Sugar Grove, IL (My Sportsbook) - The United States took a 2 1/2 - 1 1/2 lead over Europe after Friday morning's fourball matches at the Solheim Cup at Rich Harvest Farms.

Michelle Wie's Solheim Cup debut was somewhat successful and definitely eventful.

She played well Friday morning, but in the end, she and Morgan Pressel halved with Women's British Open champion Catriona Matthew and Maria Hjorth in the anchor match.

In the first match, Cristie Kerr and Paula Creamer defeated a strong European team of Suzann Pettersen and Sophie Gustafson, 1-up.

Europe got its only full point when Helen Alfredsson and Tania Elosegui topped Angela Stanford and Juli Inkster, 1-up.

Brittany Lincicome and Brittany Lang trounced their European counterparts Laura Davies and Becky Brewerton, 5 & 4.

Wie and Pressel trailed by as much as 2-down, but a win at 12, a Wie birdie at the 13th and a short Pressel birdie at 14 and the young Americans were all of a sudden 1-up.

With Pressel in the water and out of the hole at 17, Wie had a chance to win the match. Her 15-foot par putt lipped out and it was off to the 18th with the U.S. still 1-up.

The Europeans were in good shape at the final hole, where Wie wanted a drop from the fairway. The rules official agreed and it triggered a long discussion between the official, Matthew and European captain Alison Nicholas.

In the end, Wie got her drop, but hit a terrible shot into a front bunker. Matthew sank a five-footer for birdie to win the hole and walk off with a halve.

Wie is out of Friday afternoon's action as American captain Beth Daniel indicated she doesn't want players to compete in all five sessions.

The leadoff team for the U.S., Kerr and Creamer, trailed through much of their match. Kerr squared it at 12 with a 10-foot birdie putt, but the European side recaptured the lead with a 10-foot birdie from Pettersen at the 13th.

Once again it was Kerr who answered. She birdied the 14th hole to draw even, then got help from her partner. Creamer buried a long birdie putt at the 16th to win the hole and give the Americans their first lead.

Kerr made a six-foot birdie putt at 17 and Pettersen rolled in a short one to head to 18 with a 1-up lead for Kerr and Creamer.

It was Kerr who came through with the flat stick again.

She made a nine-foot birdie putt at the last to give the U.S. another full point.

"Kerr played awesome," said Creamer. "She closed really well, finished strong and a win is a win."

The second match was the only full point for the Europeans and it came from a former captain.

Alfredsson, who led Europe two years ago in Sweden and is the first player in Solheim Cup history to make a team after captaining one, played solidly throughout and got her side a 2-up lead.

The U.S. team came back and cut the deficit to 1-down with the difficult 18th to play.

All four golfers in that match struggled, but Alfredsson hammered a chip from the side of the green 15 feet past the hole. The U.S. was in with birdie so Alfredsson needed to hole her putt to hang on to the full point.

She did just that.

"I know we had to make birdie to win it," said Alfredsson. "I walked up to the putt and saw the line. That's what you want when you need to make a putt."

The Lincicome/Lang pairing dominated early, mostly on the strength of Lincicome, this year's Kraft Nabisco Championship winner.

Lincicome won the third hole to go 1-up, then made a bomb for birdie at the par-four sixth. Lang birdied seven and Lincicome put the squad 4-up thanks to a 12-foot birdie at the 10th.

The Americans' lead was, at one point, 5-up and the match ended on 14 when both Davies and Lincicome made pars.

Afternoon play will be foursomes, or alternate-shot. The U.S. needs 14 points to retain the Solheim Cup it won in 2007. Europe needs 14 1/2 to win.