Presidents Cup: Day 3 match recaps

The U.S. team looked set to produce a huge comeback late Saturday at the Presidents Cup before some late International heroics preserved a 10-8 lead heading to Sunday Singles at Royal Melbourne.

Staring down the barrel of a clean sweep in the afternoon Foursomes at the hands of a rampant U.S. team, Marc Leishman and Abraham Ancer fashioned an incredible comeback to tie their match against Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler.

Sitting five down through 10 holes, the International duo came home with a flurry – including winning the last three holes.

Byeong Hun An and Joaquin Niemann also pulled out a late tie against Matt Kuchar and Tony Finau, which could have been a win had An made a six-footer at the last.

The Internationals still haven’t won a Foursomes session since 2005, but they take a lead to Singles for the first time since 2003.

Earlier, the Internationals opened up a 9-5 lead following the morning Four-Ball session which they won 2.5-1.5.

Here’s a closer look at how it all happened:

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DAY 3 FOUR-BALLS

MATCH 11: U.S. WINS 3&2

Rickie Fowler/Justin Thomas (U.S.) def. Marc Leishman/Haotong Li (International)

Holes won: U.S. 5, International 2

Holes led: U.S. 13, International 0

Recap: The U.S. Team never trailed, taking the lead for good with Rickie Fowler’s par at the fifth hole. The U.S. went 2-up with Thomas’ birdie at the par-4 eighth hole. It never got any closer. For the second straight match, Thomas ended it with a birdie putt, holing a 13-footer for birdie on 16. Thomas is 3-0 this week and now 6-1-1 in his Presidents Cup career. Fowler and Thomas are 3-0-1 as a Presidents Cup team.

MATCH 12: INTERNATIONAL WINS 3&2

Abraham Ancer/Sungjae Im (International) def. Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele (U.S.)

Holes won: International 4, U.S. 1

Holes led: International 9, U.S. 0

Recap: The first seven holes of this match were halved. The International Team took the lead with pars at the eighth hole. It led the rest of the way. Im holed a 15-foot birdie putt to win the 10th hole and Ancer closed things out with three consecutive birdies on Nos. 14-16. These two International rookies are undefeated this week. Ancer is 3-0, while Im is 2-0-1.

MATCH 13: INTERNATIONAL WINS, 5&3

Hideki Matsuyama/C.T. Pan (International) def. Patrick Reed/Webb Simpson (U.S.)

Holes won: International 7, U.S. 2

Holes led: International 15, U.S. 0

Recap: The International Team never trailed, taking the lead with Pan’s 13-foot birdie on the first hole. He added an eagle at the drivable par-4 sixth and a birdie at the seventh hole to give his team a 3-up lead. He wasn’t done. His approach on the par-4 12th hit the stick and stopped inches from the hole for another birdie. Matsuyama holed a 17-footer for birdie on the next hole to give his team a 4-up lead. Pan closed it out with a birdie on 15. Reed and Simpson dropped to 0-3 this week.

MATCH 14: TIED

Byeong Hun An/Adam Scott (International) tied Tony Finau/Matt Kuchar (U.S.)

Holes won: U.S. 3, International 3

Holes led: International 6, U.S. 3

Recap: The International Team led until the 17th hole, but Finau birdied the final hole to scratch out a half-point for the U.S. Team and keep his team within four points of the Internationals.

DAY 3 FOURSOMES

MATCH 15: U.S. WINS 2 and 1

Dustin Johnson/Gary Woodland (U.S.) def. Adam Scott/Louis Oosthuizen (International)

Holes won: U.S. 5, International 3

Holes led: U.S. 10, International 4

Recap: An impressive eagle on the par-5 second gave the Internationals an early lead before back-to-back wins on the sixth and seventh holes sent the U.S. back in front. They lost that lead after a wobbly 10th hole but when Scott’s short birdie try on the 11th wickedly horseshoed out of the hole the U.S. once again found their advantage. They extended it a hole later and held on from there despite late hope when the Internationals won the 16th. It was Woodland’s first win in U.S. colors to improve to 1-1-1 in his debut Presidents Cup while Johnson also gained his first point of the week to improve to 1-2-0 and 9-6-2 in his Presidents Cup career.

