U.S. grabs 11-7 lead over International team at Presidents Cup

The Presidents Cup is tight going into the final day of competition after a long Saturday at Royal Montreal Golf Club.

The U.S. team regained the lead, holding an 11-7 margin on the International team.

The U.S. won the final three afternoon foursome matches. The first team to 15 1/2 points wins.

The U.S. secured the day’s final three points when par for Collin Morikawa and Sam Burns was enough on No. 18, so they won 1 up on the Canadian combination of Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Conners followed by victories for Scottie Scheffler / Russell Henley and Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.

Australia’s Adam Scott and Canada’s Taylor Pendrith bounced back from a rough morning session to win 2 up on Brian Harmon and Max Homa for the first point in the afternoon session.

Scheffler and Henley recovered from a 3-0 deficit through five holes to defeat Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and South Korea’s Sungjae Im 3 & 2.

Scheffler struggled with the putter at times, missing from inside 6 feet on the fourth hole and from less than 4 feet on the fifth, with Matsuyama/Im winning both holes. He missed from less than 9 feet on a birdie attempt on No. 11, leaving the U.S. pair a hole behind. Scheffler and Henley won three of the next four holes, with Im’s putt to extend the match lipping out.

Cantlay and Schauffele won 1 up on South Korea’s Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim.

Tom Kim’s 38-foot putt on the ninth hole pulled the International team within 3-2 in that matchup. The match was all even after Si Woo Kim chipped in from the rough with a difficult stance after his ball was finally located on No. 16.

The U.S. team won three of four matches in four-ball to regain the lead in the morning. The U.S. led 8-6 on the International team going into afternoon foursomes.

Play Saturday was behind schedule due to a weather-related delay of 1 hour, 37 minutes. After the first group completed the first hole and the next group teed off, there was an extended break at 7:23 a.m. because of fog.

Scheffler and Morikawa assured the U.S. would go back ahead by winning 2 & 1 against Scott and Pendrith. Scheffler’s birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 sealed the point. Scott had tied the match with a 26-foot birdie putt on No. 14 after Pendrith’s tee shot was in the water.

That helped offset a strong stretch for Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim, who won 4 & 3 against Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark. Tom Kim had a strong outing when the International duo claimed three of four holes to lead 5-2 through 10 holes. Si Woo Kim’s 17-foot birdie putt on No. 15 clinched the point.

Earlier, Tony Finau and Schauffele collected momentum for the U.S. side with a 3 & 2 triumph on Canadians Mackenzie Hughes and Conners.

Just as they did on Thursday, Cantlay and Burns wrapped up the final point of four-ball by winning 2 & 1, this time against Matsuyama and Im. Cantlay had one of the highlights with a 49-foot, chip-in eagle on the par-5 12th, putting the U.S. ahead 4-2, and the sides halved the rest of the holes.

The first two days were marked by sweeps. The U.S. went up 5-0 with Thursday’s four-ball matches before the International team pulled even with Friday’s domination in foursomes.

–Field Level Media