Alison Lee began the 2026 LPGA Tour season in the broadcast booth while on maternity leave after giving birth to her son in April of last year. The 31-year-old earning a spot on the U.S. Solheim Cup team was remarkable in and of itself, but what she accomplished for the red, white, and blue against the Europeans in the Netherlands was stunning.
Lee teed it up in three of the first four sessions at the biennial event, and cruised to victories in her two foursome matches and one fourball match across the opening two days. She was the second American to tee off to begin Sunday’s singles session, and while it quickly seemed she had run out of steam, she reminded the world that things are not always as they appear.
Lee played her first 11 holes at 1-over par and stepped onto the 12th tee 4-down in her match against Europe’s Esther Henseleit at Bernardus Golf. No player in the 36-year history of the competition had erased a deficit of that size in a singles match, yet somehow, some way, the “Team Mom” found a different gear and rewrote the history books.
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Henseleit playing the final seven holes of Sunday’s match at 2-over helped Lee’s comeback effort, but the American still had to get the ball in the hole, and that she did.
Lee played the final seven holes at 4-under, and did not just go on to tie the match and secure a half point for the U.S., but she earned a full point with birdies on two of her final three holes.
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Lee became the first player to automatically qualify for the U.S. Solheim Cup team after giving birth since Hall of Famer Juli Inkster did the same in 2011.
The former UCLA star did not make her first start on the LPGA Tour until mid-April, upon her return from maternity leave, leaving her a very tight window of opportunity to accumulate points and even get on the radar of U.S. captain Angela Stanford.
Across her 12 starts on the LPGA Tour leading up to the Solheim Cup, Lee earned three top-10 finishes, including a T-5 finish at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June.
Lee’s early victory on Sunday was one of only a few bright spots for the Americans on the final day as Team Europe ultimately secured the victory thanks to England’s Lottie Woad defeating Auston Kim 2&1 in the eighth match of the afternoon.
Lee was in the early stages of her pregnancy at the 2024 Solheim Cup, with only U.S. captain Stacy Lewis, her four-ball partner Megan Khang, and her caddie being aware of the major life news at the start of the competition. She earned one point for the Americans to help secure a 15.5-12.5 victory.
Prior to Lee teeing it up in 2026, Suzann Pettersen, a captain’s pick for Team Europe in 2019, was the last mom to play for either side in the event. She won the cup for the Europeans in dramatic fashion and immediately retired.
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