nerveless putt for a half on the 17th after her partner had drilled her approach putt six feet past. And then Pedersen cracked her approach into 3ft on the 18th to ensure a 2up victory for the Europeans.

The win saw Europe avoid a second straight 4-0 whitewash in the opening session - as occurred in Spain two years ago - and captain Suzann Pettersen was relatively sanguine and enthused by the visitors' play on Friday morning.

"We were playing great and we felt like we were playing the better golf out there," Pedersen said. "We made a few mistakes. I hit a bad chip on 15, I made a mistake on 16.

"Generally we were playing pretty good. We said