Annika Sorenstam admitted her European team where outplayed by the USA, who won the Solheim Cup in comfortable fashion.

The Americans took a grip on the event on Friday with a clean sweep of the afternoon fourballs, and despite Europe battling back in the singles on Sunday, it was not enough.

The USA marched to a 16 1/2 to 11 1/2 victory at Des Moines, and Sorenstam says although she was proud of her team, the opposition deserved to win.

"It has been a great week for women's golf," Sorenstam said. "If you have watched the last week, then it has been some of the better golf you will have seen in a long time. It has been great to be part of it.

"We fought so hard. It wasn't easy today, we decided to give it all we had and fight to the end - and we did that.

"We did everything we could. The team was extremely helpful and co-operative. Sometimes you are outplayed and that is what happened this week. I want to congratulate the US team, they played awesome golf."