An unlikely blend of Irish magic, Scottish wisdom and Finnish/Scandinavian golfing skills saw underdogs Europe retain the Solheim Cup in Toledo, Ohio, on Monday, leaving their stunned American opponents wondering where it had all gone wrong.
The 15-13 win at the Inverness Club was all the more praiseworthy considering there were few European supporters amongst the spectators owing to Covid-19 regulations.
Europe performed before a partisan crowd who were not shy about who they wanted to win. But it was chants of "We love you Beany" -- a reference to Europe's Scottish team captain Catriona Matthew -- that prevailed at the end.
The European team had a veritable United Nations feel about it with players from eight countries -- England, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Spain, France, Finland and Ireland.
It was a personal triumph for Matthew who led her team to only their second success on American soil. It was also her second successive triumph as captain.
Many attribute this year's success to Matthew, nicknamed "Beany," who always maintains a calm attitude no matter what's going on around her.
Matthew was quick to praise her players. "My team has been so fantastic all week," she said. "I'm so proud of them."
The players were equally impressed by their leader. England's Georgia Hall spoke for the whole team when she said: "We couldn't have asked for a better captain… she's just so chilled all the time."
The outstanding individual performance came from newcomer Leona Maguire, the first Irish player to represent Europe in the event.
From the moment she joined England's Mel Reid in the opening foursomes, she looked a winner and remained unbeaten throughout the tournament.
On the final day, she emphasised her class, overwhelming Jennifer Kupcho 5&4, to give Europe their first point in the singles.
No wonder the young Irish woman was delighted, remarking: "I could not have asked for a better week".
Maguire already has an outstanding amateur record and you can expect her to be a prominent figure in professional golf for years to come.
Her competitive nature is reflected in her comment -- "It's very satisfying to hole a putt when people are cheering against you.''
The player who had the honour of clinching Europe's 14th point, meaning they would retain the trophy, went to Finland's Matilda Castren.
She really had to work for it too against a determined Lizette Salas.
It didn't look promising at the 18th for Castren when she was plugged in a bunker.
However, a terrific shot out of the sand left her with an eight-foot putt.
In the circumstances, it was a real knee-trembler but she kept calm and holed it for a full point to ensure Europe could not lose.
It was such a dramatic moment that no wonder all she could say immediately after was "I'm lost for words."
Ensuring Europe would win by a clear margin was Denmark's Emily Pedersen who defeated Danielle Kang in the last singles match.
The final scoreboard admittedly looked a bit strange with the Americans having won four of the last five matches, but the damage had already been done.
One of the outstanding match-ups of the final day was the opener with US star Lexi Thompson and Sweden's Anna Nordqvist battling it out tooth and nail and it seemed fitting that it should end all-square.
France's Celine Boutier also impressed with a comfortable win over Mina Harigae.
Although the US were much the stronger team on paper, things did not work out so well on the course despite the huge crowd support.
This was particularly the case for world No.1 Nelly Korda who was clearly unsettled by an unnecessary ruling on the opening day when the referee intervened and awarded Korda a hole because of a rule infringement by Sweden's Madelene Sagstrom.
Korda was blameless and had not asked for a ruling and seemed more upset by the ruling than the Europeans.
"It was definitely awkward," she said. "You don't want to win a hole like that."
She was out of sorts for much of the tournament but came back well in the singles, defeating Hall.
The pressure on Korda was enormous and you could feel for her when she admitted: "Coming into the week ranked No.1 is not easy."
Succinctly summing up the European victory former US star Judy Rankin observed: "The away team bonding worked out very well for Europe."