Team USA caddies strip off at Solheim Cup as controversial celebration explained

Bizarre scenes ensued at the Solheim Cup on Saturday with two caddies removing their shirts in celebration as Alison Lee continued Team USA's domination by holing out from the fairway.

Lee's incredible shot at the par-four second from 86 yards saw the ball pitch and spin back into the hole for an eagle, sparking jubilant scenes at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia. Lee's caddie Taylor "Shota" Takada and playing partner Megan Khang's looper Jack Fulghum immediately tore off their shirts and bibs and hugged the players and each other – prompting laughter from Lee and Khang.

The moment received a mixed reaction, with some viewers dubbing it "classless", but NBC's on-course reporter Kay Cockerill quickly clarified the situation. She explained that Fulgham told the American duo on the tee box that he would fork out $500 if either of them holed out during the round, but Lee renegotiated and suggested removing their shirts as a more fitting forfeit.

And when her approach shot found the cup, Fulgham and Takada had no hesitation in keeping up their end of the bargain.

Lee said after the match: “Right after the first hole, [Fulghum] kind of looked at us and said, ‘Come on, guys, I want to see one of you guys hole out. I want to see a really good shot.’ He said that if one of us holes out we’ll get $500, and I said 'I don’t want your money. I don’t need $500. How about you take your shirt off?', and he’s like, 'Yeah, I’ll do it'.

"And he looked over at my caddie, Shota, and he’s like, 'You’re going to do it?', and they agreed, and it’s crazy it happened five minutes later.

“Jack was the first person to take his shirt off. He was so quick with it and I saw it from the corner of my eye. I looked at my caddie, Shota, I was like, why aren’t you taking your shirt off? Take it off. He finally took it off. It was a really cool moment.”

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U.S. captain Stacy Lewis saw the incident on a huge monitor as she stood with her vice-captains on the first tee. She caught up with Lee and Khang later in the round. She said: "They thought they were in trouble when I came up on 7, and I just told them that they were going viral. That was all I was coming to tell them.”

European captain Suzann Pettersen laughed it off as good fun. She joked: "I would just say, sex sells. Go for it.”

Lee and Khang went on to win their match over Anna Nordqvist and Madelene Sagstrom 4&3, with USA taking a commanding 10-6 lead into Sunday's singles. With all 12 matches out on the course, the USA leads in seven while Europe leads in five, putting Lewis' team on course for a thumping victory.