It was a disastrous start to the Presidents Cup for the Internationals as the Americans pulled off a clean sweep of all five four-ball matches on the opening day at Royal Montreal Golf Club.
Australian pairing Min Woo Lee and Adam Scott fought hard to take their match against Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala to the 18th hole but they were left to rue their putting struggles.
Fellow Australian Jason Day played in the first match of the day and also made it the final hole but came up short, while world number one Scottie Scheffler broke his Presidents Cup duck with his first win after failing to earn one on debut two years ago.
Watch the Presidents Cup LIVE & Exclusive to Fox Sports, available on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today >
‘WHAT WAS THAT?’: Scheffler gets into it with rival in spicy Presidents Cup scenes
‘What was that?!’ – Scottie GOES at Kim | 01:00
Team captain Mike Weir has opted to bench his two young energy starters – Min Woo Lee and Tom Kim – for Friday’s foursomes matches following the dire start to the event for the Internationals.
Kim sparked the Presidents Cup to life with his fiery clashes with world number one Scottie Scheffler in their Thursday match – which the Americans won 3&2 – while Lee only mustered one birdie in his debut match alongside fellow Australian Adam Scott.
Weir insisted that the surprise decision was pre-determined.
“Well, that was part of the plan. It was not a change after or anything,” he said.
“We have a plan for four-ball, and we have a plan for foursomes. Tom wasn’t in the plans for today but doesn’t mean he might not be down the road. We’re sticking with the plan.”
The move was heavily criticised by the ‘Live from the Presidents Cup’ panel with each commentator in agreeance that the Internationals need their young stars who provide a “spark” on course as much as possible.
“I just don’t know how you don’t play Tom Kim,” Brandel Chamblee said.
“He’s young, he’s lit up and he seems to be thriving in these environments.”
Fellow panellist Johnson Wagner agreed.
“He is the spark,” he said.
“Tom Kim is the emotional leader of this team right now and he is a good fit for foursomes. Instead, you put Sungjae out – who was his partner today – who didn’t make a single birdie.”
SECOND DAY FOURSOMES TEE TIMES
3.05am AEST – Hideki Matsuyama & Sungjae Im versus Patrick Cantlay & Xander Schauffele
3.19am AEST – Adam Scott & Taylor Pendrith versus Sahith Theegala & Collin Morikawa
3.33am AEST – Jason Day & Christian Bezuidenhout versus Max Homa & Brian Harmon
3.47am AEST – Corey Conners & Mackenzie Hughes versus Wyndham Clark & Tony Finau
4.01am AEST – Si Woo Kim & Byeong Hun An versus Scottie Scheffler & Russell Henley
DAY ONE TALKING POINTS
IS IT ALL OVER ALREADY?
Three matches went to the 18th green which will give the Internationals hope but it was the first time either team had won every match in a session since the US did in the third day foursomes in 2007.
It is also the third time the Americans have swept the opening session – they also did so in 1994 and 2000 and on both of those occasions it led to dominate victories.
It is no secret that the Internationals record in the Presidents Cup is poor having lost the last nine and only winning once – at Royal Melbourne in 1998 – and the panel on ‘Live from the Presidents Cup’ believe the weight of history means there is no coming back for the Internationals.
“It was a phenomenal day of golf. The USA by my count for 36-under par and the Internationals were 28-under par,” Brandel Chamblee said.
“It doesn’t sound that bleak when you put it like that. The results were an absolute nightmare for the International team.
“You’re talking about their best format and over the course of the Presidents Cups when the USA has been on foreign soil – the nod goes to the International side in four-balls.
“You can’t help but feel this one is insurmountable given the history.”
IS IT A CANADIAN PROBLEM?
Golf podcaster Andy Johnson posed on X that the International teams’ problems may be a Canada’s problems?
“Canadian players record in the last Presidents Cup was 0-8,” he said.
“International Team’s record in this year’s Presidents Cup in Canada is going to be 0-5.
“It begs the question, is Canada the problem?”
The crowd at Royal Montreal was a talking point all day with former professional Johnson Wagner saying on ‘Live from the Presidents Cup’ that “the crowd was never an issue today and that’s a problem for the International team”.
Wagner’s observations were backed up by Canadian Taylor Pendrith and Tom Kim.
“To feel the love of the home crowd being in Canada was really neat. We need to get louder, I think, the next few days here and really feel the home support,” Pendrith said.
