United States Junior Solheim Cup team (AJGA twitter photo)

The course is situated just a couple miles from downtown Washington, DC and is about 35 miles away from Robert Trent Jones Golf Club sits where this week's Solheim Cup will be contested.

Elizabeth Rudisill, Jude Lee, and Gianna Clemente led U.S. captain Beth Daniel's squad with 3-0 performances for the week. Both teams had a total of 20 players who made their debut in this event this week. They all plan to head over to the Solheim Cup to watch the stars on their respective teams the rest of the week.

Lee had a memorable moment alongside teammate Nikki Oh during Monday's Opening Fourball matches. They went second out and set the tone for the week with a 6&5 rout of the Danish duo of Victoria Kristensen and Benedicte Brent-Buchholz. There was a moment on the par 3 ninth green when Oh made birdie and high fived her teammate excitedly as they left the green for the tenth. 

"We didn't even realize what kind of lead we had there, until we got to the tee at ten. Then next thing we knew, it was over," Oh said. Indeed as they finished 13 they closed out the match with a 6 up lead to end up at 6&5. When both players are competing for the first time in a big event like this, how does it feel to walk off the ninth hole with a 5-up lead?

It's an amazing feeling," Oh smiled. "It's really nice to have a big lead. I think we were both having fun and we high fived each other there on nine. Was hard to believe we stretched the lead so early. We were just so focused to play our best."

Asterisk Talley's been playing some of her best golf of late as well. She ended her second Ping Junior Solheim Cup with a 1-1-1 record. It was the friendships that Talley enjoyed most about the week.

"We really have a great time getting to play with each other instead of against each other like we normally do in junior golf," Talley said. "We have so much fun on the golf course even when we play against each other (throughout the year), and so I think it's really fulfilling to finally get to be with each other, get closer to each other this week. I feel like we have such a good captain that brings us closer and helps us find where there's something similar in our game's and we finally just get to talk about it this week."

Another player who felt a closer bond to players on the U.S. team was Gianna Clemente.

"These are some of my best friends that are on this team, so it's been so cool to just share moments with them and making memories with them has been really fun for me," Clemente says of friends Asterisk Talley, Scarlett Schremmer, and Elizabeth Rudisill among others. 

First time in the U.S. 

One of the more rewarding aspects of this event are the teenage European players getting to visit the United States, and many of them for the first time.
Spain's Martina Navarro Navarro was among the first-timers to visit the U.S. this week, and she was thrilled

"Wow, it's like a new world to me. This is all so new. I'm happy and I really like this country," Navarro Navarro said. "The weather is amazing also. I look forward to seeing some monuments in Washington, DC. She plans to leave for Spain on the evening of September 15, "so I hope I can watch the last day of the Solheim Cup and maybe I can see more of the city with my parents and my brother," Navarro Navarro says.

And what's it like to have family support during an event you've never played in a country you've also never been to?

"It was really great having them here this week. Monday (36 holes) was a long and tough day and they were cheering us up and telling us "come on, you can do this!' and that really helped. Today they told me to enjoy my singles match and that I can do it. It felt great to have them walking on each hole.

Navarro Navarro also feels special bond with her teammates from a week like this, even if they didn;t win.
"I have made some really great friendships on this team, and I think after this week, it will be friendships that will last a lifetime," Navarro Navarro said.

Another player who made it to the U.S. for the first time this week was Victoria Kristensen. 

"It's amazing. It's really different from being home, but it's a really nice place. I really like it here. I want to attend a college eventually in the United States and any part of this country will be warmer than Denmark," Kristensen laughed. "Everyone I've been around has been so upbeat and I'm really looking forward to seeing Washington, D.C. and the monuments."

Heading to the Solheim Cup

Both teams plan to watch some of the Solheim cup later this week, and for many of them it's a tremendous chance to watch some of their idols in action. Kristensen can't wait to see Emily Pedersen play in her fourth Solheim Cu[ appearance this week at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. "I'm really looking forward to it. I love her. We have a training camp each year where we all go and I have met her a couple times and we share the same coach. I can;t wait to watch her play."

Navarro Navarro was a spectator at last year's European win in her home country of Spain, so this week will be extra special. "When I got selected for this event I was so excited because I knew I would get a chance to finally meet Carlota and I'm really excited to get that chance this week. How she finished to win last year, it was so amazing. It was incredible to see her as I was there with my friends. She has that Spanish spirit which I really like and she doesn't quit, she fights to the end. I love it.”

Garrett Johnston is a golf journalist based in Washington, DC. He’s also the host of the Beyond the Clubhouse Podcast with players, caddies, and broadcasters. You can find him on the nineteenth hole or on X @JohnstonGarrett