Adam Scott – teamed with Taylor Pendrith for an emphatic win
The glorious uncertainty of golf, at whichever level it is played, was no more on display than during day two of the Presidents Cup contest in Montreal overnight.
Yesterday’s endless analysis of what went wrong with the Internationals is today’s ‘fish and chip paper’ as the saying goes and another analysis of what went wrong with the Americans and why, today, the Internationals were able to reverse the 5-0 opening day loss is ongoing as this is written.
Down by that daunting and demoralizing 5-0 after the opening day Fourball contests, it was hard to imagine, despite their still relatively good play on day one, that the Internationals could claw much, if any, ground back off the Americans in today’s Foursome matches.
That they could not only claw back some of the margin but that by day’s end they had leveled the ledger was a testament to these two sides perhaps not being as unevenly matched as their on-paper strengths suggested.
The Foursome contest is of course a very different animal to that of the Fourball but the confidence the Internationals have built after not only winning 5-0 today, but how they did so, gives great hope of this contest going down to the wire on Sunday.
The first match out which pitted Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im against a formidable pairing of Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay set the tone for a day to remember. The Internationals were 5 up by the turn and would eventually finish their match at the 12th with a 7 & 6 victory.
The Americans were up in only one match all day, and that was a brief period in the final match of the day when Scottie Scheffler and Russel Henley birdied the second hole to take a 1-up lead. The Internationals birdied the 3rd and were then never behind before Si Woo Kim holed a 15-foot curling putt at the last to retain a 1-up lead for he and Ben An to complete a 5-0 whitewash for their side.
Yesterday, despite the International’s 5-0 loss, three of the five matches stayed alive until the 18th hole whereas today only two were alive beyond the 14th hole, further emphasising the turnaround.
Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im sparked the fightback with a record-tying 7 & 6 rout over Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele in the first match of Friday’s Foursomes session before Si Woo Kim and Byeong Hun An put the bow on a 5-0 reversal over the star-studded U.S. Team to leave the Presidents Cup all tied at 5-5 at Royal Montreal, Canada on Friday.
Kim, a captain’s pick, rolled in a pressure-packed 15-foot par putt on the final green of the last match in front of his team and a raucous home crowds as he and An produced a 1-up victory over World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley.
In between, Australian veteran Adam Scott made more history by earning his 22nd point in what is an unprecedented 11th International Team appearance as he and Taylor Pendrith trounced Sahith Theegala and Collin Morikawa 5 & 4 in the second match of the day.
Canadian stars Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes also enjoyed a 6 & 5 win over Wyndham Clark and Tony Finau while Jason Day and Christiaan Bezuidenhout edged out Max Homa and Brian Harman 1-up as the International Team brilliantly bounced back from Thursday’s setback as they chase only a second Presidents Cup victory.
Matsuyama, a 10-time PGA TOUR winner, and Im dovetailed brilliantly in the alternate-shot format as they closed out Cantlay and Schauffele, who until Friday, was undefeated as a pair in Foursomes at the event. The Asian stars didn’t allow their opponents to win a single hole, missing only two fairways and two greens through 12 holes, and brilliantly made seven straight birdies to close out their match.
“Five losses (on Thursday) wasn’t the result we wanted. But we knew we could come back from this,” said Matsuyama, who qualified for his sixth International Team as the top-ranked player. “Sungjae hit a perfect shot on the first hole, so I think that really brought the momentum. So really happy.”
Im, who won three points in his debut at Royal Melbourne in 2019, has been a livewire all week for the International Team where he mimicked the famous Gangnam dance during a practice round, and also outside the team room on Thursday evening to lift his teammates’ spirits.
“Today from the beginning, our vibe was vibing and we were trying to win the match. With Hideki, our teamwork was amazing. When I would hit the shot, he would finish with the putt, so it was a great job,” said Im, a three-time TOUR winner.
Si Woo Kim and Byeong Hun An fought gallantly against Scheffler and Henley in a match which was never more than a 1-up lead before holding on to a win, thanks to a clutch 15-foot par save at the last hole which sparked wild celebrations reminiscent of the scenes at Quail Hollow two years ago when Tom Kim holed a big putt for an International point.
