The Presidents Cup concluded as it has for the previous 19 years—with a victory for Team USA.
With a spectacular finish at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in Canada, Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley secured the winning point as the star-studded American team defeated the International Team 18.5–11.5. This marked the team’s tenth consecutive triumph in the biennial competition.
Highlights of the competition
Xander Schauffele, the two-time major champion this year, defeated Jason Day of Australia in a 4&3 (four ahead with three holes to play) match that set the tone for the 12 final singles matches. After leading 11–7 into the fourth and final day, captain Jim Furyk’s team needed just 3.5 more points to win.
Despite the fact that world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler lost to Hideki Matsuyama, Bradley secured yet another US triumph when opponent Kim Si-woo was unable to convert from 10 feet on the final hole.
For Bradley, who hadn’t played for the US since losing the game that finalized a crushing Ryder Cup loss to Europe in 2014, it was a full-circle moment that had been waiting for ten years. He admitted: “The last time I played in one of these, I was the clinching point for the Europeans in the Ryder Cup. Fast-forward 10 years later and I got to do that today. Really something I’ll remember the rest of my life… I learned a lot from Jim and Tabitha (Furyk) this week. It was the best job I’ve ever seen done as captain and the captain’s wife.”
International Team gave a fight
Seeking their first victory since 1998, the International Team did not give up easily.
After an opening 5-0 US blitz, captain Mike Weir’s International Team rallied with a sweep of their own on Friday to tie the game at 5-5, with motivated young South Korean player Tom Kim setting the tone for the comeback.
The 22-year-old, who has previously won three times on the PGA Tour, caused a stir when playing Scheffler in a fourball match the day before. He was all ablaze with excitement after making a long birdie putt, but he moved on to the next tee before Scheffler’s subsequent missed putt.
Despite disclosing that Kim had “poked the bear”, Masters winner Scheffler dismissed the episode as a normal part of the game, saying, “We’re friends after, we’re not friends during.”
However, team USA assistant captain Kevin Kisner called Kim’s choice to leave the game prior to Scheffler’s putt a “bush league” move. He admitted: “They took gamesmanship too far and over the line on sportsmanship and lost some integrity.”
More so, after accusing the American team of cursing at him on Saturday, Kim found himself at the heart of the drama once more.
Kim joined up with fellow countryman Kim Si-woo once more for an exciting foursomes match against Cantlay and Schauffele after defeating Bradley and Wyndham Clark.
Tom Kim stated: “As it got towards the end, it got a little feisty out there. I could hear some players cursing at us… I don’t think there was good sportsmanship there. But it’s all part of the fun. I understand it. The US team definitely motivated us to go out there.”
Schauffele denied the allegations, stating that he and Cantlay showed utmost respect to their opponents.
The world No. 2 stated: “We’re trying to quiet the crowds down when they were hitting… I have no clue if anyone was doing any of that. I don’t believe any of our guys would do something like that. So I’m not sure what he was hearing.”
Kim added: “This event is all about doing things you would never do and creating energy and doing all these things. If I do certain things on the greens when I make putts, I expect them to do the same thing. It’s all part of the game. It was just about that.”
Source: CNN