CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — FOURBALLS
Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim, International, def. Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, United States, 1 up.
Cantlay and Schauffele were 4 under through 10 holes and took a 2-up lead after 10, seemingly headed for another win. But then Tom Kim drove the green on the par-4 11th and made a 55-foot eagle putt that gave his team a spark. They tied it with Si Woo Kim’s birdie on the 13th. Schauffele made a 40-foot birdie putt from off the front of the 15th green for the lead. Si Woo Kim got it back with a short birdie on the 16th. The match ended when Tom Kim hit 2-iron to 10 feet and made the birdie putt.
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Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, United States, def. Hideki Matsuyama and Taylor Pendrith, International, 4 and 3.
Spieth and Thomas became the first U.S. team since Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker in 2009 to go 4-0 together in team play at the Presidents Cup. None of the matches were particularly tight, this one included. Spieth was dynamic around the green and Thomas was usually in close for birdie without getting to putt because Spieth kept making his. Matsuyama nearly holed his approach on the first hole for a 1-up lead. The Americans won the next two holes and led the rest of the way. It ended with Thomas in tight for a birdie chance and Spieth chipping in ahead of him.
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Sungjae Im and Sebastian Munoz, International, def. Tony Finau and Kevin Kisner, United States, 3 and 2.
This was the only time in 18 matches that an International team never trailed. Still, it was close through the front nine, then Im birdied the 11th for a 2-up lead and the Americans never got any closer. Munoz birdied the 13th to go 3 up. Finau birdied the par-3 14th to cut the margin, but Kisner twice hit into the water on the 15th and the International team made par to go 3 up. They closed it out with matching pars on the 16th hole.
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Adam Scott and Cameron Davis, International, def. Billy Horschel and Sam Burns, United States, 1 up.
This was the tightest match in fourballs, with neither team leading by more than 1 up the entire way. And that was the American team typically leading. The match was tied until Burns made a 12-foot birdie on the par-3 14th over water. But on the par-5 16th, Davis made a 12-foot eagle putt to square the match. On the next hole, Davis made a 15-foot birdie putt for his Australian tandem to go 1 up for the first time in the match. Burns stuffed his approach on the 18th to 4 feet. Scott and Davis each had about 10 feet for birdie, and Davis made it three in a row for a big International win.
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FOURSOMES
Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, United States, def. Sungjae Im and Corey Conners, International, 4 and 3.
Spieth and Thomas won their third match together, and it didn’t require much effort until the end. The International team lost three holes on the front nine with bogeys, with Im not getting much help from Conners. The Americans were 2 up on the 13th hole when Im had a 15-foot birdie putt to cut into the deficit. He narrowly missed, but it rolled out 7 feet and Conners missed the next one to fall 3 down. On the final hole, Spieth hit into the water off the tee, and Im followed him. The Americans won with a bogey.
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Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama, International, def. Cameron Young and Collin Morikawa, United States, 3 and 2.
Scott and Matsuyama had not won a point the opening two sessions, and this was headed in the same direction when the Americans built a 2-up lead through eight holes. And then it flipped in a big way, with the International side winning the next five holes for a 3-up lead. The Americans gave away the ninth and 13th holes with double bogeys. Scott and Matsuyama won the three holes in between with birdies. The match ended on the 16th when the Americans failed to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker and had to settle for matching pars.
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K.H. Lee and Tom Kim, International, def. Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, United States, 2 and 1.
This match was tight all the way, the kind the Americans have been pulling out at the end. Not this time. The Korean duo took the lead on the short par-4 11th when Lee drove the green and Kim holed a 35-foot eagle putt. Burns and Scheffler answered with a birdie. They traded wins over the next four holes, and the International team seized control by winning the par-5 16th to go 2 up when the Americans made bogey. A par on the 17th was enough for the win.
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Tony Finau and Max Homa, United States, def. Si Woo Kim and Cameron Davis, International, 4 and 3.
The Max Homa show had another happy ending, as this was the only foursomes match in which one team led the entire way. Homa and Finau were 2 up through three holes, and while Kim and Davis battled back with birdies to square the match, the Americans won three straight holes to go 3 up through 10 holes. It stayed that way until the par-4 15th when Kim drove into the stream on the left and the American won the hole with a par.
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