“I saw all four front groups winning points, so I knew I needed to get points and bring it to game on. Yeah, we’re game on,” said a jubilant Kim, who is one of six captain’s picks. “It was a tough second shot, so I told him, just get me inside 15 feet, and I knew I had a chance to win the putt.”
An added: “We played great today. Well, Si Woo played great. You saw on the last hole, that’s what he was doing all day. Clutch. We scrambled. It was tough fighting with Scottie and Russell, such good players. We knew it was going to be tough, and it all came down to the last hole, and Si Woo made a great putt to win, and it was a great match.”
After a crushing opening day, An said the team’s spirit was still high and credited Weir and his assistants. “We left everything in the cabin. We were on the bus, had the most fun so far. I think today will be fun again, and having dinner back in the hotel, it was amazing, almost like we were having a party, like a Sunday night party.
“Just kept it loose. Like I said, we know we played good golf. Just very unlucky yesterday. We lost on the 18th hole four of the matches, and it came very close. Like I said, I don’t think it could be better than yesterday, but I know we’ll have fun tonight again,” said An.
Weir was proud with how his men fought back after the opening session shutout. “We’re all in this together. We all had a great belief. I was just so proud of the guys, how they fought, as I told you guys that yesterday. The guys fought. That message was loud and clear to the guys,” said the Canadian.
Leaderboard
Saturday Morning Fourball Pairings
𝟕:𝟎𝟐 𝐚.𝐦. Scottie Scheffler/Collin Morikawa vs. Adam Scott/Taylor Pendrith
𝟕:𝟐𝟎 𝐚.𝐦. Tony Finau/Xander Schauffele vs. Corey Conners/Mackenzie Hughes
𝟕:𝟑𝟖 𝐚.𝐦. Keegan Bradley/Wyndham Clark vs. Si Woo Kim/Tom Kim
𝟕:𝟓𝟔 𝐚.𝐦. Patrick Cantlay/Sam Burns vs. Hideki Matsuyama/Sungjae Imlegend
Ryan Fox improves FedEx Cup ranking with 11th place in Jackson
Ryan Fox – file photo courtesy of Augusta National
New Zealand’s Ryan Fox assisted his cause in retaining his PGA Tour status for 2025 when finishing in a share of 11th place at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson Mississippi this morning.
Fox began his final round five shots behind the 54 hole leader, Keith Mitchell and began his chase with three birdies in his first four holes to move into 3rd place but the final 14 holes would prove frustrating for the 37-year-old Aucklander as he would play them in even par to finish with a round of 69 and five shots behind the playoff between Kevin Yu and Beau Hossler.
Fox improved seven spots in his FedEx Cup ranking to 102nd in what is his rookie PGA Tour season. With still six events remaining on the 2024 schedule he appears safe to make the top 125 and keep his full status.
The tournament was won by Chinese Taipei’s Kevin Yu who claimed his first PGA Tour title with a birdie at the first hole of the playoff to down Beau Hossler.
Results
China adds another Asia Pacific Amateur title to its list
Wenyi Ding claims China’s 5th APAC title – image AAC
19-year-old Chinese golfer Wenyi Ding’s victory at the Asian Pacific Amateur Championship in Gotemba, Japan, today now has China as the country to have won the most titles since the event’s inception in 2009.
Ding’s victory by one shot over his fellow countryman Ziqin Zhou helped atone for his playoff loss to Australia’s Jasper Stubbs in last year’s event at Royal Melbourne and took China to a total of five wins in the prestigious championship.
The news wasn’t as good for the Australians in 2024, however. Victorian Phoenix Campbell did the best of the seven-man contingent, finishing in a share of 13th.
The leading Australasian would therefore go to the talented 16-year-old New Zealander Coope Moore who finished in a share of 8th place albeit eight shots from the winner.
Played over the same golf course as one of the Japan Golf Tour’s flagship events, the Visa Taiheiyo Masters, the tournament was plagued by rain for much of the week but managed to finish on time despite rounds two and three being completed the day after their scheduled finish.
