After major transportation problems, fans help the USA to a 6-2 lead at the Solheim Cup

GAINESVILLE, Va. – If you bus them, they will come.

And on Friday they were on the first tee, thousands of them, using the stands – and their lung capacity – to the max. Thousands more lined the fairway and cheered loudly as Nelly Korda teed off and Megan Khang bounced to the blaring sound of the DJ.

Former President Barack Obama joined his supportgives high fives to the people around him and poses for photos, regardless of team affiliation.

It was a lively Friday afternoon outside the country's capital as the home team took on the 19th.^th Solheim Cup, a positive ending (at least for the USA) after a gloomy beginning (for everyone involved).

Due to bus problems, hordes of fans were unable to arrive for the start of the first day of the LPGA main event at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.

Finally they got there. And they cheered and chanted – and, rightly so, they raged.

A bright yellow media band proved to be an inviting light.

“We got to the bus at 6:15 and didn’t get here until 9:30!” shouted one fan unprompted.

“Bad day for the LPGA!” another voice rang out.

A fan storming down the 18^th Hole, knocked over a volunteer's seat stand. “No more alcohol for you,” she scolded jokingly. “I deserve it!” he replied.

With the opening foursome beginning at 7:05 a.m. ET and gates opening at 6 a.m., fans began arriving early at the main viewing area, the Jiffy Lube Live concert venue, some more than an hour in advance.

“The problem was there weren't enough buses,” said Carolyn Keating, a former area resident who flew in from Bentonville, Arkansas, to attend the games and meet her family.

Keating said she arrived at the parking lot, which is five miles from the course, and asked about the wait time. When she heard the transfer could take up to two hours, she decided on “Plan B.”

“I found a parking spot off Lee Highway and went in,” she said.

“Two miles.”

Keating said this with a smile on her face, adding that she enjoyed the conversations with the many, many other motorists who became pedestrians.

“It's disappointing,” said U.S. captain Stacy Lewis. “It is what it is. You play in these things for years and then things happen. Unfortunately, it was a big incident.”

The LPGA made a statement at 9:21 a.m., which said, among other things: “We are working on ways to express our regret to those affected.” Shortly before 9 p.m. published another statement Social media reported that Friday's visitors would be offered two free tickets to a game on Saturday or Sunday.

The latter statement was subsequently deleted and another version was offered There was no mention of compensation for fans, only that the tour had “significantly increased the number of shuttle buses” and that they would begin operating at 4:30 a.m. The tour also said that volunteers now have their own parking space and do not have to share the buses with fans.

Keating was only there for one day, but it was still an entertaining afternoon.

GAINESVILLE, Va. – The U.S.

A crowd of seven spectators watched the first two games on 16.^th green. The USA alternate captains gathered under a nearby scoreboard that showed the home team leading 2-0.

Encouraged by the ever-growing crowd, the US teams turned three close games into three 3-and-2 victories.

“Of course you notice that the stands are not full, but what counts is that everyone is here now and cheering us loudly,” said Korda after her victory that morning.

The Americans led 3-1 after the morning session – a nice advantage, but not a comfortable one, not after the USA squandered a 4-0 lead after the opening set at Finca Cortesin last year.

There was no disappointment this Friday. Quite the opposite.

Amid the high tension, the USA won three games by at least three holes.

“The energy,” Lewis said of her priority this afternoon. “It felt like we were slacking at times last year in Spain. I just wanted to make sure we had the right people here with the right energy.”

Mission accomplished.

Korda, playing with various partners, scored two dominant victories on the first day of the Solheim Cup.

Korda and Megan Khang won 6 and 4. Andrea Lee and Rose Zhang won 5 and 4. Lauren Coughlin and Sarah Schmelzel won 3 and 2.

The only European victory was also a landslide victory: Anna Nordqvist and Madelene Sagstrom defeated Alison Lee and Lexi Thompson 6 and 5.

It is the first time in the history of the competition that a team has led by such a large margin after Day 1.

“Last year we faced a pretty big challenge. We've done it before and we can do it again,” said European captain Suzann Pettersen.

“I don't think we played badly. … The Americans played great. We have a huge task ahead of us.”

It starts on Saturday morning about 15 minutes after sunrise.

Hopefully the fans will be there to see it.