Presidents Cup Rounds 3-4: Recap Saturday's Four-ball ...

3 hours ago
Presidents Cup scores

After getting swept 5-0 by the U.S. Team in Thursday's Four-ball session, the International Team made history and swept the Americans right back 5-0 on Friday to tie the overall match.

In Saturday morning's Four-ball session, the U.S. found it's groove again, going 3-1 to bring the score to 8-6 over the Internationals. Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa of the U.S. Team scored the first point on Saturday, taking down Internationals Adam Scott and Taylor Pendrith. Internationals Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim struck back with a 4-and-3 victory over Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark. Tony Finau and Xander Schauffele scored another point together over the Internationals with a 3-and-2 takedown of Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes. Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns delivered the final point in the session with a 2-and-1 win over Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im.

Scroll below to see how each match unfolded.

Round 4: Foursomes match recaps

Match 15

Taylor Pendrith/Adam Scott (International) def. Brian Harman/Max Homa (U.S.), 2-up

Recap: The Pendrith-Scott duo, playing its third match of the week, rallied from a deficit midway through the front nine to secure a crucial International Team point in Saturday afternoon’s leadoff Foursomes match.

The International Team struck first with Scott’s winning 8-foot birdie on the par-4 third hole, but the U.S. Team fought back with consecutive winning birdies at the fourth and fifth. Pendrith and Scott responded with back-to-back birdies on No. 8 (on Pendrith’s approach to 2 feet) and No. 9 (on Pendrith’s 13-footer) to take a 1-up lead at the turn, and an up-and-down birdie at the par-5 12th extended the lead to 2-up.

The U.S. Team cut the margin in half with a winning par at No. 15, as Scott missed a 5-footer, but Homa/Harman promptly bogeyed the next hole to fall 2-down with two holes to play. The U.S. Team stayed alive with a birdie at the par-3 17th, as Homa stuffed a wedge to 4 feet and Harman converted, but a bogey at 18 surrendered the match to the Pendrith-Scott duo, which improved to 2-1 overall this week.

Pendrith and Scott won a Friday Foursomes match over Sahith Theegala and Collin Morikawa, 5 and 4, before falling to Morikawa and Scottie Scheffler in Saturday morning Four-ball, 2 and 1. International Team Captain Mike Weir kept his faith in the pairing Saturday afternoon, and that trust was rewarded.

Harman and Homa fell to 0-2 as a team this week; they lost in Friday Foursomes to Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Jason Day, 1-down.

Match 16

Collin Morikawa/Sam Burns (U.S.) def. Corey Conners/Mackenzie Hughes (International), 1-up

Recap: A closely contested match came down to the wire in the Saturday twilight, where the U.S. Team’s Morikawa and Burns rallied from an early 2-down deficit to win the 18th hole with a par and secure a 1-up victory over the International Team’s all-Canadian duo of Conners and Hughes.

The match saw lead changes throughout the round. Conners and Hughes started strong with three consecutive birdies to stake a 2-up lead, electrifying the spirited fans at Royal Montreal. Morikawa and Burns quickly responded, winning the fifth hole with a par and stringing three straight winning birdies on Nos. 6-8 to stake a 2-up lead of their own. The International Team won the ninth hole with a par, and the next two holes were tied before Hughes authored one of the afternoon’s seminal moments, holing a 63-foot bunker shot for eagle at the par-5 12th to tie the match.

The U.S. Team moved 1 up with Burns’ 8-foot birdie at No. 14, and the International Team responded with Hughes’ 11-foot birdie at No. 16, tying the contest with two to play. The par-3 17th hole was tied with pars, and Morikawa/Burns two-putted for par at the par-4 18th hole; Morikawa drained the winning 4-footer after Conners missed a 12-foot par attempt.

Collin Morikawa and Sam Burns interview after Day 3 Foursomes at Presidents Cup

“I like having Sam as my partner,” Morikawa said afterward, as the duo improved to 2-0 in international team competition. Burns and Morikawa also paired for a Saturday Four-ball victory at last year’s Ryder Cup, besting Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Åberg, 4 and 3.