Ding joins Guan Tianlang, Jin Cheng and Lin Yuxin (2) as winners of the title edging ahead of Australia and Japan with four titles each.
Results
New Zealand’s Cooper Moore leads Australasians at Asia Pacific Am
Cooper Moore in action during round the completion of round two this morning – image AAC
New Zealander Cooper Moore leads the 12 strong Australasian contingent at the half way mark of the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship at the Taiheiyo Course in Gotemba south of Tokyo.
Moore added a second round of 67 to his opening 69 in the weather delayed second round and at the halfway stage finds himself in a share of 6th position and just three from the lead of Japan’s Rintaro Nakano.
Players were forced to return to the course this morning to complete round two after stormy weather and rain buffeted the course of Friday but the talented Moore who finished runner-up at this year’s R&A Junior Open Championship recorded a homeward nine of 31 to put himself into contention for one of the game’s most significant amateur titles.
The winner this week earns the right to play the Masters and the Open Championship in 2025.
The Canterbury 16-year-old has upstaged several of Australasia’s best amateurs to date in the 72-hole event with Queensland PGA Champion Phoenix Campbell one shot back in a share of 9th place and defending champion Jasper Stubbs well back in 40th place.
The cut fell at 7 over.
Leaderboard
Victorian Cameron John surprise 36 hole Alfred Dunhill leader
Cameron John – file photo Australian Golf Media
Melbourne’s Cameron John has taken advantage of a rare start in a DP World Tour event by sharing the lead at the halfway stage of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.
John, who gained a start in the US$5 million event through his standing on the 2023/2024 PGA Tour of Australasia, followed up his stunning opening round of 62 at Kingsbarns Golf Club on Thursday with a round of 68 over the Old Course at St Andrews overnight, a round that included a triple bogey, to lead along with Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts.
The pair are one clear of South African Darren Fichardt and Scotland’s David Law in the event played over three courses before returning to St Andrews on Sunday for the final round.
The 25-year-old John won earlier in the year in a lesser PGA Tour of Australasia at the National Links, but this is his first event on a recognized tour since, so his stunning start to the event has seen him box well above his weight in a quality field that includes Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, and the like.
New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier is just two off the lead at 12 under while David Micheluzzi is at 10 under and tied for 13th place.
John is enjoying his experience in playing some of the game’s best links layouts including tomorrow when he will tackle perhaps the most demanding of the three layouts used in the pro-am formatted event, Carnoustie
It’s just fun. Like it’s you don’t get it a lot back home, the odd course that plays similar but nothing quite the same,” said John referring to the week thus far. And that’s kind of just the outlook of the week, just enjoy it, take it all in, walking up 18, it’s always pretty special, so just remember it.”
He knows the task ahead to keep the momentum going at Carnoustie.
“I mean, I’ve only been out there the once and I think that was Tuesday. It was awesome and I mean, I played it into a Northerly, so those last few holes were quite tricky. It’s going to be kind of opposite. So it will be a little bit like learning it all over again.”
A cut will be made after tomorrow’s third round.
LEADERBOARD
Karl Villips set to earn PGA Tour card
Karl Villips – file image USGA
One of the more overlooked Australian golfers in recent times, Karl Villips, is about to join the big time with a PGA Tour card for the 2025 season when he tees it up in this week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship.
Villips, born in Indonesia but raised in Perth, before spending much of his teenage years in the USA at High School then Standford University, is a former Junior Presidents Cup team member and a winner of the World Junior Championships.
The now 23-year-old began the 2024 Korn ferry season brilliantly with a win and a runner-up finish in his first few starts but his more recent form has been not quite as good although, in 18th position in the Korn Ferry Tour standings, he is assured of one of the 30 2025 cards for next season’s PGA Tour handed out at the completion of this week’s season-ending event.
Villips is an extremely talented golfer with numerous wins as an amateur including wins during his time in college and a victory at the prestigious Southern Amateur Championship.
He will make an interesting addition to the Australian contingent on the PGA Tour next season.
Xu and Porter look to secure 2025 LPGA Tour cards
Cassie Porter – image Australian Golf Media
Queensland’s Cassie Porter is in line for an LPGA Tour card in 2025 following a stellar season on the Epson Tour in 2024 in which she currently stands in 11th place in the Race for the Card standings.
