Adam Scott sets International Team record with 22nd Presidents Cup point won

While a momentum shift stole the headlines, Adam Scott set the record for most career points by an International Team Presidents Cup player with his 22nd point as he and Taylor Pendrith beat Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala, 5 and 4, at The Royal Montreal Golf Club.

The victory came in Scott’s preferred format of Foursomes, where he came into this week with an 8-10-2 career record in 10 previous Presidents Cup appearances.

“We listened to (International Team Captain Mike Weir) and the other assistants and took the positives of how close it was,” said Scott, 44. “We didn’t get defeated … There’s a lot of fight in this team. We’re not gonna go away.”

Scott has long been a team leader for the International squad and broke out of a first-place tie with Ernie Els for most career points won.

“It’s been my whole career, really,” said Scott, who has watched the Americans win the week nine of the 10 times he’s played (with one tie) and has openly pined to be part of an International victory. “Lots of great moments; some tough moments, too. I’m going to enjoy this one because this is Taylor’s first win, so I’m stoked for him. He’s gonna have many more.”

Friday saw a different scene for the Internationals in every way possible as they painted the scoreboard yellow. Scott and Pendrith had each lost on Day 1, Scott stalling mid-round with partner Min Woo Lee as they fell to Morikawa and Theegala.

Scott would lament that it was a winnable match, but he and Lee made only three birdies.

Taylor, too, had rued lost opportunities Thursday, when he made seven birdies but with partner Christiaan Bezuidenhout lost to Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark.

The team of Scott and Taylor had no such problems Friday, though, as they birdied Nos. 4-6 to take a 3-up lead. Although they lost the seventh hole to a par, they restored their 3-up lead with a birdie at the 10th hole and went 4-up with a par at the 11th hole.

From there it was just a matter of time.

The match victory for Australia’s Scott was merely a continuation of form after a summer that saw him finish second at the Genesis Scottish Open, T2 at the BMW Championship, and T4 at the TOUR Championship at East Lake.

Now he’s in the Presidents Cup record books.