Captain Liselotte Neumann hailed her rookies after Europe won the Solheim Cup on American soil for the first time.
Neumann’s team beat the United States 18-10 in Colorado to successfully defend the title they won in Ireland in 2011 with six of the 12 players making their debuts in the match play tournament.
Among that group was English duo Charley Hull and Jodi Ewart Shadoff who were two of Neumann’s captain’s picks and both claimed wins in Sunday’s singles.
Carlota Ciganda, Caroline Masson, Beatriz Recari and Giulia Sergas completed the set of first-timers and Neumann was delighted with their contribution.
“They made me proud,” she said following the victory. “All of them. It was just a total team effort. Everybody’s been playing well, everybody’s been really helpful.”
She added: “When I was over in England doing my captain’s picks, I was really looking at if I picked this player, who would I pair her with.
“And I was pretty much set on Caroline Hedwall and Jodi. And when I picked Jodi it sort of made it automatic to pick Charley.
“So I already then had a few of the pairings sort of in my mind. And it was just amazing, both those girls are playing so well.”
Hull, 17, claimed a stunning 5 and 4 win over the experienced Paula Creamer and Neumann was quick to heap praise on the precocious teenager.
“She was on my junior team two years ago and she’s just a special girl,” she said.
“And she has a special game and she brings a lot of energy to our team and she’s just a terrific player. She plays fearless and it was just awesome to have her on our team and I think we all love Charley.”
Hull described her Solheim Cup experience as “wicked” and, despite being the youngest player in the competition’s history, she claimed that she did not feel any nerves over the weekend.
“I didn’t really feel that nervous, to be honest,” she said. “Because this is how I always look at golf. I’m not going to die if I miss it. Just hit it, and find it, and hit it again.”
Following her win over Creamer, Hull asked her illustrious counterpart to autograph a ball and later explained that it was for a friend at home.
Honestly, it was for my friend,” she said. “He’s like can you please get Paula Creamer’s autograph and I said, OK.”
Although Hull’s request may have been unorthodox, Creamer admitted that she would have liked to have done the same when she made her debut as an 18-year-old.
“I was 18 when I played in my first one, and would I have liked to get some autographs at my first Solheim Cup?” she said. “Yeah. I would have.”
She added: “Charley’s going to be around for a long time, and it’s pretty neat to see kind of the future of their team as well. She was a good player and she represented her country very well.”
Recari was another rookie to win on Sunday as she beat Angela Stanford 2 and 1 and the Spaniard admitted she felt overwhelmed by her achievements.
“I didn’t know what to expect coming into this week because it’s such a different experience,” she said.
“It’s such a different experience that I could never imagine that it was going to be this amazing. I don’t have words. I mean, even if you interview me in Spanish, I still wouldn’t have words. I could not have words.
“I mean we have bonded as a team since Sunday, and this has been one of the most wonderful experiences of my entire career. Being part of this team and how we bonded, this is such an individual event, but I tell you, this week was beautiful.
“It was such a good team and I’m just so proud of each other.”
It was Scottish veteran Catriona Matthew who holed the putt that sealed Europe’s victory on Sunday.
Play was suspended for an hour due to the weather but when play resumed, Matthew claimed a half in her match against Gerina Piller to ensure they won the cup outright.
“I was shaking. My knees were shaking. I knew if I got a half we would win it outright,” said Matthew, a Carnoustie Country global golf ambassador.