Stuart Franklin/Getty
Alison Lee after she was penalized for scooping up a putt.
Effectively the women's golf equivalent to the Ryder Cup, the Solheim Cup takes place every two years, alternately on American and European soil, featuring 28 matches: 8 foursomes, 8 four-balls, and 12 singles match play.
This year, Team USA entered the final singles matches down four points, and through the first seven matches, the two teams had halved 3.5 points. With a 3.5-point lead with just five matches remaining, Team Europe looked poised to capture its third consecutive Solheim Cup, only to witness the Americans sweep the final five matches.
But the most memorable moment of the competition came earlier in the day on Sunday, during the remainder of the four-ball play that had been suspended in the darkness on Saturday. On the 17th hole, 20-year-old American Alison Lee missed a birdie putt that would have given her and partner Brittany Lincicome a one-stroke lead over Suzann Pettersen and Charley Hull with one hole to play - known in match play as "dormie."
Lee slid the putt wide, and things got a little bit tricky.
When Lee missed the putt, Hull and her caddie began to walk away. She and Pettersen had already parred the hole, and Lee interpreted this movement as the European's moving on to the 18th hole and giving the Americans the remaining par putt. Lee promptly picked the ball up rather than attempting a par putt.
But Hull said that she and her caddie were actually walking over to Pettersen, who was elsewhere on the green, and that they hadn't given her the putt. As such, the act of picking the ball up cost Lee and the Americans a stroke. The Europeans, then, won the hole and all of a sudden entered the 18th dormie.
Youtube
Lee later added that she thought she heard one of the European players say "that's good," an indication to her that the putt was being deemed a gimme, according to Ryan Ballengee of Devil Ball Golf. Lincicome confirmed this, but conceded that it could have been somebody in the crowd who said it.
The Americans were furious, and a heated discussion began around the green. Lee burst into tears, as did 19-year-old Hull.
Stuart Franklin/Getty
Charley Hull.
Pettersen, on the other hand, refused to accept that the distance on Lee's remaining putt was enough to warrant a "gimme."
The team captains tried to smooth out the mix-up and agree to halve the hole, but couldn't. The Europeans took the stroke and went on to win the match.
David Cannon/Getty
Pettersen showing how much Lee had for par.
Afterwards, US captain Juli Inkster considering starting "Europeans suck" chants, but opted instead for the comparatively passive-aggressive "Class, Style, U-S-A" cheer instead.
On TV, Inkster had some choice words for Pettersen. "It's just BS," she said. "It puts a damper on the whole thing. No way they can ever justify that. It's just not right. I don't care what they say. You just don't do that to your peers."
Pettersen took to Instagram after the last matches had ended to apologize - in about 300 words - for the situation.
You can watch the full video of the controversy below.