The United States made a late comeback in the Presidents Cup on Saturday, breaking the hearts of international fans around the world.
In the final match of the day, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele defeated Siu Kim and Tom Kim in a roller coaster of a 15-round heavyweight prizefight. All four players punched back and forth, with some making improbable chip-ins and long putts, while others took spectacular approaches. Siu Kim's chip-in and Stephen Curry-like celebration After that, he will live on forever as a Presidents Cup legend. But in the end, Cantlay hit a 17-footer for birdie, giving the American team a 1-up victory.
Collin Morikawa and Sam Barnes also won the match 1-up, leaving Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Connors in distress. The Canadians played well, with Hughes making one heroic shot after another on the back nine, but couldn't get the job done, devastating Montreal fans.
After that, Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henry quickly came back from a 3-down deficit against Hideki Matsuyama and Sung-Jae Im to win 3&2. Scheffler and Henry won six of the final 10 holes to win.
Still, the Internationals recovered a point in the afternoon foursomes with Adam Scott and Taylor Pendrith defeating Brian Harman and Max Homa. Scott and Pendrith won 2-up on the 17th green.
Therefore, the Internationals head into Sunday singles with a four-point lead, 11-7. Americans have historically played better mano y mano. International teams will face a difficult challenge in the final days, as the United States has a significant advantage in player caliber. The first person to reach 15.5 points wins the cup.
The US needs to win five games.
The International must win eight games.
Day 4 Pairings — Singles:
Match 1: 12:02pm ET — Xander Schauffele (USA) vs Jason Day (International)
Match 2: 12:14 PM ET — Sam Burns (USA) vs. Tom Kim (International)
Match 3: 12:26 PM ET — Scotty Scheffler (USA) vs. Hideki Matsuyama (International)
Match 4: 12:38 PM ET — Russell Henry (USA) vs. Im Sung-Jae (International)
Match 5: 12:50 PM ET — Patrick Cantlay (USA) vs. Taylor Pendrith (International)
Match 6: 1:02pm ET — Keegan Bradley (USA) vs. Siwoo Kim (International)
Match 7: 1:19 p.m. ET — Tony Finau (USA) vs. Corey Connors (International)
Match 8: 1:31pm ET — Windham Clark (USA) vs. Minwoo Lee (International)
Match 9: 1:43pm ET — Saheeth Segala (USA) vs. Ahn Byung-hoon (International)
Match 10: 1:55 p.m. ET — Collin Morikawa (USA) vs. Adam Scott (International)
Match 11: 2:07pm ET — Brian Herman (USA) vs. Christian Bezuidenhout (International)
Match 12: 2:19pm ET — Max Homa (USA) vs. Mackenzie Hughes (International)
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
