Jasmine Koo leads U.S. at Junior Solheim Cup

Her team ultimately lost the Junior Solheim Cup, but Cerritos High senior Jasmine Koo was the United States’ top performer at La Zagaleta Golf Club in Spain. LPGA Hall of Famer Amy Alcott selected Koo as one of her three captain’s picks and it proved to be a wise choice.

The USC commit partnered with Yana Wilson of Nevada to tie Europe’s Nora Sundberg and Anna Canado in Monday morning’s foursomes, then paired with Anna Davis of Spring Valley to prevail 3 and 2 over Sundberg and Meja Ortengren in the four-ball afternoon session. On Tuesday, Koo defeated Spaniard Andrea Revuelta 2-up in singles. During the two-day event, Koo earned 2 1/2 of a possible three points for the United States.

After managing only half a point in Monday’s foursomes and tying 3-3 in four-ball, the U.S. trailed 8 1/2 to 3 1/2 heading into Tuesday’s 12 singles matches, each worth one point. Europe won six of the head-to-head encounters and halved another to defend the title with a 15-9 victory. The Europeans won the 2021 tournament at Sylvania Country Club in Toledo, Ohio. The U.S. leads the series 7-4-1 but fell short in its quest for a third straight win on foreign soil, having won in 2015 in Germany and in 2019 in Scotland.

Two other Southland golfers were on the U.S. team. Santa Margarita senior Leigh Chien, a Stanford commit, lost her foursome and four-ball matches Monday but rebounded to take her singles match 3 and 2 against Sweden’s Josefin Widal on Tuesday. Palisades High junior Anna Song, another captain’s pick, was unable to card any points.

Davis, a senior at Steele Canyon High in Spring Valley, dropped her singles match 5 and 3 to Francesca Fiorellini of Italy while Chowchilla High freshman Asterisk Talley earned half a point by virtue of tying Spanish Amateur champion Rocio Tejedo in the last match to finish.

Also securing singles points for the Americans were Wilson, Kathryn Ha of Virginia and Ryleigh Knaub of Florida.