For much of Saturday, it looked like American captain Brandt Snedeker would prove prophetic.
After The Americans were swept in the foursomes session on Friday from the Internationals, Snedeker said he wasn’t worried about the United States losing its first Presidents Cup in nearly 30 years.
“That thing is over 35, 40 percent — it’s not even half a football game,” Snedeker said Friday as the Internationals took a 7-3 lead. “We miss a lot of golf.”
U The Americans broke into the lead of the Internationals before Saturday, winning the morning fourball session 2.5-1.5. Then came Saturday’s foursomes session, a format in which the Americans have struggled of late, going 6-24 in alternate-shooting sessions in team competitions since 2023.
But early Saturday afternoon, it looked like Americans might finally have an alternative shot session to remember. Even with the No. 1 of the world Scottie Scheffler sitting out, the red flags were raised before the Americans led all four games through the front nine. It was a flurry of putts made and iron shots stuffed early as the Internationals hit the water.
As the sun baked the greens of Medinah Country Club, it seemed that the Americans were headed for a frame of their own, the one that would give them a one-shot lead in Sunday’s singles, a format they have historically dominated.
Team USA struck first with the new duo of Cameron Young and Chris Gotterup. Gotterup and Young beat Nick Taylor and Corey Conners 2 & 1 in fourball, and then came in the afternoon and beat Adam Scott and Sungjae Im. The Americans won the first, third, fourth, sixth, seventh and ninth holes to go out in 30 and take a 5-up lead. Gotterup and Scott closed out Scott and Im with a birdie on the par-4 14th to win 6&4.
“If I could hit his shots all the time, I’d be pretty good at golf,” Gotterup told NBC’s Cara Banks after the win. “It’s amazing. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s easy. It doesn’t matter. He says, ‘Just hit it and I’ll go find it.’ It was a good game this morning and this afternoon too.”
Another American point came courtesy of Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, who ousted the previously unbeaten team of Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim 2&1. Cantlay and Schauffele led for most of the match and held off a late charge from Team Kim to close out the 17th.
“(Pat) played great. We kind of fed off each other early and we were able to hang on a little bit late,” Schauffele told Banks. “The Captain wants us to focus on (our match). All we can do is get a point and we were happy to do it this afternoon.”
“Sneds told us to come out and get a point on the board early,” Cantlay said of the Internationals’ first team. “He put us out early, and I’m glad we were able to carry it.”
But then the Americans let a golden opportunity slip through their fingers.
Sam Burns and Wyndham Clark jumped Min Woo Lee and Ryan Fox first. He won the first two holes and held the lead until the Internationals birdied the sixth and seventh to take the lead. The Americans tied the match with a win in 11 but Lee and Fox won 13, 14 and 15 before closing out the Americans in the 17th to win 3 and 2.
“We just had to be there for each other,” Lee said. “I felt like I had a terrible start. He was right there on my back cheering me on. It’s okay, and we turned it around, which is amazing.”
The fourth and final foursomes match on Saturday afternoon is the one the Americans will be chasing, if they don’t bounce back on Sunday.
Jacob Bridgeman and Russell Henley burst out of the gates quickly against Corey Conners and Nick Taylor. Bridgeman and Henley won the first three holes and held a 3-up lead after 10 holes. Then, the Canadian tandem struck. Conners and Taylor won 11, 12, 14 and 15 to take a 1-up lead with three holes to play. Conners and Taylor hit their comeback when Conners rolled in a five-foot par putt on the 18th hole to win 1 up.
That wins gave the International 10.5-7.5 going single. It is the first time that the Internationals will enter on Sunday with a leader on the soil of the United States.
“What a great experience,” Taylor told Banks after the win. “We’ve been relentless all week. That’s been the message all week from the captain. Just proud of (Conners). What a putt.”
The last time the Internationals led going into a Sunday was in 2019 at Royal Melbourne in Australia. They had a 10-8 lead in singles, but the US won the final session 8-4, with the Internationals winning only two games.
Snedeker hopes Sunday brings familiar singles magic for the United States, otherwise they will watch as the Internationals celebrate just their second Presidents Cup victory, and their first on US soil, in what would be a historic matchup.
“I thought our guys fought hard. It was a tough day out there. This golf course got really tough this afternoon. There’s such a fine line between good shots and bad shots. I was really proud of the way the guys hung in there and hit it. The guys did what I expected them to do. They came out with a ton of energy, they fought their ass off today and I’m proud of them.
“Stay the course. This golf course is tough. It’s going to be a long, hard day tomorrow. I’ve got the right guys in the team room. I’m proud of how they hung in there this week despite all my mistakes. I’m so proud of them and I can’t wait to see them come out tomorrow and compete.”
