America have retaken management of the Presidents Cup heading into the final-day singles after a marathon Saturday of excessive drama and rigidity within the fourballs and foursomes in Montreal.
Having seen their day-one lead of 5-0 instantly worn out in staggering vogue by a resurgent Worldwide aspect within the Friday foursomes, the US group gained each Saturday periods 3-1 to ascertain an total lead of 11-7 for Sunday’s decisive 12 singles matches.
However the relative luxurious of a four-point cushion for the defending champions had regarded something however assured midway via the delayed afternoon foursomes amid one other fierce and decided problem from Mike Weir’s Worldwide aspect, through which his all-Korean pairing of Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim performed starring roles.
Certainly, the challengers to the USA’s long-held crown on this match took the primary level of the foursomes as Adam Scott and Taylor Pendrith impressively completed 2up towards Max Homa and Brian Harman.
But it surely was the American group which appeared to get stronger within the later matches because the again 9 progressed and took the three following wins in a potentially-decisive collection of matches, amid fast-fading mild on the Royal Montreal Golf Membership after morning fog had led to the morning session being suspended for 97 minutes.
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Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim tried quite a lot of trick photographs on the vary – with combined outcomes – throughout a fog delay on the Presidents Cup.
Underlining that late turnaround, world No 1 Scottie Scheffler and enjoying accomplice Russell Henley ultimately triumphed 3&2 towards Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im having been three down on the Worldwide pairing after simply six holes.
Scheffler could have completely dominated world golf this 12 months – profitable eight instances on the PGA Tour, together with the Masters – but the American skilled a woeful time with the putter via the early exchanges within the afternoon.
In an undesirable hat-trick on consecutive misses, Scheffler first lipped out when offered with a makeable birdie putt on the third earlier than uncharacteristically miscuing what ought to have been hole-tying par places on the fourth and fifth from inside just a few toes.
The 2-time Masters champion although did ultimately discover his kind with the putter, though gave his enjoying accomplice credit score for the match win afterwards.
“I’ve got to give a ton of credit to Russ,” mentioned Scheffler, who had earlier crushed Scott and Pendrith 2&1 alongside Morikawa within the fourballs. “I felt like I messed up the beginning of the match.
“I felt like I used to be on a special planet for the primary six holes, actually the primary 5 holes. Beginning on No. 6 I hit a very good shot in there, and I do not suppose Russ missed a shot right now. I can not consider one shot I assumed he may have hit higher.”
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Tensions rise between Tom Kim and Scottie Scheffler on the Presidents Cup, after a birdie on the eighth results in some attention-grabbing scenes.
Putter protests and gorgeous photographs… the 2 Kims mild up Saturday’s periods
After being omitted of Weir’s Friday foursomes line-up, Tom Kim returned to the course two days on from his fourballs flash-point with good good friend Scheffler and once more proved a central determine in each periods alongside countryman Si Woo Kim.
A birdie burst helped the South Korean duo first beat Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark 4&3 within the fourballs earlier than they took on Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele within the alternate ball format afterward.
Two down on the time of the seventh, Tom Kim was left unimpressed on that par-three inexperienced when the American duo made him gap out his par putt when simply a few yards away from the cup, reasonably than conceding it.
After duly finishing the putt to substantiate the tie, Kim then laid down his putter subsequent to the pin to seemingly underline how shut he had been truly been to the opening.
However the incident and frustration appeared to evoke the Worldwide duo to new heights. On the ninth, Tom Kim holed a 37-footer to halve their deficit earlier than levelling the match up from the perimeter on the subsequent inexperienced.
After twice extra falling behind by one, the Kims pulled it again once more on the 14th and sixteenth holes – the latter of which noticed Si Woo Kim produce a miraculous chip-in from thick tough on the upslope of the inexperienced simply forward of the bunker.
The chip-in to win the opening sparked wild scenes of celebration within the grandstands and amongst watching Worldwide group colleagues, with Kim working round on the inexperienced mimicking NBA star Steph Curry’s ‘night time, night time’ celebration.
Nonetheless, amid the wild scenes, Cantlay and Schauffele soaked up the stress and, after a tie on the seventeenth, the Individuals gained the match on the final after the previous rolled in a formidable birdie putt from the entrance of the inexperienced.
The session’s third match between Collin Morikawa/Sam Burns and the all-Canadian duo of Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes additionally went all the way in which to the 18th with the Individuals, who had been two down after 4, finally profitable on the market too. However there was a second to recollect for Hughes when he chipped in for eagle out of the bunker on the twelfth.
US captain Furyk, who used all-but one in every of his 12 gamers throughout Saturday’s eight matches whereas Weir caught with the identical eight for each periods, mentioned: “I think my guys, like we did on Thursday, they played those holes down the stretch very well, able to close out some matches. That 3-1 could have easily been 2-2. It could have been 3-1 or 2½-1½ their side. That’s kind of how team things go.
“Within the afternoon, you noticed the identical factor. The Scheffler-Henley match, 3-down center of the entrance 9, they usually find yourself profitable 3&2. The Morikawa match and Burns, big, big raise for our group to see that forward, to return again, struggle, win the 18th gap. Issues like that, that is a giant tipping level.
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“Really the matches were close today. I know what the score looks like. I think the same thing you saw on Thursday, the score looked bad at 5-0, but man, those matches were all really, really tight. They just happened to go our way.
The USA are now in prime position to extend their winning run in the Presidents Cup to 10 consecutive tournaments in Sunday’s singles, and Furyk added: “I believe holding our focus, not getting forward of ourselves, being ready. I do know the fellows are drained proper now. They need to get some relaxation and are available out firing once more.
“We had to come out today like the Internationals had to come out on Friday. So it will be a gunfight out there [on Sunday]. Looking forward to it.”
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