Hideki Matsuyama said Friday that his playing partner Im Sung-jae started the foursome match with a perfect tee shot from the first hole. The short grass was torn apart while the American opponent's tee shot went to the right and missed the fairway.
The match was almost over right then and there.
Matsuyama and Yim defeated Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele 7 and 6 in a foursome, matching the largest margin of victory in Presidents Cup history.
The International opened up a three-point lead through the first five holes. However, Matsuyama and Ren did not ease off the accelerator. Starting on the par-5 6th hole, he made seven birdies in a row, and his final par break ended the match on the par-5 12th hole.
“Our atmosphere was high from the beginning and we wanted to win the game,” Im said.
“The teamwork with Hideki was great. I hit the shot and he made the putt, so it was a great job.”
International captain Mike Weir sent Matsuyama and Yim out first on Friday, and the team faced a 5-0 deficit after Thursday's four-ball game. The American team dominated the international competition on the first day, leading many to question the relevance and future of the tournament. The United States has won the Presidents Cup nine consecutive times since 2005. Meanwhile, the International has only won this competition once, in 1998.
“It was a tough start on the first day,” Matsuyama said.
“Five losses wasn't the result we wanted, but we knew we could bounce back from this.”
Indeed, they were.
In the international tournament, Matsuyama and Yim moved the ball and dominated Cantlay and Schauffele from start to finish. They seemed to give healthy momentum to the other games that followed. In the second match, Canadian Taylor Pendrith and Australian Adam Scott defeated Sahith Segala and Collin Morikawa 5&4 to give the Internationals their second goal of the week. Then the Canadian duo of Corey Connors and Mackenzie Hughes took on Windham Clark and in the fourth game, Tony Finau hit 6&5 to give the Internationals their third goal.
However, Matsuyama was in tunnel vision and was only focused on the match with Im. That's the only strategy you can employ when facing a 5-0 deficit heading into day two.
“I knew today was going to be a tough challenge,” Matsuyama said.
“We were just focused on our game. That was really important to us.”
Still, Matsuyama and Yim made things look easy, waltzing effortlessly around Royal Montreal. They combined for a great score of 8 under par and on alternate shots, but Cantlay and Schauffele only managed 2 under par. No wonder why the International won 7-6.
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.
