Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and South Korea’s Sungjae Im were impeccable against Americans Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay en route to a clear seven and six victory Friday afternoon, and the international team unexpectedly created tied 5-5 against the American team after two days of competition at the Presidents Cup.
Matsuyama and Im thus tied the fastest victory in Presidents Cup history. Only two duos have managed to record victories of seven and six before, the most recent being Adam Scott and KJ Choi against Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker in the 2011 Presidents Cup.
Matsuyama, the top-ranked golfer on the international team by virtue of his seventh-place finish in the world and the most experienced among the 12 selected by captain Mike Weir, and Im got off to a hot start and won their first two holes. They even won five of the first nine holes to quickly take control of the duel, en route to an expeditious victory.
And just like that, the international team finally got on the board. Much to Weir’s relief.
This result from Matsuyama and Im, the first duo to tee off on the Blue course at the Royal Montreal golf club on Friday, seemed to inspire the rest of the international team. And like a tsunami, the American team was swept away by the wave.
Much to the delight of the crowd, in fact, who roared to the four corners of the property at regular intervals throughout the afternoon, under sunny skies and a comfortable temperature of 21 degrees Celsius.
As for the Canadian duo of Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes, they imitated that of Matsuyama and Im and manhandled the Americans Wyndham Clark and Tony Finau six and five, while their compatriot Taylor Pendrith, of Richmond Hill, Ontario, and Scott took the measure of Americans Sahith Theegala and Collin Morikawa five and four.
It was the first time three Canadians were in action in the same session at the Presidents Cup, and they made sure it was remembered for a long time.
Things got a little complicated at the end of the session, as the duo of South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Australian Jason Day made more and more mistakes. They nevertheless beat Max Homa and Brian Harman by one.
The same thing happened to Si Woo Kim — inserted into the lineup by Weir after being left out the day before — and Byeong Hun An, who had trouble closing the books against the No. 1 golfer in the world , Scottie Scheffler, and his playing partner Russell Henley. The South Koreans eventually completed the sweep by winning by one, after Kim holed a 20-foot putt to match the Americans’ par on the 18th green.
It is therefore a complete turnaround compared to the day before, when the Americans swept the first session to take control 5-0.
So in golf, as in life in general, the days follow one another and are not the same.
And for captain Jim Furyk’s American team, everything has to be done again.
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