USA takes 4-point lead to Sunday at Presidents Cup
The United States will take a four-point lead to singles action at the Presidents Cup after a day of drama at Royal Montreal.
After claiming the morning session 3-1, the Americans made a late charge across the entire board to flip multiple matches and win the afternoon foursomes by the same margin.
That leaves the score at 11-7 heading to Sunday's singles. The Americans need just four points to keep the Presidents Cup.
Match 1: Scott/Pendrith 2-up over Homa/Harman
In a back-and-forth match to open the afternoon session, Adam Scott and Taylor Pendrith eventually took control late to build a 2-up lead heading to No. 17, but Max Homa's brilliant tee shot on the par-3 halved the deficit with one hole to play.
The drama didn't last long on the finishing hole - Brian Harman's tee shot found the thick rough, giving Homa little chance of hitting the green. The latter's approach put his partner in an awkward spot beside a bunker, with bogey the best the pair could manage. That pushed the final score back to 2-up and gave the Internationals the win.
Match 2: Morikawa/Burns 1-up over Hughes/Conners
Collin Morikawa and Sam Burns faced the crowd favorites from Canada, Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Conners, in the thrilling second match of the afternoon at Royal Montreal. One of the teams won seven of the first nine holes and the match went to No. 18 tied thanks to Hughes' incredible hole-out eagle from the bunker earlier in the back nine.
The Canadians ran out of steam on the final hole: Conners missed the green and Hughes barely advanced his pitch onto it. That allowed the Americans to claim the full point when Morikawa poured in a short par putt.
Match 3: Schauffele/Cantlay 1-up over Kim/Kim
Koreans Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim added more outrageous highlights to their growing list of wild moments at the Presidents Cup, as both poured in putts from distance to spark wild celebrations. The match was destined to head to the 18th after Si Woo Kim made the shot of the tournament to sink an impossible chip on the 16th hole.
However, Patrick Cantlay once again showed why he's becoming the most dangerous American in team events, pouring in a birdie on the final green to claim the full point for the visitors.
Match 4: Scheffler/Henley 3&2 over Matsuyama/Im
In the final match of the afternoon, Sungjae Im and Hideki Matsuyama held the lead for the first 11 holes before the Americans stormed back with some exceptional play down the stretch. The USA erased a 3-down deficit by going 6-under over the final 11 holes to end things on the 16th green.
Russell Henley and Scottie Scheffler are quickly becoming a formidable outfit for the Americans, as the steady rookie complements the World No. 1 perfectly. This result is certainly the most disappointing for the Internationals and makes the challenge on Sunday that much harder.
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