At the completion of this weekend’s Epson Tour Championship in Indian Wells in California, 15 LPGA Tour cards for next season will be handed out and Porter is all but assured of gaining one of them.
The Sydney-born but Sunshine Coast raised Porter, in her second Epson Tour season, has recorded a win and three other top tens and she looks certain to join Minjee Lee, Hannah Green and co at the highest level of the women’s game.
Fiona Xu – image USGA
Joining Porter will be New Zealander Fiona Xu, a former Australian and New Zealand Amateur Champion who is currently in 5th place in the Race for the Card standings following a season which saw her with one win, a runner-up finish and one other top ten.
Aucklander Xu, is in her rookie season on the Epson Tour, and just as she had done during her amateur career is making quite an impression.
Also in the field for this week’s event is New Zealander Amelia Garvey who would need to win this week to earn one of the 15 cards up for grabs.
Great opportunity for several emerging Australasians at Dunhill Links
Kazuma Kobori – gets to test his significant game against some of the world’s best – image PGA Tour of Australasia.
This week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, at the Old Course St Andrews and the Carnoustie and Kingsbarns Golf Links in Scotland, provides a rare opportunity for several of Australasia’s emerging players to not only experience some of the game’s finest links golf layouts but also play in a US$5 million event for the first time.
The top ten available players from the top 30 of the 20923 / 2024 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit get their chance to play the pro-am formatted event, one of the few such events on a recognised tour. It joins the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and the New Zealand Open as events at this level where professionals partner amateurs in addition to playing a significant and lucrative event in their own right.
The event has the added significance of players such as Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Billy Horschel, Tommy Fleetwood and Billy Horschel teeing it up, adding to a much stronger field than many of the Australasian Tour players have competed against.
New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori and Australians Daniel Gale, Brett Coletta, Matthew Griffin, David Micheluzzi, Jak Carter, Cameron John, Kade McBride, Lachlan Barker and Jordan Zunic have earned the right to play the event courtesy of their performances on the Australasian Tour last season.
Kobori led the Australasian Tour’s Order of Merit when the season finished in March but he has had little joy since his great start to the year when he won an impressive three of six events late on the Australasian Tour’s calendar.
Kobori has missed five cuts in nine events since with a best of 28th in Morocco so his performance will be watched with interest especially given he becomes a full fledged member of the DP World Tour in November as a result of finishing atop the Australians Tour’s Order of Merit.
New Zealanders Daniel Hillier and Sam Jones are also in the field courtesy of the DP World Tour cards they hold.
The last and only Australasian to win the event was New Zealander Ryan Fox who, in a stellar season in 2022, added this as his third of four DP World Tour wins to date.
A bridge too far for the Internationals
Hideki Matsuyama – his win over Scottie Scheffler the highlight for the Internationals today – image Getty Images
It was likely a ‘bridge too far’ even before play got underway on the final day of the 2024 Presidents Cup but at one stage during the middle of the 12 singles matches, the near impossible appeared as if it might just be possible.
The disappointing last hour of play on Saturday appeared as if it might well prove costly for the Internationals, a possible share of the lead on Saturday night turning into a four-point deficit heading into the final day and essentially that result up playing a very significant role.
Beginning the final day with such a deficit and given the greater ranking strength of the Americans who needed only 4½ points out of the 12 available on day four to take the Cup for the 13th time in 15 attempts, it appeared all but fait accompli for the Internationals
But as has so often been the case in events such as these, momentum plays a huge part in the final outcome and although the result of first match out between Jason Day and Xander Schauffele soon became obvious in the American’s favour, those behind were providing hope.
Although Day birdied the opening two holes of his encounter, Schauffele birdied four consecutive holes from the 5th and by the turn was 5 up and one point all but assured for the Americans.
Other matches were giving a glimmer of hope for the Internationals but as had been the case in yesterday’s afternoon foursomes, that hope soon turned to custard as although Hideki Matsuyama who overcame world number one Scottie Scheffler, Corey Connors and Chistian Bezuidenhout would record wins and Tom Kim, Ben An, Min Woo Lee would earn half points, the task, which always appeared to be the case, was beyond reach.
