Talk about a change of fortune.
A day after Team USA sent the international team back to their hotel room in Montreal with their tails between their legs, coach Mike Weir's team completely flipped the script at the Presidents Cup. The international team dominated the foursomes on the second day, winning all five games and drawing five games each.
They also made history in the process. 2024 Presidents Cup This is the first time for two consecutive sweeps. This has also happened at the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup.
It all started with Hideki Matsuyama and Sung-Jae Lim, who took an irresistible lead against a combination that had proven formidable in the past: Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. But for Matsuyama and Yim, their previous success didn't matter, nor did the fact that Schauffele won two majors earlier this year. They focused on themselves and their game and it paid off, winning 7-6. Defeating Cantlay and Schauffele matched the largest margin of victory in Presidents Cup history and set the tone for the rest of the internationals that day.
“Obviously, yesterday was a tough challenge for us because we lost in five games,” Matsuyama said.
“But Sungjae hit a perfect tee shot on the first hole and that gave us momentum, so I was really happy.”
Matsuyama believes Im's first drive, which hit the fairway, gave the international team the boost it needed. The 2021 Masters champions must be right in that regard, as they went on to win seven of the first 11 holes.
The momentum from the first game carried over into the second, with Australian Adam Scott and Canada's Taylor Pendrith making history. They defeated Saheeth Segala and Collin Morikawa to win 5&4, giving Scott his 22nd career Presidents Cup point. This is the most in international team history, surpassing Ernie Els, and is an impressive accomplishment even though Scott has yet to win a President's Cup in his career. This week will be his 11th appearance in this event. Pendrith, on the other hand, is a rookie, so Friday's win marks his first point at the Internationals.
“We did a really good job being paired up with Adam Scott, who is a legend in this tournament, so it was very special,” Pendrith said.
“His putting was great today, on his way to his first points ever. [International] The shield feels really good. I played some really solid golf today. It was a lot of fun. ”
Scott also made a point of acknowledging the Montreal crowd, which was criticized for a lack of passion Thursday. But the Royal Montreal galleries had much to rejoice on Friday.
“You could definitely hear the crowd, we got off to a good start and there was energy,” Scott said.
“Yesterday was flat so it's looking good. We didn't cheer them on too much. But today we hope it's the start of a great weekend.”
The beatings didn't stop there.
In the fourth game, Canadians Corey Connors and Mackenzie Hughes knew their teammates in front of them had built a sizable lead, which energized the crowd. So his former Kent State teammates rode the momentum, led by Tony Finau and Windham Clark. The Americans had no answers as they lost 6-5 to the Canadians.
“Today was a special day. The audience was involved from the beginning,” Connors said.
“I wanted to get off to a good start so I kept my foot on the gas and played some great golf. Mac hit some unbelievable shots. It was a really fun day and I'm so glad I got to share it with such good friends. It was good.”
Meanwhile, the remaining two matches were decided on the 18th hole.
Christian Bezuidenhout and Jason Day stayed behind all day, but almost coughed up a cough towards the end. With a 2-up lead on the 16th tee, Day hit his drive into the water, but somehow opponents Max Homa and Brian Harman also bogeyed that hole, preserving his 2-up lead. I continued to the 17th tee. This guaranteed a half point.
Nevertheless, Bezuidenhout hit a terrible iron shot on the par-3 17th that missed the right of the green and into the water. Homa and Herman made birdies to cut the deficit in half and pay for the misfire here.
Then, on No. 18, after Homa inexplicably missed the green to the right, Bezuidenhout stepped up and hit an incredible draw that hit the green about 15 yards. But Day, who has always had a great short game, stepped up and chipped it to about 2 feet, guaranteeing the International a 1-up victory and a fourth point.
“It was great to get the gold medal so early,” Bezuidenhout said.
“I don't think anyone was following them in their game. Yes, it was good to see. Things quickly turned in our favor today, so I'm really happy to get the win today.”
Not to discredit Bezuidenhout, but the international team was on the back foot for a time on Friday.
However, the United States led by just one hole in the final round. Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henry took a 1-up lead on the par-4 second hole, but South Korea's Byung-hoon Ahn and Siu Kim birdied their own on the next hole to put the game back on track. After that, the match went back and forth between a tie and a one point international lead. But the key moment came on the par-3 13th, where Kim hit his tee shot a few feet away. This gave the Internationals a permanent lead, but on the 18th it looked like they were destined to erase the lead and concede a half-point to the Americans. But Kim hit a 15-foot par to cut the hole in half and complete the sweep. The Internationals are riding high heading into Saturday.
Day 3 of the Presidents Cup will follow a two-session schedule similar to the Ryder Cup, with four-ball in the morning and foursomes in the afternoon.
Saturday morning's lineup is as follows, with Coach Weir fielding some familiar teams.
Day 3 Morning Pairings — Four Ball
Match 1: 7:02 a.m. — Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa (USA) vs. Adam Scott and Taylor Pendrith (International)
Match 2: 7:20 a.m. — Tony Finau and Xander Schauffele (USA) vs. Corey Connors and Mackenzie Hughes (International)
Match 3: 7:38 a.m. — Keegan Bradley, Windham Clark (USA) vs. Shi Woo Kim, Tom Kim (International)
Match 4: 7:56 a.m. — Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns (USA) vs. Hideki Matsuyama and Sung-Jae Im (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.