Conners and Hughes fell to 1-1 as Foursomes partners; they defeated Wyndham Clark and Tony Finau by a resounding 6-and-5 margin on Friday.

Match 17

Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele (U.S.) def. Si Woo Kim/Tom Kim (International)

Recap: The experienced American duo of Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele narrowly defeated the International Team's Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim as darkness encroached on Royal Montreal, with Cantlay draining a winning 17-foot birdie at the par-4 18th hole as Si Woo Kim burned the edge on a slightly shorter birdie try. It was the final point of Saturday afternoon, and it was a crucial one.

After falling to Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im in Friday Foursomes, 7 and 6, the veteran Cantlay/Schauffele duo was offered another chance in the alternate-shot format and took advantage. Cantlay and Schauffele built a 2-up lead through six holes, and after the all-Kim duo tied the match with birdies at Nos. 9 and 10, the Americans took a 1-up lead with a par at No. 13 and withstood a winning International Team birdie at No. 14 with Schauffele’s curling 33-foot birdie to win No. 15.

Patrick Cantlay drains 17-foot birdie putt on closing hole at Presidents Cup

It looked like the U.S. Team had all the momentum from there, but Si Woo Kim seemingly flipped the match on its head with a 42-foot hole-out birdie from thick rough just short of the 16th green, winning the hole and proceeding to mimic Stephen Curry’s famed “night, night” celebration while galloping around the green. Yet the 17th hole was tied with pars as Cantlay played a masterful flop shot from just left of the green, setting the stage for a dramatic finish at No. 18 as both teams and captains gathered around the green.

This win improved Cantlay and Schauffele's overall record as a pair in international team competition to 7-6-0, and an impressive 6-3-0 in the Foursomes format. They’re close friends on and off the course, perhaps providing the intangibles that delivered the final point of Saturday afternoon – staking the U.S. Team to an 11-7 lead into Sunday Singles.

Match 18

Scottie Scheffler/Russell Henley (U.S.) def. Hideki Matsuyama/Sungjae Im (International), 3 and 2

Recap: The American duo of Scheffler and Henley secured a victory over the International Team's Matsuyama and Im, winning 3 and 2.

The match began with a strong start from the International Team. Matsuyama and Im claimed the first hole, and by the fifth hole, they had built a 3-up lead. However, Scheffler and Henley mounted a comeback. The tide began to turn on the seventh hole when Scheffler hit a 133-yard approach shot to within 4 feet of the pin, setting up a birdie.

The Americans continued to chip away at the lead, finally drawing even after the 12th hole. On the par-5 12th, Henley delivered an 88-yard approach shot to just 6 feet from the hole, securing another birdie. From there, Scheffler and Henley seized control, winning three of the final four holes to clinch the match.

Scheffler and Henley improved to 2-1 as a duo this week; they defeated Sungjae Im and Tom Kim in Thursday Four-ball, 3 and 2, before losing to Si Woo Kim and Byeong Hun An in Friday Foursomes, 1-down.

It also marked Scheffler’s first Foursomes victory in either the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup; he had compiled a 0-5 record before Saturday afternoon.

Round 3: Four-ball match recaps

Match 11

Scottie Scheffler/Collin Morikawa (U.S.) def. Adam Scott/Taylor Pendrith (International), 2 and 1

Recap: The American duo of Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa secured a 2-and-1 victory over the International Team's Adam Scott and Taylor Pendrith, with Scheffler delivering a winning 16-foot birdie from just off the green at the par-3 17th hole.

In their first pairing at either the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup, major champions Scheffler and Morikawa carded just one birdie across the first 11 holes (Morikawa birdied the par-4 second), but the International Team also managed just one birdie in that span (Scott birdied the par-4 third). The match was tied on the par-5 12th hole, won by Morikawa with an up-and-down birdie from just short of the green. The International pair fought back at the short par-4 14th, with Scott draining a 27-foot birdie to level the match once again. After the 15th hole was tied with pars, the world No. 1 Scheffler made his first birdie of the day at the par-4 16th, sticking a 197-yard approach to 8 feet and converting. He kept the pedal down with birdie on the next hole to deliver the U.S. Team's first point since Thursday.

