The International team won five of eight matches Saturday to cut into the U.S. team’s lead after three days of the Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte.
The U.S. team leads 11-7 heading into Sunday’s singles. The U.S. team came into Saturday’s foursome and four-ball events with an 8-2 lead. However, the International team won three of the four four-ball matches in the afternoon session to shave the lead.
The Americans need 4.5 points on Sunday to win the Presidents Cup.
Tom Kim and Adam Scott starred for the International team, winning both of the matches they played Saturday.
Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, paired together in both of Saturday’s events, won both of their matches for the Americans.
The 20-year-old Kim sank a 10-foot birdie on No. 18 to clinch the victory for he and his partner, Si Woo Kim, in their 1-up four-ball win over Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. The American duo was trying to improve to 3-0 overall.
Kim ignited the celebration before his putt even dropped in the cup, dropping his putter and throwing his hat down.
“I mean, in tournaments, I would never, ever shout this loud or go this crazy,” Tom Kim said. “But I’m just trying to bring some good energy to the team. You know, that’s all I can do. We’re behind a little bit. So, I’m just trying to bring positive vibes and try to get the team going and just give momentum to the team.
“To beat a team like that today, I feel like tomorrow we’re going to have a lot of momentum going in.”
Sungjae Im and Sebastian Munoz took down Americans Tony Finau and Kevin Kisner 4 and 2, while Scott and Cam Davis topped Sam Burns and Billy Horschel 1-up in the afternoon session.
Thomas and Spieth earned the only afternoon win for the U.S. team, 4 and 3 over Hideki Matsuyama and Taylor Pendrith.
“Obviously we’re bummed with how the afternoon session finished and how it went,” Thomas said. “But I think Jordan said it best when we were driving back. It’s just, I think you can easily forget what’s going on, what the score is, just because of how a day ends and how it finishes.
“We’re still leading the Presidents Cup, and we’re in great position to win tomorrow. So we all just got to put our heads down and get after it,” Thomas added.
The teams split Saturday’s morning session.
Spieth and Thomas defeated Im and Corey Conners 4 and 3, Scott and Matsuyama beat Cameron Young and Collin Morikawa 3 and 2, Tom Kim and K.H. Lee topped Sam Burns and Scottie Scheffler 2 and 1, and Finau and Max Homa beat Si Woo Kim and Cam Davis 4 and 3.
–Field Level Media