MATCH 16: TIED

Marc Leishman/Abraham Ancer (International) tied Justin Thomas/Rickie Fowler (U.S.)

Holes won: U.S. 5, International 5

Holes led: U.S. 17, International 0

Recap: Thomas/Fowler seemed to be cruising to a lopsided win, as they won five of the first seven holes and were 5 up after the 10th hole. But then Leishman/Ancer rallied to give the Internationals an emotional – and unlikely – half-point. It started with Ancer’s approach at the 11th to 5 feet to set up a Leishman birdie. Then Leishman set up Ancer on the next hole for a 10-footer. Ancer kept the match alive by rolling in a birdie putt from 20-1/2 feet to tie the 15th. Leishman then rolled in a 17-footer for par to win the 16th. Another par at 17 after a clutch Leishman shot inside 2 feet. Thomas then sailed his tee shot at 18 under a tree limb, and the Internationals closed with a birdie.

Said Leishman: "Walking to that 18th tee there felt like the Tour de France, everyone screaming, it was awesome. To fight back from 5-down, pretty amazing feeling." ... Said Ancer: "I just believed. We kept believing. We told ourselves that we were going to keep going at it and we were going to fight until the end. We were not just going to give up. We've just got to find a way to get it done and we did." ... Said Thomas: "It's unacceptable for us to get a half a point. I mean, they made a couple long putts there on 15 and 16 to keep it going. You know, we had our chances, and I mean, flat honest, just didn't execute."

MATCH 17: U.S. WINS 2 and 1

Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay (U.S.) def. Cameron Smith/Sungjae Im (International)

Holes won: U.S. 7, International 5

Holes led: U.S. 5, International 8

Recap: In this battle between four Presidents Cup rookies, the Internationals produced an incredible start that saw them take a 3-up lead through five holes. However, the U.S. then found their rhythm and began an impressive comeback. Three straight birdies on six, seven and eight wiped out the lead and turned the momentum. Smith and Im won the 10th to get a lead again, but from there, the U.S. stepped up down the stretch. Birdie on 11 tied things up before wins on 13 and 15 set them on the path to victory. Smith is now 0-1-1 in his debut, having only played Foursomes, while Im is 2-1-1 in his first Presidents Cup. Schauffele and Cantlay are now both 2-2-0, but 2-0 as a Foursomes duo.

MATCH 18: TIED

Byeong Hun An/Joaquin Niemann (International) tied Matt Kuchar/Tony Finau (U.S.)

Holes won: U.S. 3, International 3

Holes led: U.S. 14, International 0

Recap: The Internationals were 2 down with five holes to play but rallied to gain a half-point. Kuchar found the greenside bunker with his tee shot at the 14th as the Americans lost that hole with a bogey. Then the Internationals won the par-5 15th with a birdie to tie the match. With the gallery ringing the 18th green, An had a 7-foot birdie putt to win the match but could not convert.

Said Finau: "It's a crazy match. We had control of the match pretty much, seemed like the whole day and kind of cruising, and you know, a couple mistakes on 14 and 15. But they played great. Any putt they needed to make, they made." ... Said Kuchar: "I tip my hat to them. I don't know if I've ever seen better scrambling. But in match play, you've always got to expect it. The guys that are missing fairways, missing greens, you expect them to chip it close, chip it in, make putts, and they did it. It was impressive." ... Said An: "To be fair, we were struggling a little bit on the front nine. We were not hitting it great. We were not in the places where we wanted to be, but you know, at the end we got a half-point/ I'm a little disappointed I missed the putt, but still, we're in a great position going into Sunday."