Scottie Scheffler rolls in 16-foot birdie putt from off green to win match at Presidents Cup

Match 12

Tony Finau/Xander Schauffele (U.S.) def. Corey Conners/Mackenzie Hughes (International), 3 and 2

Recap: Tony Finau and Xander Schauffele secured a 3-and-2 victory for the U.S. against the International Team's Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes. In their second time playing together, coming off their Thursday Four-ball victory, Finau and Schauffele won four holes to the Internationals' one. The match ended on the 16th hole.

Both teams carded pars on the first five holes. Finau broke the deadlock with a birdie, sinking a crucial 20-foot putt on No. 6 to give the U.S. team the lead. Schauffele then extended their advantage to 2-up on the ninth hole, holing out from 13 feet for birdie. The International Team narrowed the gap on the 11th when Conners birdied, but the Americans won the next hole when Schauffele hit his approach to 3 feet on the par 5. Finau added another circle on the 14th, effectively sealing the match.

Xander Schauffele's awesome approach leads to birdie at Presidents Cup

Match 13

Si Woo Kim/Tom Kim (International) def. Keegan Bradley/Wyndham Clark (U.S.), 4 and 3

Recap: Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim combined for nine birdies in 15 holes Saturday morning, and there was no shortage of exuberance in the pairing. Three birdies came in the match's final four holes, punctuated by Si Woo Kim's 18-footer at the par-4 15th to cement a point for the International Team.

Team Kim set the tone with back-to-back winning birdies at the first two holes, one from each player. After Clark's winning birdie at the par-3 fourth, Tom Kim made three winning birdies in a four-hole stretch around the turn (Nos. 7, 8 and 10) to offset Clark's winning birdie at the ninth. The International Team preserved that 3-up advantage with four straight holes tied on Nos. 11-14, highlighted by Tom Kim's 20-foot birdie at the short par-4 14th that elicited a primal scream and several fist pumps; Bradley responded with a 10-foot birdie to keep the U.S. Team's faint hopes alive. Those hopes were extinguished, though, one hole later.

It marked another win for this all-Kim pairing in Presidents Cup Four-ball, after the spirited duo defeated Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele in a Saturday Four-ball match two years ago at Quail Hollow. The Bradley-Clark duo falls to 1-1-0 in the format, having defeated Taylor Pendrith and Christiaan Bezuidenhout earlier this week.

Tom Kim pours in 20-foot birdie putt at Presidents Cup

Match 14

Sam Burns/Patrick Cantlay (U.S.) def. Hideki Matsuyama/Sungjae Im (International), 2 and 1

Recap: In a back-and-forth match that went the deepest of any morning session, Cantlay and Im matched birdies on Nos. 14-16 after the U.S. Team had staked a 2-up lead through 13 holes, and Burns made par at the par-3 17th to tie the hole and secure the session's final point.

The International Team struck first with Matsuyama's winning 8-foot birdie at the par-4 second hole, and the Americans drew even with Cantlay's winning par on the long par-4 fourth. Burns won the par-5 sixth hole with a birdie, and the next three holes were tied before Matsuyama drained a 25-foot birdie at the par-4 10th to tie the match.

The match turned on the next two holes. At the par-4 11th, Matsuyama had an 8-foot birdie look to win the hole but three-putted; with Im having trouble in the bunker, the hole flipped to give the U.S. Team a 1-up edge. Cantlay then chipped in for eagle from 49 feet at the par-5 12th, extending the U.S. Team's lead to 2 up, which proved to be the match's final hole won. The next five holes were tied with pars, each team playing the stretch in 3 under. Matsuyama had an 8-foot birdie look at the par-3 17th to push the match to the final hole, but it slid by.

Cantlay and Burns remain unbeaten as a pair this week; they also defeated Matsuyama and Conners in Thursday Four-ball, 2 and 1.

Hideki Matsuyama buries 24-foot birdie putt at Presidents Cup

Note: The PGA TOUR has created this story via a machine-learning model using data from ShotLink, powered by CDW, in addition to player performance data. While we strive for accuracy and quality, please note that the information provided may not be entirely error-free.

Read more
Similar news
This week's most popular news