Presidents Cup recap: Internationals claw back to tie Saturday foursomes, take 3-point lead into singles

For the second straight session, the U.S. failed to land the power punch.

The Americans, who entered the weekend at this Presidents Cup trailing by four points, led all four fourball matches at one point on Saturday morning before letting the Internationals rally for only a 2.5-1.5 session defeat. In the afternoon foursomes, the U.S. again put all red on the board, only for the Internationals to claw back to 2-2.

As a result, the Americans, who have only lost once in 15 previous editions of this biennial competition, head into Sunday singles at Medinah down by three, 10.5-7.5.

“Today, both sessions, having all red on the board, down in every match, and to come back and get one and a half points out of this morning we felt like was a little victory because we were down everywhere,” International captain Geoff Ogilvy said. “Then this afternoon the same thing happened. The U.S. team played so well all day. They played some really high-level foursomes, especially this afternoon. For the boys to somehow come back and pinch two points out of that and split the session was amazing.”

The Internationals, leading entering singles for the first time ever on U.S. soil, are just five points away from their first Presidents Cup victory since 1998, when they earned their first.

“Stay the course,” U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker said. “This golf course is difficult. 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.”

Here is a match-by-match recap of how Saturday afternoon’s foursomes matches unfolded at Medinah:

Match 15 – Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele (U.S.) def. Tom Kim/Si Woo Kim (Int.), 2 and 1

How it happened: Cantlay and Schauffele, the most-played partnership in event history, finally got on the board after dropping each of their first two matches together this week. In doing so, they handed the Internationals’ undefeated duo their first loss. This was a back-and-forth battle early as the two sides combined to play the first five holes in 5 under. Both teams cooled after that, though the Americans won a couple holes with par, including the par-4 11th, where both Kims came up short with shots into the green; Tom Kim’s third shot ended up rolling back nearly into his own divot. The Internationals doubled that hole, and though Si Woo Kim flagged his tee shot at the par-3 16th, Schauffele wedged to 5 feet and the Americans were eventually conceded the hole and the match after Tom Kim putted off the green and Si Woo Kim couldn’t chip in for par.

Turning point: Tom Kim’s missed 3-footer for par at the par-4 eighth was a shocker. It gave the U.S. their third different 1-up lead of the match, and the Americans never trailed after that.

Man of the match: Schauffele. The putter was red hot, starting with mid-range birdie makes at Nos. 2 and 3. Cantlay’s short game was great as well.

Shot of the match: Si Woo Kim’s tee shot to 4 feet on No. 16 seemed, at the time, like it could be a momentum flipper.

Quotable: “Sneds told us to go out and get a point on the board first. He sent us out first, and I’m glad we could deliver.” – Cantlay

For the week: Cantlay (1-2), Schauffele (1-2), T. Kim (3-1), S. Kim (3-1)

Match 16 – Corey Conners/Nick Taylor (Int.) def. Russell Henley/Jacob Bridgeman (U.S.), 1 up

How it happened: Henley and Bridgeman, who lost their only match so far together in Friday foursomes, led for each of the first 13 holes – and by as much as 3 up – until the Internationals won Nos. 14 and 15 with par to flip the match. Until that point, the Canadians had played erratically; they carded five birdies in the first 12 holes but also weren’t in the hole on five other holes, including four bogeys or worse, during that span. Then it was the Americans’ turn to give away holes, and Conners and Taylor became just the eighth team to ever to win a foursomes match after being 3 down. Conners holed a 6-footer for par at the last – considering Conners is almost the worst putter on Tour from that range, it felt like 16 feet – to tie the hole and complete the comeback.

Turning point: Bridgeman yanked his drive at the par-4 14th into the left rough, and while Henley found the green with his approach, he would miss a 4-footer for par to lose the hole and their lead. Henley then duffed a pitch into the bunker at the par-4 15th, and the Americans lost that hole, too, as the Internationals to their first and final lead.

Man of the match: Conners. This was tough because nobody gained strokes, but most of the Canadians’ birdies came on nice approach shots by Conners.

Shot of the match: Of all the approach shots, however, the best one was Taylor’s 194-yard strike to 20 inches at the par-4 sixth.

Quotable: “I’m loving being next to this guy. What an experience to battle back from 3-down through 3, through 10. We’ve just been relentless all week. That’s been the message through the captain. Just proud of this guy. That was an awesome putt.” – Taylor

For the week: Taylor (2-1), Conners (2-2), Henley (0-2), Bridgeman (0-2)

Match 17 – Cameron Young/Chris Gotterup (U.S.) def. Adam Scott/Sungjae Im (Int.), 6 and 4

How it happened: This was the U.S. foursomes partnership that was supposed to happen on Friday before Justin Thomas was chosen instead of Gotterup. And after they rolled on Saturday morning, Gotterup and Young kept the momentum going. They played the first seven holes in 5 under to take a 5-up lead. And unlike the morning fourballs, where they went 4 up through four only to let their opponents claw back to 2 down, Gotterup and Young kept the pedal down, playing 14 holes in 8 under. It helped that Scott and Im struggled; they double-bogeyed the first hole without hitting it out of bounds and only carded two birdies on the session.

Turning point: For the second straight session, Young eagled the par-5 third, this time from 30 feet, to push the lead to 2 up and put everyone on notice that the morning wasn’t a fluke.

Man of the match: Young. Both players deserving, though Young’s eagle make and his tee shots to set up birdies on three par-3s, Nos. 7, 9 and 13 (202 yards to 20 inches!), give him the edge here.

Shot of the match: Gotterup’s flop over the bunker to set up a short birdie for Young at the par-5 sixth was saucy.

Quotable: “If I get to hit his shots all the time, I do pretty good at golf. It’s awesome. It’s been a lot of fun, and he makes it easy. He doesn’t care. He says, hit it, I’ll go find it, and yeah, it was a good morning match and then this afternoon too.” – Gotterup

For the week: Gotterup (2-1), Young (2-2), Im (1-2-1), Scott (1-2)

Match 18 – Ryan Fox/Min Woo Lee (Int.) def. Sam Burns/Wyndham Clark (U.S.), 3 and 2

How it happened: After Clark and Burns went 2 up after two holes, it seemed like the decision to sit Scottie Scheffler was proving smart. But the Internationals flipped the match shortly before the turn, taking their first lead with a winning par at the eighth hole. They later won three straight holes, Nos. 13-15, to put this one away.

Turning point: After making almost everything in Friday foursomes, the Internationals couldn’t anything to drop early on. But that changed at the par-3 seventh, where Lee drained a 23-foot birdie to tie the match.

Man of the match: Lee. Fox hit some nice shots down the stretch, but it was Lee’s putter that made all four of their birdies, including a 23-footer at No. 7.

Shot of the match: Fox’s 201-yard tee ball to 4 feet at the par-3 13th gave the Internationals the lead for good.

Quotable: “I guess the crowd is different, not getting cheers for holing putts. It’s a bit different than any tournament really. We just had to be there for each other. I think that was a big part. It’s mine and his first time playing on an away soil. ... I felt like I started terribly, and he was right there on my back cheering me on. It’s okay. We turned it around, which is awesome.” – Lee

For the week: Lee (2-1-1), Fox (2-1), Burns (2-2), Clark (1-3)