Talk about a change of fortune.
One day after the Americans sent the Internationals back to their Montreal hotel rooms with their tails between them, Mike Weir’s squad completely flipped the script at the Presidents Cup. The International Team swept Day 2 foursomes, winning all five matches and tying things up at five apiece.
They also made history in the process. The 2024 Presidents Cup marks the first time two consecutive sweeps have occurred, including at the Ryder Cup and the Solheim Cup.
It all started with Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im, who raced out to an insurmountable lead against Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, a duo that has proved formidable in the past. But their prior success did not matter to Matsuyama or Im, nor did the fact that Schauffele won two majors earlier this year. They focused on themselves and their game, which paid off as they won 7 & 6. Their dismantling of Cantlay and Schauffele matches the largest margin of victory in Presidents Cup history, setting the tone for the Internationals for the remainder of the day.
“Obviously, it was a tough challenge for us, losing five matches yesterday,” Matsuyama said.
“But Sungjae hit a perfect tee shot on the 1st hole, so that brought us the momentum, so really happy with that.”
Matsuyama credits Im’s opening drive, which found the fairway, with giving the Internationals the spark they needed. They went on to win seven of the first 11 holes, so the 2021 Masters Champion must be correct in that regard.
The momentum from the first match carried into the second, as Australian Adam Scott and Canadian Taylor Pendrith made their own history. They thumped Sahith Theegala and Collin Morikawa, winning 5 & 4, which gave Scott his 22nd career Presidents Cup point. That passes Ernie Els for the most in International Team history, an impressive accomplishment even though Scott has still not won a Presidents Cup in his career. This week is his 11th appearance in this event. Pendrith, meanwhile, is a rookie, so his victory on Friday marks the first time he has won a point for the Internationals.
“To be paired up with Adam Scott, a legend in this competition, we did really well together. It was super special,” Pendrith said.
“He putted great today. To get my first point ever for the [International] Shield feels really good. We played really solid golf today. It was a lot of fun.”
Scott also made a point to acknowledge the Montreal crowd, which received criticism on Thursday for its lack of passion. But galleries at Royal Montreal had plenty to cheer about on Friday.
“We heard the crowd for sure. We got off to a good start, and the energy was there,” Scott said.
“It’s a nice feeling because yesterday was flat. We didn’t give them too much to cheer about. But today, hopefully, this is the start of a great weekend.”
The drubbing did not stop there.
In the fourth match out, Canadians Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes knew that their teammates in front of them had built up quite a lead, which energized the crowd. So, the former Kent State teammates rode the momentum and bossed around Tony Finau and Wyndham Clark. The Americans had no answers for their Canadian counterparts, as they lost 6 & 5.
“This was a special day. The crowd was in it from the get-go,” Conners said.
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“We wanted to get off to a good start, and we kept our foot on the gas and played some awesome golf. Mac hit some unbelievable shots. It was such a fun day, and it was great to share it with such a good friend.”
The other two matches, meanwhile, came down to the 18th hole.
After not trailing for the entire day, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Jason Day almost coughed it up down the stretch. With a 2-up lead on the 16th tee, Day pulled his drive into the water, but somehow, their opponents, Max Homa and Brian Harman, also bogeyed the hole, thus keeping their 2-up lead intact going to the 17th tee. That also guaranteed a half-point.
Nevertheless, Bezuidenhout hit an awful iron shot into the par-3 17th, which missed the green right and found the water. They paid the price with their misfire here, as Homa and Harman made a birdie, thus cutting the deficit in half.
Then, on 18, after Homa inexplicably missed the green to the right, Bezuidenhout stepped up and hit a towering draw that air-mailed the green by some 15 yards. But Day, who has always had a terrific short game, stepped up and knocked his chip to about two feet, thus guaranteeing a 1-up victory and a fourth point for the Internationals.
“It was great to see the gold on the board early on,” Bezuidenhout said.
“I don’t think anybody trailed in their match. Yeah, it was great to see. Things turned quickly to our side today, and I’m just really happy to have pulled off this win today.”
Not to discredit Bezuidenhout, but the Internationals did trail at one point on Friday.
That said, the U.S. led for only one hole in the final match. Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley grabbed a 1-up lead on the par-4 2nd, but South Koreans Byeong Hun An and Si Woo Kim answered right back with a birdie of their own on the next hole to square the match. The match then vacillated back and forth between a tie and a 1-up international lead. But the pivotal point came at the par-3 13th, where Kim stuck his tee shot to a couple of feet. That gave the Internationals the lead for good, although they looked destined to cough it up on the 18th and relinquish a half-point to the Americans. But Kim drained a 15-footer for par to halve the hole and complete the sweep. The Internationals now have all the momentum going into Saturday.
The third day at the Presidents Cup features Fourball in the morning and Foursomes in the afternoon, following a two-session schedule similar to the Ryder Cup.
Here are the pairings for Saturday morning, with Weir sending out some familiar teams:
Day 3 Morning Pairings — Fourball
Match 1: 7:02 a.m. — Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa (USA) versus Adam Scott and Taylor Pendrith (Internationals)
Match 2: 7:20 a.m. — Tony Finau and Xander Schauffele (USA) versus Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes (Internationals)
Match 3: 7:38 a.m. — Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark (USA) versus Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim (Internationals)
Match 4: 7:56 a.m. — Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns (USA) versus Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im (Internationals)
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.
