DEN BOSCH, Netherlands (AP) — To a backdrop of party music, smoke blowers and loud chanting on a boisterous first tee, the Solheim Cup got underway early Friday with American golfer Allisen Corpuz defying nerves by splitting the fairway with her opening drive at Bernardus Golf.
And so began the U.S. bid to retain the crystal trophy that was perched on a stand just behind every player teeing off on Day 1 of the noisiest event in women's golf.
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Charley Hull of Europe plays from rough on the third hole during the Solheim Cup at the Bernardus Golf course in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Charley Hull of Europe plays. Shot into the first green during the Solheim Cup at the Bernardus Golf course in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Spectators react ahead of play at the Solheim Cup at the Bernardus Golf course in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Spectators react ahead of play at the Solheim Cup at the Bernardus Golf course in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Nelly Korda, right, of the United States stakes a selfie on the first tee as teammate Allisen Corpuz watches during the Solheim Cup at the Bernardus Golf course in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
There was star power in the first foursomes match out at 7:40 a.m. local time in the Netherlands, with Team Europe's top two players, Lottie Woad and Charley Hull, up against Corpuz and top-ranked Nelly Korda, who are 4-0 together in Solheim Cups. Woad poured in a 15-footer for birdie at No. 1 to put the Europeans 1 up, as the party continued about 350 yards down the fairway.
The first tee is always the place to be in these big teams events and it lived up to its billing Friday inside the horseshoe-shaped grandstand containing around 3,000 spectators.
U.S. captain Angela Stanford danced onto the tee after emerging from the tunnel. Maja Stark and Linn Grant, Europe's Swedish pairing, swayed their hips to ABBA's “Dancing Queen.” U.S. rookie Lindy Duncan took video with her cell phone. Irish player Leona Maguire teed off in Match 3 after chants of “We've got Maguire, USA is terrified!” and cheers for each of her backswings.
It was all very jovial, though, with respectful silence for each drive in front of a banner that read: “Dutch Courage. European Glory.”
The United States has an 11-7-1 advantage in a series that dates to 1990 and needs 14 points to ensure retaining the trophy, two years after a 15½-12½ win in Virginia.
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Charley Hull of Europe plays from rough on the third hole during the Solheim Cup at the Bernardus Golf course in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Charley Hull of Europe plays. Shot into the first green during the Solheim Cup at the Bernardus Golf course in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Spectators react ahead of play at the Solheim Cup at the Bernardus Golf course in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Spectators react ahead of play at the Solheim Cup at the Bernardus Golf course in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Nelly Korda, right, of the United States stakes a selfie on the first tee as teammate Allisen Corpuz watches during the Solheim Cup at the Bernardus Golf course in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
CORON, Philippines (AP) — Firefighters entered a charred ferry in Philippine waters on Friday after a fire two nights earlier left five people dead and 84 missing and produced heat and smoke that prevented search and rescue efforts onboard.
Images released by the coast guard around midday showed three smaller boats near the MV June Aster, which appeared to have stopped emitting smoke as personnel walked on the outer portion of the ship.
Coast guard communications officer Joy Dianne Gumatay said Friday they had not received updates from the firefighting team about what was found inside, including whether there were additional fatalities.
The ferry sailed from the capital, Manila, on Wednesday evening and was around 7.4 kilometers (4.5 miles) off the village of Turda near its destination of Coron in Palawan province when the fire was reported.
Rescuers struggled to get inside the burning, smoking vessel Thursday to search for passengers who may been trapped. The efforts were halted overnight.
The cause of the fire has not been determined.
The coast guard and other vessels have rescued 43 people, some plucked from the dark waters as the ferry burned.
“The fire quickly spread. That’s when I dropped to the ground and my back was burned,” survivor Arnulfo Nokki Villanueva said in a video broadcast by News5, adding that he jumped from a window. “I wanted to get a life jacket but failed to get one because people were stepping on me. People were in panic.”
The coast guard, other government agencies, private volunteers and fishermen searched the nearby waters and coastal patrols checked for people who may have drifted to shore but no new survivors or fatalities were found.
According to the manifest, 134 people were onboard, 117 of them passengers and 17 crew. The 53-meter (174-foot) vessel had a capacity to carry 306 passengers and 27 crew.
Two passengers listed in the manifest reported to authorities that they failed to board, bringing the number of missing to 84, the coast guard said.
Two of the survivors were tourists from Chile, according to Rachel Conserman, a staffer of the ship’s owner Atienza Interisland Ferries Inc. They are recovering from injuries in a hospital in Coron, she said, adding that there no other foreigners known to have been on the ship.
The shipping company said in a statement it was assisting those who were on board and their families while coordinating with the coast guard and maritime officials to locate the missing passengers and determine the cause.
Coron is a popular tourist destination known for clear blue waters, limestone cliffs and rock formations.
Ferries are frequently used for transport in the Philippine archipelago. Sea accidents are not uncommon due to storms, badly maintained vessels, overcrowding and spotty enforcement of safety regulations, especially in remote provinces.
Cerojano reported from Manila, Philippines.
People prepare equipment to go out to sea from a pier in Turda, Palawan province, Philippines, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, days after ferry MV June Aster caught fire. (AP Photo/Harly Clark Cachero)
In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, aerial survey is being conducted around ferry MV June Aster off Palawan province, western Philippines, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, days after it caught fire. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
This photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard shows the ferry MV June Aster off Palawan province, western Philippines, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, days after it caught fire. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, ferry MV June Aster smolders off Palawan province, western Philippines, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, days after it caught fire. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, ferry MV June Aster smolders off Palawan province, western Philippines, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, days after it caught fire. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
