ST LEON-ROT, Germany — European captain Carin Koch sympathized with the distraught Alison Lee but was convinced the rookie American made a mistake in believing her short putt had been conceded at the Solheim Cup on Sunday.
Controversy erupted when Lee and Brittany Lincicome lost their fourball match carried over from Saturday night by two holes to Charley Hull and Suzann Pettersen at the St Leon-Rot club in south-west Germany.
With the contest all square, the 20-year-old rookie believed her 16-inch putt on the 17th green had been conceded by the European pair and when she scooped the ball up, the match referee had no choice but to award the hole to Hull and Pettersen.