By the time the Cup was ready to start, Christina had already become a fan favorite in Indiana. During the opening ceremonies, both team captains got a chance to introduce their teams to the crowd. When Nancy said Christina Kim's name, the crowd's cheering got notably louder and more boisterous than it had been. Nancy remarked from the podium, 'I think they like you, Christina', which caused Christina to bust a little dance move with her shoulders. Cristie Kerr, who was standing next to Christina, nearly lost it from laughing, and the crowd elevated their reaction even more. Later, the two captains were asked to comment on their choices on which teams would play in the first round in the morning. Christina had been chosen to play the third match, teamed with Pat Hurst. Catrin Nilsmark put two veterans, Sophie Gustafson and Trish Johnson, into the match opposite Christina and Pat. These are blind pairings, so she didn't know for sure that Christina would play then. But she told the commentators that she suspected Christina would be in that group, so she put two veterans against her whom she thought could 'handle all the hoopla'. Christina laughed at that one.

Christina Kim hams it up for the crowds
during the opening ceremony at the Solheim Cup

Christina during day one of the Solheim Cup

As mentioned, Lopez wasted no time throwing Christina into the mix: she was scheduled to play in the first session on Friday morning with Pat Hurst as her partner. This was the dreaded alternate shot format, a format Christina had never played in her life other than during their practice sessions earlier. And she would be matched up against two seasoned Solheim veterans. How would Christina handle the pressure?

Actually, she did very well. She and Hurst managed to carve a nice little lead out by the midway point in their match. Indeed, the Americans were ahead in three of their first four matches, and it looked for a while like things would go their way across the board. But momentum has a way of shifting at the Solheim Cup, and it did so mightily back in Europe's favor as the round progressed. In the end, what looked like it might be a 3-1 lead for the Americans turned into a 3-1 lead for the Europeans. The Euros won two of the matches outright, and tied the other two. Christina and Pat managed to hang on to square their match with their opponents. It was certainly a mild disappointment that they did not get the win, considering they had had a two up lead with just a few holes to play, but at least they acquired a half point. In the final morning match, Annika Sorenstam and Suzann Pettersen came from four down with six to play against Michele Redman and Laura Diaz, winning the match on the final green. Once again, the Americans had disappointed in the foursome matches.

In the afternoon fourball matches, Christina did not play. The Americans and the Euros split evenly, 2 points a piece. Thus after day one, Europe had a 5-3 lead over America.

America needed a shot in the arm to get the momentum back on their side. The fans had been quiet as ghosts, particularly in the morning round. On day two, Nancy decided to send two of her rookies out in the first match, hoping that their play would energize the crowd. That team was Christina Kim and Natalie Gulbis, and they ended up being matched against the two French rookies, Gwladys Nocera and Ludivine Kreutz. From the first hole, the Americans charged, playing brilliantly. But it was Christina's supercharged antics that elevated the crowd into a frenzy on hole after hole. She made clutch putts and shouted, pumping her fist. She did funny dances. She high fived the crowd. On one hole, a member of the gallery shouted out 'Christina Kim for President!' Gulbis replied, 'I'd vote for her!'

One particular putt late in her match Christina would later call 'the best putt of her life'. Gulbis had left her a 10 footer for par to halve the hole and maintain their three up lead. After she and her father had taken some time lining up the putt, Christina buried it, and turned to the crowd to give a magnificent fist pump. The crowd was already going crazy when she made the shot, but when she turned to acknowledge them, its volume increased exponentially, to the point where the whole of Crooked Stick shook. It was, in a word, awesome.

Christina electrified the crowd on Saturday morning

Christina hugs team captain Nancy Lopez while her
morning teammate Natalie Gulbis looks on

After Christina and Natalie finished off the Euro rookies 4-2, they waited by the green to greet the next team in. Christina kept her cheering up, maintaining the level of frenzy she had helped generate with the win. You cannot overstate how much Christina's play and attitude had electrified that crowd, turning them into the valuable additional teammate the Americans needed. By the end of the morning session, the Americans had won three out of four points, returning the matches to a tie at 6-6. It was one of the few times in Solheim history that the Americans had done so well at foursomes. Lopez's decision to practice that format had paid dividends, but so had her decision to trust her rookies with heavy responsibilities early and often. They were now delivering, and with Christina's almost insane level of enthusiasm, the Americans had seized momentum big time.