Montreal, September 30
After two sessions, one each by the rivals, the United States, and the Internationals, the Americans won the third and the fourth sessions 3-1 each to take the score from 5-5 to 11-7 with the single sessions to be played.
The win for the Internationals in the third session of four balls came from the Koreans, Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim, who beat Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark (U.S.), 4 and 3, and in the fourth session, veteran Adam Scott and Taylor Pendrith beat Brian Harman and Max Homa 2-up.
Sahith Theegala, the first Indian American to play for the US in either the President's Cup or the Ryder Cup, was rested for the third and fourth sessions. He will take on Korean Byeong Hun An in the singles in the final.
Tom Kim admitted he ran out of gas after a pulsating Saturday at the Presidents Cup as the U.S. team edged 11-7. But Kim insists he and his teammates have not run out of the fight.
The 22-year-old Tom partnered countryman Si Woo Kim twice on a marathon third day at Royal Montreal, delivering his team's only point in the morning four-ball session with a 4 & 3 win over Keegan Bradley/Wyndham Clark as the defending champions won the other three matches through Scottie Scheffler/Collin Morikawa, Tony Finau/Xander Schauffle, and Patrick Cantlay/Sam Burns.
Later in the afternoon's Foursomes session, and with the U.S. having already won two of the three alternate-shot matches, the Korean duo fought bravely against Schauffele and Cantlay before losing 1-up after Cantlay drained a 17-foot birdie putt in near darkness to conclude a feisty match. The Korean duo were down, but were not knocked out cold.
The U.S. Team needs 4.5 points from the 12 singles matches on Sunday to win the Presidents Cup for a 10th consecutive time, but Tom is not prepared to throw in the towel. He will take on Sam Burns in the second singles match, while Si Woo will face Keegan Bradley.
Si Woo, who was the team's leading scorer in Quail Hollow with three points two years ago, stole the show with some gutsy play and wild celebrations. He and Tom saw off Bradley and Clark in the morning in convincing fashion, taking off his cap moments before his winning putt from 17 feet found the bottom of the cup. After holing an unlikely chip-in birdie on 16 in the evening, he ran across the green, and in an ode to his favourite NBA basketball player Stephen Curry, he pressed his hands together on the side of his head as if to signal he was putting the other team to sleep. His teammates and home crowds roared in approval.
Taylor Pendrith, one of three Canadians in the International Team, also teamed up with Adam Scott twice on Saturday, losing 2 & 1 to Scheffler and Morikawa in the morning before earning the home team's lone point in Foursomes with a 2-up triumph over Brian Harman/Max Homa.
International Team captain Mike Weir paid tribute to the American juggernaut as the visiting team trailed in several of the afternoon matches before flipping the matches around for outright wins.
"These team competitions, they're emotional roller coasters, no doubt. Hat's off to the U.S. guys. They played great down the stretch. They holed some key putts. They played the 18th hole really well when those matches have been close, and that's why they have the lead right now on some of those pivotal holes," said Weir.
Making a record 11th appearance, Aussie veteran Scott, who plays Collin Morikawa in the third to last Singles match, has called on his teammates to stand up and be counted. He has yet to be on a winning team "We're going to have to be tenacious out there tomorrow and heroic, actually," said Scott, who has won two points from four matches this week.
Results:
Round One (Thursday) - Four-ball - United States 5, International 0
Round Two (Friday) - Foursomes - International 5, United States 0
Round Three (Saturday a.m.) - Four-ball - United States 3, International 1
Scheffler/ Morikawa (U.S.) defeat Scott/ Pendrith (INT), 2 and 1
Finau/ Schauffele (U.S.) defeat Conners/ Hughes (INT), 3 and 2
Si Woo /Tom Kim (INT) defeat Bradley/ Clark (U.S.), 4 and 3
Cantlay/ Burns (U.S.) defeat Matsuyama/ Sungjae Im (INT), 2 and 1
Round Four (Saturday p.m.) - Foursomes - United States 3, International 1
Scheffler/ Henley (U.S.) defeat Matsuyama/ Sungjae Im (INT), 3 and 2
Scott/ Pendrith (INT) defeat Harman/ Homa (U.S.), 2-up
Morikawa/ Burns (U.S.) defeat Conners/ Hughes (INT), 1-up
Cantlay/ Schauffele (U.S.) defeat Si Woo Kim/ Tom Kim (INT), 1-up
Overall score: 11-7.