Presidents Cup: Day 4 Singles matches recaps
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Written by Staff
The United States has recaptured the Presidents Cup.
It trailed after each of the first four sessions, but the U.S. routed the International Team, 8-4, on Sunday at Royal Melbourne. That tied the record for most points scored in Singles in tournament history. The U.S. set that record 25 years ago in the first Presidents Cup.
Tiger Woods won his match and finished 3-0-0, making him the first playing captain since Sam Snead in the 1959 Ryder Cup to go undefeated in his team’s victory.
Here’s a closer look at how it happened.
PRESIDENTS CUP: Scoring | Quiz: Which team should you support?
DAY 4 SINGLES
MATCH 19: U.S. WINS 3&2
Tiger Woods (U.S.) def. Abraham Ancer (International)
Holes won: U.S. 7, International 4
Holes led: U.S. 11, International 0
Recap: Ancer hung tough, keeping the match all square through eight holes. Woods was too much, though. made back-to-back birdies at 9 and 10 to take a 2-up lead. Ancer cut into the lead by holing a 10-foot birdie putt to win the 13th. He gave it back with a bogey at the next hole, though. Woods birdied the next two holes to close out the match. He executed an incredible lag putt from well short of the green on the par-5 15th, then closed it out with a 20-footer for birdie. “I knew the match was over with 6 feet remaining,” Woods said. This was his seventh Singles win, the most in Presidents Cup history.
Woods finished 3-0-0 this week. This is just the second time he's gone undefeated in nine Presidents Cup appearances.
MATCH 20: TIED
Hideki Matsyuama (International) tied Tony Finau (U.S.)
Holes won: International 6, U.S. 6
Holes led: International 13, U.S. 0
Recap: This one stung for the International Team. Matsuyama was 4 up after 10 holes. Finau won Nos. 11-14, three of them with birdies, to tie the match. Matsuyama regained his lead with a birdie on 16, but he three-putted to lose the 17th. They both parred the final hole.
MATCH 21: U.S. WINS 4&2
Patrick Reed (U.S.) def. C.T. Pan (International)
Holes won: U.S. 8, International 4
Holes led: U.S. 16, International 0
Recap: Reed came out on fire. He won six of the first seven holes, five of them with birdies. Pan won the next three holes, but Reed staved off the comeback by holing a 10-footer to halve the 11th hole. Pan birdied the 13th to pull within 2 down, but it didn’t get any closer. Reed closed it out with wins on 15 and 16. “You make birdies, you don’t hear much (from the fans),” Reed said about his hot start.
MATCH 22: U.S. WINS 4&3
Dustin Johnson (U.S.) def. Haotong Li (International)
Holes won: U.S. 7, International 3
Holes led: U.S. 13, International 0
Recap: Johnson took the early lead by winning Nos. 3-5, two of them with pars. He never led by fewer than three holes after that. Another par earned him a win on the seventh hole. Johnson was 5 up after 11 holes, and while Li won Nos. 12 and 14, it was never close. The match ended with Johnson’s birdie on the 15th hole. “I played really well today. I hit the ball great,” Johnson said. “obviously he struggled just a little bit. I definitely put lot of pressure on him because I hit some great shots today.”
MATCH 23: TIED
Bryson DeChambeau (U.S.) tied Adam Hadwin (International)
Holes won: U.S. 3, International 3
Holes led: U.S. 7, International 0
Recap: DeChambeau had the early lead but Hadwin tied the match with a par at the ninth hole. They halved Nos. 10-15 before DeChambeau won the 16th by holing a 23-footer for birdie. DeChambeau bogeyed the next hole, though. He missed a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole, while Hadwin missed from 14 feet.
MATCH 24: INTERNATIONAL WINS 4&3
Sungjae Im (International) def. Gary Woodland (U.S.)
Holes won: International 6, U.S. 2
Holes led: International 8, U.S. 3
Recap: Woodland was 1 up after eight holes, but Im birdied the ninth hole and then won four holes in a five-hole stretch from Nos. 11-15. He finished the match with a birdie at 15. Im, the 2019 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, finished his first Presidents Cup with a 3-1-1 record.
MATCH 25: U.S. WINS 3&2
Patrick Cantlay (U.S.) def. Joaquin Niemann (International)
Holes won: U.S. 7, International 4
Holes led: U.S. 9, 2
Recap: Cantlay took the lead early in the match, but Niemann won Nos. 7, 9 and 10 to take the lead. Cantlay responded by making birdie on the next three holes to go 2 up. He added a birdie at the 15th hole, then won the next hole with par.
MATCH 26: U.S. WINS 2&1
Xander Schauffele (U.S.) def. Adam Scott (International)
Holes won: U.S. 5, International 3
Holes led: U.S. 16, International 0
Recap: Schauffele was 4 up through seven. Scott holed a 40-footer to win the 10th hole, though. Scott was still 4 down with four holes remaining, but made a 25-footer for birdie on 15 and won the 16th with a par. Schauffele’s par on 17 was enough to close it out. “It wasn’t the picturesque finish I wanted. It was kind of a stressful finish for a rookie,” Schauffele said. He went 3-2-0 in his first Presidents Cup.
MATCH 27: U.S. WINS 2&1
Webb Simpson (U.S.) def. Byeong Hun An (International)
Holes won: U.S. 5, International 3
Holes led: U.S. 14, International 0
Recap: Simpson took a 2-up lead with a par at 5 and birdie at the sixth hole, where he holed a 33-footer for birdie. He won the 13th with a par, but An responded by winning the 14th and 16th holes. It ended with a par at 17. Simpson’s win gave the United States a 15-12 lead, guaranteeing at least a tie. It was Simpson’s first win of the week after he went 0-3 with partner Patrick Reed.
MATCH 28: INTERNATIONALS WIN 2&1
Cameron Smith (International) def. Justin Thomas (U.S.)
Holes won: International 6, U.S. 4
Holes led: U.S. 9, International 6
Recap: Thomas led the entire front nine, but Smith squared the match with a win on 10. He also won the 12th and 13th holes, then closed things about by knocking his approach to 7 feet on 17 and making the putt. Smith’s win made it 15-13 with two tied matches on the course. The International Team needed to win both matches to tie the Cup.
MATCH 29: TIED
Matt Kuchar (U.S.) tied Louis Oosthuizen (International)
Holes won: U.S. 6, International 6
Holes led: International 14, U.S. 1
Recap: Oosthuizen won the first two holes with birdie. He took a 3-up lead with an eagle at the drivable par-4 sixth, and was still 3 up at the turn. Kuchar birdied the first two holes on the back nine, though. After winning just one hole on the front nine, Kuchar won five on the back. He clinched the Cup with a birdie on the 17th hole, where he knocked his approach to 6 feet. Oosthuizen won the last to tie the match, but the Cup had been claimed.
MATCH 30: TIED
Marc Leishman (International) tied Rickie Fowler (U.S.)
Holes won: International 6, U.S. 6
Holes led: International 8, U.S. 2
Recap: Fowler was 1 up at the turn, but Leishman won 10 and 11. They were all square after 16, but Fowler won the 17th with a 10-foot birdie putt to guarantee a record-tying singles session. Fowler three-putted the last hole, but the U.S. still scored 8 points Sunday, the most in the final session since the first Presidents Cup.