International Team remains defiant after loss to U.S. Team in Presidents Cup

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International Team remains defiant after loss to U.S. Team in Presidents Cup

Published: 15 Oct. 2024, 10:30 Updated: 15 Oct. 2024, 10:33

U.S. Team players pose for a photo with the Presidents Cup Trophy after winning the 2024 Presidents Cup at The Royal Montreal Golf Club on Sept. 29 in Montreal, Quebec. [GETTY IMAGES

To warm the souls of those passionate supporters who’ve maintained a vigil over the International Team in this 30-year Presidents Cup sojourn, there was an unforgettable one-day session that was the picture of perfection at Royal Montreal Golf Club recently.

A clean sweep of five foursomes matches — International Team magic that had never been seen in such dominating fashion for a very long time.

That the rout included wins over dynamic players ranked first (Scottie Scheffler, with Russell Henley) and second (Xander Schauffele, with Patrick Cantlay) in the world and featured triumphs by outlandish scores of 7 & 6, 6 & 5, and 5 & 4 seemingly sent a message that this time, finally, would be different.

Players like Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama, Tom Kim, Mackenzie Hughes and Kim Si-woo performed like men possessed, fired up with the sole intent to end a U.S. Team domination in the biennial team competition.

Adam Scott and the International Team play a shot on the 16th hole on day one of the 2024 Presidents Cup at The Royal Montreal Golf Club on Sept. 26 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. [GETTY IMAGES]

Alas, the magic could not continue into the weekend because from a 5-5 tie through two sessions (the Americans had kicked things off by winning all five four-ball games on the opening day), a strong American squad, which 12 members were ranked inside the world’s top-25, pulled away.

By matching scores of 3-1, the Americans won both the morning four-ball and afternoon foursomes sessions on the third day to build a virtually insurmountable 11-7 lead. It was a Saturday in which Team USA’s nucleus of world top-10 players — Scheffler, Schauffele, Cantlay and Collin Morikawa — factored in all six of those victories.

That Saturday was as demoralizing as Friday was exhilarating will be the lasting image of the 2024 Presidents Cup. Because while it was the Americans’ 10th straight win in this biennial international team competition and was put into the books with an emphatic 18 ½ - 11 ½ final score, in a fast-falling Canada twilight the International Team’s inability to finish strong on Saturday told the story of yet another painful edition.

If not for a couple of ill-timed swings and misery at the 18th hole the Internationals could have had a 3-1 advantage in the afternoon foursomes and a 9-9 tie into singles. The thing is, there were ill-timed swings and misery at the death, and so the heartache continues.

Interestingly, a stat emerged once the dust had settled which showed the U.S. Team had won a total of 117 holes while the International Team won 116 holes, indicating just how close the matches were in Royal Montreal.

“It stinks,” said Mackenzie Hughes, who was paired with a fellow Canadian, Cory Conners for three matches. They gave the home crowd plenty of reason to sing the national anthem, “O Canada,” with a Friday win in foursomes, but lost twice Saturday.

Mackenzie Hughes of the International Team reacts to making a birdie putt on the 16th hole on day three of the 2024 Presidents Cup at The Royal Montreal Golf Club on Sept. 28 in Montreal, Quebec. [PGA TOUR]

The afternoon loss in foursomes will irk them for a long time. An early 2-up lead evaporated, and they had to battle back to square the match through 16 holes. Behind them, Tom Kim and Kim Si-woo also fought back to pull even with Schauffele and Cantlay through 16.

So with all their teammates and the majority of the crowd at Royal Montreal pulling hard for a pair of dramatic wins and a 9-9 tie, instead a disappointment blanketed the arena. Conners missed the green with his approach at 18, Hughes badly misplayed his chip and with a closing bogey, the Canadians lost to Morikawa and Burns.

“I had a little chip there and that’s going to sit with me for a while,” said Hughes. “They trusted us to come back out in the (afternoon) and put a point on the board. We did a lot of good things, but fell short, so it kind of stinks.”

Next, the Korean duo played the 18th nicely and Kim Si-woo would stand over a 16-foot putt to possibly win. Only it was Cantlay, from also in the neighborhood of 16 feet, who converted the birdie putt, not the Internationals. Two close calls that could have gone either way, two close calls that went into the U.S. column.

“Ebbs and flows,” said International Team captain Mike Weir. “Hats off to the U.S. guys; they played great down the stretch and they have played the 18th hole really well when matches have been close.”

Dismayed by the way Saturday had finished, the International Team needed to duplicate its Friday magic in the 12 singles matches on the final day to have a chance at its first win since 1998. It was not to be. Team USA got wins by its leaders (Schauffele, Cantlay, Morikawa) and piled on 7 ½ more points in singles. Only Conners, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, who defeated Scheffler, and South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout recorded wins for the Internationals while An Byeong-hun , Tom Kim and Min Woo Lee salvaged halves.

Hideki Matsuyama and the International Team celebrate with Im Sung-jae after a putt on the eighth green on day two of the 2024 Presidents Cup at The Royal Montreal Golf Club on Sept. 27 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. [GETTY IMAGES]

“A lot of these matches were so close,” said Weir, who was aware of a key statistic — 20 of the 30 games weren’t decided until at least the 17th hole. The Americans, of course, won the huge majority of those. “It’s disappointing not to get a win. We put our team together to win this thing and when you don’t get a win, it’s disappointing. But a lot of great things to take away.”

Near the top of positives might be young Korean Tom Kim. At 22 he was playing in his second Presidents Cup and while he went 1-2-1 it’s likely he came away greatly educated on the need to finish stronger and maintain better control of his emotions. When the competition was over, Tom Kim revealed that he had gone to both U.S. captain Jim Furyk and stalwart player Schauffele to apologize for some critical comments and questionable behavior. Both Americans accepted the apologies and praised Tom Kim for his play, overly spirited and demonstrative thought it might have been.

To his credit, Tom Kim might be a youngster but he has a firm grasp of history. Though 1-13-1 in this competition, the Presidents Cup is serious stuff to him and his teammates and there is a burning desire to turn things around. “When you lose so many times, I feel like there’s always a story where people come back,” he said after playing beautifully in a fiercely — competed tie with Burns in singles.

Tom Kim, right, of the International Team celebrates with teammate Kim Si-woo after a birdie on the 14th hole during four-Ball matches on day three of the 2024 Presidents Cup at The Royal Montreal Golf Club on Sept. 28 in Montreal, Quebec. [GETTY IMAGES]

Sounding like a guy who might just be a team leader when the next Presidents Cup is played in Chicago in 2026, Tom Kim insists his mates are not shying away from the challenge. “Winning doesn’t last forever. There’s going to be times where lip-outs are going to go our way. A few breaks, a few bounces are going to go our way, and that’s going to make a difference. We play great and we keep falling short sometimes, but I’m not losing hope,” said Kim.

Friday’s 5-0 perfection in foursomes demonstrates why they will forge forward with heads held high.

BY JIM MCCABE [kjdsports@joongang.co.kr]