Hideki Matsuyama said his playing partner Sungjae Im began their foursomes match with the perfect tee shot off the first hole on Friday. It split the short grass while their American counterparts pushed to their tee shots right and missed the fairway.
The match was all but over right then and there.
Matsuyama and Im defeated Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele 7 & 6 in Foursomes, which matches the largest margin of victory in Presidents Cup history.
The Internationals opened up a 3-up lead through the first five holes. But Matsuyama and Im did not take their foot off the gas. Starting at the par-5 6th, they rattled off seven birdies in a row, with their last par-breaker being at the par-5 12th, where they closed out the match.
“From the beginning, our vibe was vibing, and we were trying to win the match,” Im said.
“With Hideki, our teamwork was amazing. When I would hit the shot, he would finish with the putt, so it was a great job.”
International Captain Mike Weir sent Matsuyama and Im out first on Friday, with his team facing a 5-0 deficit after Thursday’s Fourball matches. The Americans overwhelmed the Internationals on Day One, leading many to ask about this competition’s validity and future. The U.S. has won the Presidents Cup nine consecutive times, dating back to 2005. The Internationals, meanwhile, have only won this event once, doing so in 1998.
“We had a tough start to the first day,” Matsuyama said.
“Five losses wasn’t the result we wanted to have. But we knew that we could come back from this.”
Indeed, they did.
Matsuyama and Im got the ball rolling for the Internationals, dominating Cantlay and Schauffele from start to finish. It seemed they provided a healthy dose of momentum to the other matches behind them. In match number two, Canadian Taylor Pendrith and Australian Adam Scott gave the Internationals their second point of the week, defeating Sahith Theegala and Collin Morikawa, 5 & 4. Then, the all-Canadian duo of Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes defeated Wyndham Clark and Tony Finau 6 & 5 in match number four, giving the Internationals a third point.
But Matsuyama had tunnel vision, only focusing on his match with Im. That’s the only strategy you can employ when facing a 5-0 deficit going into day two.
“We knew it was going to be a tough challenge today,” Matsuyama said.
“We were just really focused on our game. That was really important for us.”
Yet, Matsuyama and Im made things look easy, waltzing their way around Royal Montreal with ease. They combined to shoot 8-under, an impressive score in Alternate Shot, while Cantlay and Schauffele could only muster 2-under. No wonder why the Internationals won 7 & 6.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
