Europe’s ladies won the 2011 Solheim Cup on Sunday, 25 September, amid scenes of joyous celebration at Killeen Castle in County Meath.

Alison Nicholas’s European team claimed the coveted trophy for the first time since 2003, sealing a 15-13 win when Spain’s Azahara Munoz clinched the vital point in the final match with a one-hole win over America’s Angela Stanford.

More than 80,000 people packed Killeen Castle’s splendid natural woodlands to see the cream of women’s professional golf contest the 12th staging of the event.

The biennial face-off between the leading women golfers of Europe and their American counterparts takes place over three days, with eight sets of fourball and foursome matches on the opening two days, following by 12 singles matches on the final Sunday.

Twelve of the top players on each continent take part in the event.