The final result of 18½ – 11½ perhaps did the Internationals a disservice but the bottom line it was another win for the Americans and importantly away from home and leaves us again pondering just what lies ahead for this, on paper at least, one-sided contest.
Leaderboard
Final hour proves costly to International side
The US team appear to have done enough – image Getty Images.
The final hour of play on day three of the 2024 Presidents Cup encounter at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Quebec is likely to determine the outcome of what had been to that point an increasingly intense battle, with the International side fighting their way back from a morning loss in the Fourball matches to potentially draw level with the Americans.
What had been a roller coaster of an event throughout the opening two days threatened more of the same when the Internationals appeared to be building the sort of momentum that might well have had them heading into tomorrow’s 12 singles matches if not sharing the lead, within close enough proximity of their opponents to make Sunday one of the epic Presidents Cup final days.
After Adam Scott and Taylor Pendrith had taken out the opening foursome match of the afternoon following a 3-1 win by the Americans in the morning Fourball, the score was 8 -7 to the Americans with the remaining matches on the course so close that the lead or share of it heading into Sunday could go either way.
With play delayed by fog early on Saturday, the last few matches fought not only the outcome of their respective contests but a light that would see the day’s final match completed in near darkness.
The last hour of play would however all but determine the fate of the contest. The Americans picked up all three of the final three matches to extend their lead to four. With a margin of that extent before the single match-ups surely the outcome of what has already been a fascinating Presidents Cup encounter has been determined.
Or has it? The Internationals must win 8.5 of their twelve singles matches and, while the task is an almost possible one, the door is perhaps not yet closed.
A stronger finish by the Internationals over the closing hour would have created potentially one of the great final days but it would seem that the task might be just too great for an International side which has surprised many with the closeness of the contest.
Is there yet one more surprise tomorrow? Let’s hope so, for the sake of the Presidents Cup.
Leaderboard
Sunday Singles match-ups
The glorious ucertainty of golf – day two Presidents Cup
Adam Scott – teamed with Taylor Pendrith for an emphatic win
The glorious uncertainty of golf, at whichever level it is played, was no more on display than during day two of the Presidents Cup contest in Montreal overnight.
Yesterday’s endless analysis of what went wrong with the Internationals is today’s ‘fish and chip paper’ as the saying goes and another analysis of what went wrong with the Americans and why, today, the Internationals were able to reverse the 5-0 opening day loss is ongoing as this is written.
Down by that daunting and demoralizing 5-0 after the opening day Fourball contests, it was hard to imagine, despite their still relatively good play on day one, that the Internationals could claw much, if any, ground back off the Americans in today’s Foursome matches.
That they could not only claw back some of the margin but that by day’s end they had leveled the ledger was a testament to these two sides perhaps not being as unevenly matched as their on-paper strengths suggested.
The Foursome contest is of course a very different animal to that of the Fourball but the confidence the Internationals have built after not only winning 5-0 today, but how they did so, gives great hope of this contest going down to the wire on Sunday.
The first match out which pitted Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im against a formidable pairing of Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay set the tone for a day to remember. The Internationals were 5 up by the turn and would eventually finish their match at the 12th with a 7 & 6 victory.
The Americans were up in only one match all day, and that was a brief period in the final match of the day when Scottie Scheffler and Russel Henley birdied the second hole to take a 1-up lead. The Internationals birdied the 3rd and were then never behind before Si Woo Kim holed a 15-foot curling putt at the last to retain a 1-up lead for he and Ben An to complete a 5-0 whitewash for their side.
Yesterday, despite the International’s 5-0 loss, three of the five matches stayed alive until the 18th hole whereas today only two were alive beyond the 14th hole, further emphasising the turnaround.
Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im sparked the fightback with a record-tying 7 & 6 rout over Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele in the first match of Friday’s Foursomes session before Si Woo Kim and Byeong Hun An put the bow on a 5-0 reversal over the star-studded U.S. Team to leave the Presidents Cup all tied at 5-5 at Royal Montreal, Canada on Friday.
