Charley Hull earns praise from Carin Koch for Friday's Solheim Cup display
Friday 18 September 2015 21:18, UK
Carin Koch paid tribute to teenager Charley Hull after watching her Europe side take an early lead in the Solheim Cup in Germany.
Hull won both of her games, alongside fellow Englishwoman Melissa Reid and later France's Gwladys Nocera, as Europe built a 4-2 lead with two of the afternoon fourballs still to finish because of bad light and an earlier suspension of play.
European captain Koch was thrilled with the opening day's play at St Leon Rot in Heidelberg, but she saved special praise for Hull, saying she was: "Awesome. Excellent. Fantastic.
"She's just a great person to have on the team, there are a lot of laughs around her. She's a lot of fun but also one of the top players.
"She's young and fresh. It's great. It wouldn't be the same without her on the team."
Hull, who reeled off five back-nine birdies in a row as she and Nocera beat Alison Lee and Angela Stanford 3&2 in the afternoon fourballs, was also the stand-out performer as a 17-year-old when Europe won the biennial event in Colorado in 2013.
Koch said she gave her 12-strong team a pep talk on Thursday night and they carried out her instructions perfectly.
"I told them to go and enjoy the crowds and the stage they are on this week," added the Swede. "I think they all did that. It looked like they were having a lot of fun all day. I couldn't be more pleased with them."
US captain Juli Inkster admitted she had some work to do to get her players back in positive mood.
"We are going to have to do a little rallying in the morning," Inkster said.
"I'll tell them tonight what I saw out there, I'll be honest with them. But I know, because I've played in many of these things, that it's not easy.
"I thought some of our girls played a little tight and I'd like to see them loosen up a little bit," added Inkster, a veteran of nine Solheim Cups as a player.
"I thought we were a little tentative on putting, the speed of their putts weren't great. The Europeans made a ton of birdies and in fourballs you've got to make birdies, pars aren't going to win."
