Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns waited and waited. But on Saturday morning at the Medinah Country Club, his time – and Team USA – seemed to be over the Presidents’ Cup.
Afterwards kicked out by the Internationals in Friday’s foursomes, the Americans entered Saturday’s morning session trailing 7-3. They got off to a hot start and led all four games on the front nine, but then the momentum started to turn. Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim came back against Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa to win the match 2 & 1. Justin Thomas and Jackson Koivun lost a 2-up lead and halved their match with Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im.
Scheffler and Burns led Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Histatsune 1-up at the turn, but the Japanese tandem won the 10th and 13th holes to go 1-up with five to play as the World No. 1 and 8 struggled to find success on the greens. Already facing a five-point deficit, the Americans could not afford to take another loss, especially one that would involve the Internationals. throw out Scheffler and Burns for the second consecutive session.
With the Americans knocked out, the Internationals had the opportunity to strike a blow that would blow Team USA. But then Scottie Scheffler changed everything.
After Burns missed a short birdie putt on 15, Scheffler holed his own 15-foot birdie. With Hisatsune a little closer and on the same line, Scheffler knew he and his team stood no chance of turning this crucial match around and cutting the deficit. Scheffler calmly picked up his putter and rolled it into the heart of the cup, unleashing a powerful fist pump as the ball disappeared. After Hisatsune missed, the match was all square, but the Americans had all the momentum.
Scheffler’s thunder woke the crowd (and perhaps himself), gave the Americans the momentum they needed and then Burns took it from there, stuffing near-iron shots at 16 and 17 for birdies to win both holes and the match. With Chris Gotterup and Cameron Young closing out Corey Conners and Nick Taylor 2&1, Team USA won the session 2.5-1.5 and will go into Sunday afternoon’s foursomes session just three at 8.5-5.5, thanks in large part to the No. 1’s match-flipping round birdie.
“I was just waiting for a putt to go in,” Scheffler told NBC’s Cara Banks after his birdie on the 15th. “The hole felt small for a while, but it opened up there on the 15th, and it was important there because Ryo was basically on the same line as me. So it was nice to be able to hit that hole.”
While Scheffler’s long birdie steadied the Americans in the morning, captain Brandt Snedeker elected to sit Scheffler for the afternoon session, instead opting to pair Burns with Wyndham Clark.
“We’re always up for something,” Scheffler said of the afternoon session. “I’ve played a lot of golf this year. I’ll just sit here and cheer on the guys. Waiting to watch Sam, he’s one of my favorite people to watch. And rest a little and prepare for tomorrow. I think one of the great things about our team is that you can pair guys with anyone. It’s important to get the guys out on the course and the guys who expect to play well.
The Americans haven’t lost a Presidents Cup since 1998. The Internationals had a chance to land a haymaker on Saturday morning, but Scheffler delivered one of his own, and now the Americans have a chance to hit their comeback and avoid a historical clash.