Sugar Grove, IL (My Sportsbook) - The United States split the foursomes with Europe on Friday, but is ahead 4 1/2 - 3 1/2 after the first day of the Solheim Cup.

In Friday's first afternoon foursomes match, Natalie Gulbis and Christina Kim jumped out early against Europe's Sophie Gustafson and Suzann Pettersen, then dispatched them, 4 & 2.

Europe responded in match two of the foursomes. Becky Brewerton and Gwladys Nocera handled Angela Stanford and Nicole Castrale, 3 & 1.

In a battle that featured two major winners from this year, Friday went to Europe.

LPGA Champion Anna Nordqvist and Maria Hjorth beat Kraft Nabisco Championship winner Brittany Lincicome and Kristy McPherson, 3 & 2.

The anchor match pitted Juli Inkster and Paula Creamer for the Americans against Women's British Open champion Catriona Matthew and Janice Moodie and it went to the U.S.

Creamer made a 20-footer for par on the 17th to give her and Inkster a 2 & 1 victory and the U.S. its one-point lead.

That point could loom large.

The U.S. is 4-0 when it leads after the first day and only once in the previous 10 Solheim Cups has a team come back and hoisted the Cup after trailing after day one.

"It's funny, a half point, a point, at the end of the week they add up," said Inkster.

It was a half-point in the morning four balls that might have inspired the Europeans in the afternoon foursomes.

Matthew and Hjorth spoiled Michelle Wie's Solheim Cup debut. Matthew made a birdie at the last to halve with Wie and Morgan Pressel and that half point made the score 2 1/2 - 1 1/2 after a very long morning session of four balls.

In the first match of Friday afternoon's foursomes, Gulbis and Kim flew out of the gate. They won the first two holes and never looked back, despite losing the fourth hole to a par.

"That's definitely how you want to start out," said Gulbis, who knocked the team's approach to three feet at the first.

Kim hit her side's approach inside two feet at the sixth. Europe conceded the birdie and Gustafson missed her try so the U.S. reclaimed its 2-up advantage.

The margin stayed at 2-up until the U.S. captured the 14th hole. The Americans were on the green putting for par at No. 16 and after a poor tee shot and a chip from Pettersen that hit a tree, Europe conceded and its best team was dealt its second defeat on Friday.

"I still think we played a lot of great golf," said Pettersen. "You're going to get your points or not. You have to get that ball to drop in the hole."

Europe answered in the next two matches.

Brewerton and Nocera won the first hole and had a 3-up lead at the turn. Stanford and Castrale got nothing going through their entire round. The match went to the 17th with Europe leading and Castrale drove into a bunker. Stanford tried a difficult shot with a fairway-metal and it didn't work.

Stanford and Castrale conceded in the fairway after Europe hit the green.

"We played really well. We really clicked," said Brewerton. "Couldn't have gone any better."

Hjorth and Nordqvist burst out with two straight wins, but the U.S. team knotted the match by the fifth hole. The European side got back to 2-up with wins at seven and nine, but Lincicome continued her outstanding putting from the fourballs and drained a nine-footer to win the 10th.

Europe teamed for a birdie at 13 and was 2-up. Lincicome hit a terrible tee shot short and left. McPherson inspected it and decided to take an unplayable lie and went back to the for the team's third shot.

McPherson knocked it close, but Europe just needed a halve to win the full point. Lincicome made it interesting when she rolled in the seven-footer for bogey, but Europe made a bogey to get the full point.

"We were playing solid and kept hanging in there," said Nordqvist, who made her Solheim Cup debut on Friday. "We were just waiting for the putts to drop."

Creamer and Inkster won the first hole and built a 3-up cushion by the 12th hole when Inkster knocked her approach stiff and Europe conceded the birdie.

Matthew and Moodie responded. They won both the 13th and 14th holes to cut the margin to 1-down, but Moodie, as she did most of the match, missed a short birdie putt at 15 to lose the hole and fall 2-down with three to go.

Both teams parred the 16th and Inkster hit a bad drive into the rough at 17. Creamer had no option but to lay up short of the water and Inkster hit a solid third to 20 feet.

Europe made its par and Creamer needed to hole her par putt or the match would go to 18. She did just that to give the U.S. the first-day lead.

"We always had a chance, we were always in it," said Creamer.

On Saturday, the format remains the same with four four ball matches in the morning and four foursomes matches in the afternoon. There will be 12 singles matches on Sunday.

The U.S. needs 14 points to retain the Solheim Cup it won in 2007. Europe needs 14 1/2 to win the Cup.