The Internationals delivered a sensational Foursomes clean sweep on Friday, taking a commanding 7-3 lead against the USA at the Presidents Cup.
After trailing 3-2 following the opening Fourball matches on Thursday, the Internationals won all five Foursomes contests on the second day. This propelled them into the weekend with a four-point cushion at Medinah Country Club.
The Canadian duo Corey Conners and Nick Taylor delivered one of the most remarkable victories, defeating world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns 1-up in a thrilling duel. The Canadians secured the lead on the 12th hole when Conners circled his second shot within two meters of the hole, leaving Taylor a tap-in for birdie. Taylor then clinched the win on the 18th hole with an exceptional approach shot from the fairway that landed just inches from the hole – an easy par. Burns had a chance to tie the match, but his five-meter birdie putt painfully lipped out, allowing the Internationals to claim the victory.
Earlier, Japan's Hideki Matsuyama and South Korea's Im Sung-jae secured the first match of the day for their team, defeating Russell Henley and Jacob Bridgeman 3&2. Former Masters champion Matsuyama holed a nearly six-meter par putt to seal the victory on the 16th hole. New Zealand's Ryan Fox and Australia's Min Woo Lee battled to a 1-up victory in a nail-biting encounter against Collin Morikawa and Windham Clark, securing another point for the Internationals.
Adam Scott and Christiaan Bezuidenhout completed the clean sweep, defeating Justin Thomas and Cameron Young 3&2, before Tom Kim and Kim Si-woo dispatched Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele with a dominant 4&3. This marked only the third time since the Presidents Cup debuted in 1994 that the Internationals have completely swept a session. They are chasing victory in this biennial team tournament for the first time since 1998, while the USA aims for their eleventh (!) consecutive triumph in this Ryder Cup-like event.
“We just wanted to go out and win the session,” said International Captain Geoff Ogilvy afterward. “The guys were all on top of their game, but five-nil – you never imagine that… but we’ve often seen it at these events: once you’re in the flow, it carries all groups along,” he continued. “It was an incredible day for us.”
US Captain Brandt Snedeker paid respect to the competition's performance but stressed that with 20 points still up for grabs over the weekend, nothing was decided yet. “Hats off to the International team,” Snedeker said. “They played really well out there and sank an incredible number of putts.” He continued: “I feel for our guys – they had a tough day.”
