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Just as it looked like the United States had the 2024 Presidents Cup in the bag after sweeping the opening round of play to take a 5-0 lead, the International team answered in kind Friday -- doing so in even more dominant fashion. Suddenly, the Presidents Cup is a 5-5 tie with 20 matches to play at Royal Montreal Golf Club.
The winning foursomes session marks the first or the International team since 2005. Consecutive sweeps of sessions occurred for the first time ever across any major international team event be it the Presidents Cup, Ryder Cup or Solheim Cup. The Americans' 5-0 win in four-ball on Thursday was the seventh session sweep in Presidents Cup history with the Internationals' sweep of foursomes marking the eighth.
Friday's round also represents the first Presidents Cup session in which the U.S. did not win a single match since 2003 -- the last time the Americans failed to win the event.
"I think everyone was very focused coming out today," said Adam Scott, the International team leader and most experienced player in the field. "We knew we were in a deep hole, but no one felt discouraged. There were signs of good golf out there yesterday, but we just didn't get it done, and we cleaned it up a little bit today. We were determined to do that, and the crowd is bringing the energy today."
Early and often, the home team laid it on the red, white and blue as a rejuvenated home crowd was matched by an energized International squad. Sungjae Im & Hideki Matsuyama got the party started defeating the darling foursomes duo of Patrick Cantlay & Xander Schauffele in record fashion.
The beatdowns continued from there as the U.S. won seven holes in the entire session and led for only one of them. Taylor Pendrith put the first Canadian point on the board alongside Scott in dominating fashion just before his fellow countrymen Mackenzie Hughes & Corey Conners added one of their own in a joint effort.
With three International flags on the board, the Americans attempted to flip a couple of matches. It never materialized as Jason Day & Christiaan Bezuidenhout secured a full point on the 18th green moments before Si Woo Kim & Byeong Hun An did the same over world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler & Russell Henley.
"Our team has a strong belief system, and they knew that it was one day. It was one day of golf," Conners said. "We knew there was lots of golf to be played and we wanted to keep our morale high. Our spirits were high last night. We were singing all the way home on the bus. We knew what we had in store, and we did it today."
Presidents Cup: Schedule, viewer's guide | Format, scoring, rules
2024 Presidents Cup standings, results: Round 2 (foursomes)
Score: United States 5 | Internationals 5
| Match | United States | Score | International |
|---|---|---|---|
6 | Cantlay & Schauffele | 7 & 6 | Matsuyama & Im |
7 | Theegala & Morikawa | 5 & 4 | Scott & Pendrith |
8 | Homa & Harman | 1 UP | Bezuidenhout & Day |
9 | Clark & Finau | 6 & 5 | Conners & Hughes |
| 10 | Scheffler & Henley | 1 UP | Kim & An |
Sungjae Im & Hideki Matsuyama (International) 7 & 6 over Xander Schauffele & Patrick Cantlay (United States): After failing to make a birdie in four-ball on Thursday, Im went en fuego alongside Matsuyama on Friday. Getting out to an early lead thanks to a three-putt bogey from the Americans, the Internationals never looked back. Grabbing a 3 UP lead through the first five holes, Im & Matsuyama rattled off seven straight birdies to shoot 8 under in 12 holes and put the finishing touches on the opening match. The 7 & 6 margin matches the largest in Presidents Cup history.
"Yesterday, the beginning was not really a nice beginning, but today, from the beginning, our vibe was vibing and we were trying to win the match," Im said. "With Hideki, our teamwork was amazing. When I would hit the shot, he would finish with the putt, so it was a great job."
Adam Scott & Taylor Pendrith (International) 5&4 over Collin Morikawa & Sahith Theegala (United States): Pendrith was one of the few bright spots for the Internationals on Thursday, and his solid play continued into Friday. With Scott by his side, the Canadian captured his first Presidents Cup point after opening his career with five straight losses. The Internationals strung together three straight birdies from Nos. 4-6 to seize a 3 UP lead early. By the time they reached No. 12, it had ballooned to 5 UP thanks to a couple back-nine birdies. With the win, Scott becomes the winningest International player in Presidents Cup history with 22 points, surpassing the previous record held by Ernie Els.
Jason Day & Christiaan Bezuidenhout (International) 1 UP over Max Homa & Brian Harman (United States): The two teams were all tied up through the first six holes before the Internationals started to separate. Back-to-back birdies built a 2 UP lead for Day and Bezuidenhout before they extending it to 3 UP with another birdie on the par-5 12th. Only then did they began to take on some water (literally) as Day hit it in the drink on No. 16 and Bezuidenhout did the same on the par-3 17th to give the Americans a chance at 0.5 points. When Day chipped the Internationals' third in tight, he secured the team's fourth point of the afternoon.
Corey Conners & Mackenzie Hughes (International) 6&5 over Wyndham Clark & Tony Finau (United States): The all-Canadian crew got the home team roaring early and often. Taking a 2 UP lead through the first two holes, the pair utilized their blended skillset of Conners' beautiful iron play and Hughes' stellar short game to perfection. Carding just one birdie in their first five holes, the partnership put six circles on the scorecard in their next eight holes to make mincemeat of the Americans. Conners nearly took the top of the place when he stuffed his tee shot into the last hole.
"Today is a dream come true playing with Corey," Hughes said. "He's probably the best partner you could have in alternate shot. He's so reliable, so consistent. I just kind of was along for the ride. It was a blast."
Si Woo Kim & Byeong Hun An (International) 1 UP Scottie Scheffler & Russell Henley (United States): Scheffler & Henley got out to an early lead with a birdie on No. 2, but it didn't last long as the internationals tied the match on the next hole. It remained tied from holes Nos. 7-12 before a birdie on the par-3 13th put the black and gold out in front. Chances were had from both sides -- and some were converted as noted by the matching birdies on No. 15. Missed opportunities from the blade of Henley on Nos. 16 and 17 to tie the match proved costly as Kim threw the final punch on the last with a clutch par putt to secure the session sweep.
