Big guns Kerr and Creamer to lead the way for the US

Sugar Grove: The United States will launch their Solheim Cup defence with their leading two players, Cristie Kerr and Paula Creamer, going out first against Europe in Friday`s opening fourball encounters.

World number three Kerr and fourth-ranked Creamer will take on Norway`s Suzann Pettersen and Swede Sophie Gustafson in the top match, scheduled to start at 0805 local (1305 GMT)."We`ve got to set the tone early, play our games and hopefully come out victorious," the 23-year-old Creamer, who is playing on her third Solheim Cup team, told reporters. Angela Stanford and Cup veteran Juli Inkster will face Swede Helen Alfredsson and Spanish rookie Tania Elosegui in the second match before Brittany Lang and Brittany Lincicome set off against Britons Laura Davies and Becky Brewerton. In the bottom match at Rich Harvest Farms, Morgan Pressel and big-hitting Michelle Wie, who is also a Solheim rookie, will play against Briton Catriona Matthew and Swede Maria Hjorth. "What better way to start the Solheim Cup than have your top two Americans start for you," US captain Beth Daniel said after she and her opposite number Alison Nicholas had announced their pairings. "All these players get along. We tried to get the players that make the most birdies on our team, and that`s what we did." Nicholas, under whose leadership Europe are bidding to win for the first time on American soil, said her selections had come together very easily. "They expressed a desire to play with one another, they get on very well and they play similar games," the 47-year-old Briton added. "So it was a perfect scenario for me." "All my players there get a lot of birdies, and that`s what fourball is all about." The Americans have won the last two Solheim Cups and lead the series 7-3. Bureau Report