Montreal (AFP) – Kim Si-woo sank a match-winning 15-foot par putt to give the Internationals a sweep of Friday’s foursomes matches and equal the United States at 5-5 at the Presidents Cup. Kim’s 18th-hole heroics completed a stunning fightback by the global golfers, who had not won a session in the alternate-shot format since 2005, losing 17 in a row.
“I saw the first four groups winning points and I knew I needed the point,” Kim said. “We’re game on.” After dropping all five four-ball matches Thursday at Royal Montreal, the Internationals routed an American lineup boasting 12 of the world’s 25 top-ranked players. Kim capped the incredible rally with his putt to complete a 1-up win for him and countryman Ben An over top-ranked Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley. Neither side was ever more than 1-up.
“That was amazing,” An said. “We came back strong. Glad we’re back in the game.” The Americans, who lead the overall rivalry against the non-European side 12-1-1, swept Thursday’s five four-ball matches to seize command in quest of a 10th consecutive win. “Every great comeback story starts with a deficit,” said Internationals captain Mike Weir. “That was the message and the guys were very motivated. We responded incredibly. I believed in the guys. We just wanted to get ourselves back in this — 5-0 was a bonus — and the guys just played unbelievable.”
Never before in Presidents or Ryder Cup history had there been sweeps in back-to-back sessions. “They played a lot of great golf. We’ve got a tough match on our hands,” US captain Jim Furyk said. “I hope that sticks with everyone. I hope there’s a pit in their stomach tonight.”
Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and South Korean Im Sung-jae routed Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay 7&6 in the first match to equal the largest match win in Cup history. “From the beginning, our vibe was vibing,” Im said through a translator. “Our teamwork was amazing. When I hit the shot, he would finish with the perfect putt.” They combined to birdie the last seven holes, eight overall, and never lost a hole. “Really happy. It was a tough challenge for us,” said Matsuyama through a translator. “But Sung-jae had a perfect tee shot on the first hole. That brought us the momentum.”
Australian Adam Scott and Canada’s Taylor Pendrith beat Sahith Theegala and Collin Morikawa 5&4, Scott’s 22nd Cup point passing Ernie Els for the all-time Internationals record. “We didn’t get deflated,” Scott said. “We knew we were playing well and we just had to get on with it. There’s a lot of fight in this team and we’re not going to go away.” Canada’s Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes beat Wyndham Clark and Tony Finau 6&5, while South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Aussie Jason Day won 1-up over Max Homa and Brian Harman in other matches.
“It was good to see the first match out go 7&6,” Bezuidenhout said. “We got off to a great start, all the teams. It was amazing.” The Cup continues with four matches in each format Saturday ahead of 12 concluding singles matches on Sunday.
– ‘A special day’ –
World number seven Matsuyama, the 32-year-old 2021 Masters champion and highest-ranked Internationals player, sank a six-foot birdie putt to win the second after the US duo dropped the first with a bogey. Matsuyama sank a 16-foot birdie putt with a fist-pump to win eight, then added a 12-foot birdie putt to win 10 and approached to set up wins on 11 and 12. Scott and Pendrith lost only one hole and never trailed. Scott won the fourth with a nine-foot birdie putt and sank a 39-footer to win the par-3 fifth, and the duo rolled from there.
Conners and Hughes never trailed and lost only one hole while making birdies on five of the last six holes. “This was a special day,” Conners said. “We kept our foot on the gas and played some awesome golf.” Day and Bezuidenhout never trailed and took the lead for good when the Aussie sank a 28-foot birdie putt to win the par-3 seventh. Bezuidenhout found water off the tee to drop the par-3 17th, but the US duo lost when Homa missed a 26-foot chip at 18.
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