Kim, a captain’s pick, rolled in a pressure-packed 15-foot par putt on the final green of the last match in front of his team and a raucous home crowds as he and An produced a 1-up victory over World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley.
In between, Australian veteran Adam Scott made more history by earning his 22nd point in what is an unprecedented 11th International Team appearance as he and Taylor Pendrith trounced Sahith Theegala and Collin Morikawa 5 & 4 in the second match of the day.
Canadian stars Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes also enjoyed a 6 & 5 win over Wyndham Clark and Tony Finau while Jason Day and Christiaan Bezuidenhout edged out Max Homa and Brian Harman 1-up as the International Team brilliantly bounced back from Thursday’s setback as they chase only a second Presidents Cup victory.
Matsuyama, a 10-time PGA TOUR winner, and Im dovetailed brilliantly in the alternate-shot format as they closed out Cantlay and Schauffele, who until Friday, was undefeated as a pair in Foursomes at the event. The Asian stars didn’t allow their opponents to win a single hole, missing only two fairways and two greens through 12 holes, and brilliantly made seven straight birdies to close out their match.
“Five losses (on Thursday) wasn’t the result we wanted. But we knew we could come back from this,” said Matsuyama, who qualified for his sixth International Team as the top-ranked player. “Sungjae hit a perfect shot on the first hole, so I think that really brought the momentum. So really happy.”
Im, who won three points in his debut at Royal Melbourne in 2019, has been a livewire all week for the International Team where he mimicked the famous Gangnam dance during a practice round, and also outside the team room on Thursday evening to lift his teammates’ spirits.
“Today from the beginning, our vibe was vibing and we were trying to win the match. With Hideki, our teamwork was amazing. When I would hit the shot, he would finish with the putt, so it was a great job,” said Im, a three-time TOUR winner.
Si Woo Kim and Byeong Hun An fought gallantly against Scheffler and Henley in a match which was never more than a 1-up lead before holding on to a win, thanks to a clutch 15-foot par save at the last hole which sparked wild celebrations reminiscent of the scenes at Quail Hollow two years ago when Tom Kim holed a big putt for an International point.
“I saw all four front groups winning points, so I knew I needed to get points and bring it to game on. Yeah, we’re game on,” said a jubilant Kim, who is one of six captain’s picks. “It was a tough second shot, so I told him, just get me inside 15 feet, and I knew I had a chance to win the putt.”
An added: “We played great today. Well, Si Woo played great. You saw on the last hole, that’s what he was doing all day. Clutch. We scrambled. It was tough fighting with Scottie and Russell, such good players. We knew it was going to be tough, and it all came down to the last hole, and Si Woo made a great putt to win, and it was a great match.”
After a crushing opening day, An said the team’s spirit was still high and credited Weir and his assistants. “We left everything in the cabin. We were on the bus, had the most fun so far. I think today will be fun again, and having dinner back in the hotel, it was amazing, almost like we were having a party, like a Sunday night party.
“Just kept it loose. Like I said, we know we played good golf. Just very unlucky yesterday. We lost on the 18th hole four of the matches, and it came very close. Like I said, I don’t think it could be better than yesterday, but I know we’ll have fun tonight again,” said An.
Weir was proud with how his men fought back after the opening session shutout. “We’re all in this together. We all had a great belief. I was just so proud of the guys, how they fought, as I told you guys that yesterday. The guys fought. That message was loud and clear to the guys,” said the Canadian.
Leaderboard
Saturday Morning Fourball Pairings
𝟕:𝟎𝟐 𝐚.𝐦. Scottie Scheffler/Collin Morikawa vs. Adam Scott/Taylor Pendrith
𝟕:𝟐𝟎 𝐚.𝐦. Tony Finau/Xander Schauffele vs. Corey Conners/Mackenzie Hughes
𝟕:𝟑𝟖 𝐚.𝐦. Keegan Bradley/Wyndham Clark vs. Si Woo Kim/Tom Kim
𝟕:𝟓𝟔 𝐚.𝐦. Patrick Cantlay/Sam Burns vs. Hideki Matsuyama/Sungjae Imlegend