“But it was really cool to shake Wayne Gretzky’s hand on the 1st tee and then hit my tee shot on home soil in front of the home crowd. It was a very cool experience.”
Kim went further with calling out the need for the crowd to create a more hostile atmosphere.
“Definitely when the crowds are with us, it definitely helps when you can kind of get loud. Like Taylor said, I think it was a little too quiet today being on home soil,” he said.
“I don’t think the fans were really — I wish they would have helped us out a bit more, especially being in Canada. I know how much they love golf. I’m definitely expecting more crowds to be louder and for them to be on our side.”
SCOTT AND MIN WOO UNABLE TO PULL OFF DREAM DEBUT
Australian pairing Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee took Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala to the 18th green but they let slip the slender advantage they held during the middle of the match.
A Morikawa birdie on the first hole handed the American pair the early lead but the Australians fought back with Lee making birdie at the par-5 sixth to put them one-up.
Morikawa responded immediately with another birdie but Scott hit right back in a topsy-turvy battle to once again grab the lead.
They were in front after 11 holes but Morikawa lifted his game with birdies at 12 and 14 as Scott and Lee missed makeable putts throughout the back nine before Theegala put the final nail in the coffin with a birdie at the last – his first of the day.
“Yeah, I’m disappointed. I think Min Woo and I could have won that match today,” Scott said.
“It’s disappointing that we didn’t do just a little bit better. I have a feeling the matches were closer than what the score indicates.
“Our guys are just going to have to lift a little bit. We’re going to have to find another gear to beat a tough American team.
“Like I said before, the best news is there’s tomorrow for us. It’s not over. We’re going to have to come out, fight really hard, find that gear, win a session and get going in the right direction.”
FIERY SCHEFFLER BREAKS HOODOO
Scottie Scheffler’s winless record at last year’s Ryder Cup and the 2022 Presidents Cup was the elephant in the room for the US team this week.
But – just as he by winning the FedEx Cup playoffs last month where he also he a poor record previously – Scheffler proved there was little need to read into two poor weeks.
He and Russell Henley produced the most dominant victory of the opening day with a 3&2 triumph against Tom Kim and Sungjae Im.
The Americans led from the opening hole and held off a mid-round charge from Kim who birdied seven, eight and ten as he traded barbs – in the form of fiery celebrations – with Scheffler.
Post-round, the world number one dismissed it as all in good faith with the pair being close friends off the course.
“It’s a lot of fun being out here and competing. It’s all in good fun, I think,” Scheffler said.
“That’s all I’ve got to say. It’s good fun. We’re out here competing, doing our best. Like Russell said, Tom obviously loves this stage, but Russell and I were a good match today and we did some good stuff out there.
“Russell did some good shots early in the match and hit some key shots late. Really glad to have this guy on my team.”
XANDER SPOILS JASON’S DAY
It started so promisingly for Jason Day.
The former world number one dropped a mighty birdie putt from 24 feet 6 inches on the first hole of the tournament to hand himself and playing partner Byeong Hun An the early lead, but it evaporated courtesy of Xander Schauffele birdie at the next hole.
Schauffele and Tony Finau never trailed from then on, however.
They seized the advantage courtesy of a Finau birdie at the eighth and wobbled late, but down the stretch Schauffele showed the class that won him the PGA Championship and The Open this year.
It was the first time Schauffele was not paired with Patrick Cantlay in a Presidents Cup match, but he seemed largely unphased as he birdied the final two holes to secure a point for the US.
An birdied the 15th after sticking his approach on the par-4 to seven feet, while Day’s par was enough to tie the match at the 16th because the American duo both three-putted.
Schauffele seized the moment at the next tee with a stellar tee shot into the par-3 17th before cooly holing the eight foot five-inch putt, and then he produced an even more spectacular shot into the green on 18 to give him himself two feet and ten inches for birdie and end the Internationals hopes of salvaging half a point.
“Yeah, it was close. Obviously, we got lucky with 16, both of those guys three-putting there,” Day said.
“Then Benny, the putt just needed to stay a little bit higher, and he would have holed it on 17 for birdie. That would have potentially flipped because obviously coming off the back end of a win on 16 and you’re looking for that momentum going into 18. Unfortunately, we just didn’t quite get it.
“The best players in the world had to birdie the last hole to beat us. That’s why grinding it out is important. We’ve just got to kind of regroup and think about tomorrow.”
Discussion about this post