Scheffler, Koivun lead Team USA's Presidents Cup comeback
TLDR: Team USA trailed the Internationals 10.5-7.5 going into Sunday singles at Medinah, then won the day 9.5-2.5 to take the Presidents Cup 17-13 for its 11th straight win.
- Fri Sep 253:40 PM CT
The Friday Foursomes Catastrophe
Some context first. The Americans had won this event 10 straight times coming in, so nobody expected it to be close at Medinah. Brandt Snedeker captained Team USA and Geoff Ogilvy captained the Internationals. Before the week started, a guest on Fore Play was already talking about how much pressure American team golf was under.
Fore Play Podcast@ForePlayPodcast“There's a massive weight in my opinion on Team USA to reverse this trend next week.”
Friday made that pressure a lot worse. Adam Scott, long putter and all, holed one while a heckler was telling him to get a longer putter. Fore Play called it the perfect summary of how the day was going.
Fore Play@ForePlayPod“Get a longer putter!” Then Adam Scott proceeded to drain it on this heckler’s head. Perfect summary of how today is going.
The International pairs kept celebrating on greens all afternoon. The closest the U.S. got to stopping it was Sam Burns, who missed by inches on the final hole in a match the Internationals won 1 up.
According to Fore Play, the U.S. got swept in the Friday session and went into the weekend down 7-3 on home soil.
Fore Play@ForePlayPodCATASTROPHE in Chicago. The United States gets SWEPT by the International team in Friday foursomes. They now face a 7-3 deficit heading into the weekend.
Pardon My Take summed up the mood with a photo, and it wasn't meant as a compliment.
Riggs said out loud what a lot of Chicago was thinking: rooting for Europe might be what it takes to fix American golf.
- Sat Sep 269:34 AM CT
Koivun Charges, The Kims Shush
Saturday morning gave the U.S. its first sign of life. Jackson Koivun, a rookie paired with Justin Thomas, started making putts against Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im while the overall scorebug still read 7-3 Internationals. Then Thomas's tee shot on the par-3 16th ran off the slope toward the water with the pair 1 up, and everyone at Medinah held their breath.
In the match behind them, Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim were running over Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark. The International pair holed putts and shushed a home crowd that was getting quieter by the minute.
Fore Play's reaction was simple: the Kims were an absolute problem, and blowing this at home would be a catastrophe. Once the morning session was done, the board read 8.5-5.5 Internationals.
- Sat Sep 261:56 PM CT
A Kick, A Hole-Out, A Collapse
The afternoon foursomes might have been the weirdest session of the week. In the Conners/Taylor match against Russell Henley and Jacob Bridgeman, a 212-yard approach ended up on the green, and multiple Barstool accounts reported that a fan had kicked it there.
On the American side, Chris Gotterup holed his approach on the 6th, putting him and Cameron Young 3 up on Adam Scott and Sungjae Im. It was the best American shot of the week up to that point.
Things turned on the back nine. Henley and Bridgeman were 3 up through 10 against Conners and Taylor and then fell behind late, a stretch Fore Play described, very politely, as NOT IDEAL.
Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele finally gave the Kims a loss. Even so, the Internationals came back in 2 matches to split the session, and they took a 3-point lead into Sunday singles. That had never happened at a Presidents Cup on U.S. soil.
- Sun Sep 279:26 AM CT
Sneds Takes The Blame
On Sunday morning the U.S. captain didn't make excuses. Snedeker said he'd second-guessed himself a lot and took much of the blame for Saturday on himself.
Fore Play@ForePlayPodCaptain Sneds says he was second-guessing himself a lot, and put a lot of the blame on his own shoulders after yesterday’s matches. Do you agree?
Next came a four-engine jet flying low over the course. Fore Play said it was Air Force One and that President Trump planned to attend the final session. After that the singles started, and Wyndham Clark stuck an approach on the 2nd close enough that Tom Kim conceded the birdie, putting Clark 1 up.
- Sun Sep 272:28 PM CT
The Board Turns Red
The flip came fast. Fore Play posted that the leaderboard was red everywhere and the U.S. was down in only 2 matches. Cameron Young, in the opening singles match, put the first American point on the board.
Fore Play@ForePlayPodCAMERON YOUNG AMERICAN HERO 🇺🇸 FIRST MATCH, FIRST POINT FOR THE U.S. LIGHTS OUT ALL WEEK.
Scottie Scheffler beat Nico Echavarria 2 and 1. Fore Play pointed out it was his third point of the week and his best week yet in a Presidents or Ryder Cup.
Fore Play@ForePlayPodTAKING CARE OF BUSINESS. SCOTTIE GETS THE WIN OVER NICO AND EARNS HIS THIRD POINT. HIS BEST WEEK YET IN A PRESIDENTS OR RYDER CUP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
He also clearly wasn't in the mood to talk about being benched Saturday afternoon. When a reporter asked about it, Scheffler steered him back to the golf he had just played.
Fore Play@ForePlayPodReporter: Asks Scottie about sitting yesterday afternoon Scottie: “I mean, do you want to talk about today’s match? I just played some golf out there, you want to talk about that?” 💀
Riggs counted up the board and declared it confirmed good. He was right. Morikawa and Koivun both flipped their matches on the back nine.
- Sun Sep 274:35 PM CT
Koivun's Dart And A Purple Nurple
Koivun, a Presidents Cup rookie, went 1 up on Si Woo Kim through 17 with the overall board at 13.5-12.5 USA. He then hit his approach into 18 to a few feet. He birdied the hole to win 2 up, beating the Kim who had been the loudest guy at Medinah all week.
Fore Play@ForePlayPodJACKSON KOIVUN DART ON 18. THIS KID IS CLUB TWIRLING ALL OVER MEDINAH 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Bridgeman is the one who actually clinched it, beating Min Woo Lee 1 up on 18, and Henley halved the last match with Nick Taylor. The U.S. won Sunday 9.5-2.5, the biggest final-day comeback in Presidents Cup history, for a 17-13 final. Then the celebrating started. Scheffler and Clark were goofing around in front of the cameras.
It didn't calm down from there. Barstool's recap had Gotterup triple-stacking beers and Scheffler giving Clark a purple nurple to celebrate the win.
Barstool Sports@barstoolsportsGuys Being Dudes: We Got Chris Gotterup Triple Stacking Beers And Scottie Giving Wyndham Clark A Purple Nurple To Celebrate The Presidents Cup Win t.co/ZbOyBzPOnn
That's 11 straight Presidents Cups for the U.S., but this one was nearly the one that got away. The Internationals were in control for 3 days on American soil, and the U.S. needed a rookie making birdies on Si Woo Kim and a 9.5-point Sunday to save it. Snedeker will probably keep second-guessing himself for a while, but he doesn't have to explain a loss.
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