The International Team moved another step closer to a historic Presidents Cup win on American soil by taking a 10.5-7.5 lead over Team USA into the Sunday singles. Geoff Ogilvy's side held a four-point advantage after the first two days at Medinah Country Club, following their historic foursomes sessions sweep on Friday, then added 1.5 points from four matches during a tight Saturday fourballs session. Team USA captain Brandt Snedeker benched world No 1 Scottie Scheffler for the afternoon foursomes, where they threatened their own session sweep after grabbing the early lead in all four matches.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Cameron Young and Chris Gotterup thrashed Adam Scott and Sungjae Im 6&4, before Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele saw off Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim 2&1 to reduce the deficit further, only for the Internationals to fight back in an impressive finish. Ryan Fox and Min Woo Lee bounced back from falling behind early to defeat Sam Burns and Wyndham Clark 3&2 in the bottom match, guaranteeing the Internationals would start the Sunday singles ahead for just the fourth time ever. Their shock lead then increased further via Canadian duo Corey Conners and Nick Taylor, who recovered from losing their first three holes and being three down with eight to play to beat Russell Henley and Jacob Bridgeman 1up.
A shared foursomes session leaves the Internationals with a glorious opportunity to end their run of 10 consecutive Presidents Cup defeats and claim a famous victory, which would be their first since 1998 and just their second in the event's history. The International Team require five more points from the 12 singles matches to complete their unlikely success, while Team USA need 7.5 points on the final day to avoid an embarrassing home upset or eight points for a comeback victory. "I thought our guys battled hard.
It was a tough day out there. This golf course got really tough this afternoon. There's such a fine line between good shots and bad shots and I was proud of the way the guys hung in there and battled.
"I challenged the guys this afternoon to go out there and be that team that we need them to be and got Scottie (Scheffler) some much-needed rest, so he can go out there tomorrow and be the Scheffler that we know he is. "It's going to be a long, hard day tomorrow. I've got the right guys in that team room.
They're going to compete. So proud of how they've kind of hung in there this week, despite all of my mistakes. Can't wait to see them go out there tomorrow and compete." International Team captain Geoff Ogilvy: "What a day!
Extract — continue reading at the source.
