For a large part of Saturday, it looked like U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker would prove prophetic.
After the Americans were swept in Friday’s foursomes session by the Internationals, Snedeker said he wasn’t concerned that the U.S. was about to lose its first Presidents Cup in almost 30 years.
“This thing is 35, 40 percent over — it’s not even halftime of a football game,” Snedeker said on Friday as the Internationals took a 7-3 lead. “There’s a lot of golf left.”
The Americans chipped away at the Internationals’ lead early on Saturday, winning the morning’s fourball session 2.5-1.5. Then came Saturday’s foursomes session, a format the Americans have struggled in of late, going 6-24 in alternate-shot sessions in team competitions since 2023.
But early on Saturday afternoon, it looked like the Americans might finally have an alternate-shot session to remember. Even with World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler sitting out, red flags went up early as the Americans led all four matches through the front nine. It was a tidal wave of made putts and stuffed iron shots early on as the Internationals took on water.
As the sun baked the Medinah Country Club greens, it looked like the Americans were headed for a foursomes sweep of their own, one that would give them a one-shot lead heading into Sunday 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 out in the afternoon and blitzed 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 get to hit his shots all the time, I’d be pretty good at golf,” Gotterup told NBC’s Cara Banks after the win. “It’s awesome. It has been a lot of fun. He makes it easy. He doesn’t care. He says, ‘Just hit it and I’ll go find it.’ It was a good morning match and this afternoon too.”
Another American point came courtesy of Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, who knocked off 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 by Team Kim to close them out on 17.
“[Pat] played great. We sort of fed off each other early and were able to hang on kind of late,” Schauffele told Banks. “Captain wants us to focus on [our match]. All we can do is get one point and we were happy to do that this afternoon.”
“Sneds told us to go out and get a point on the board first,” Cantlay said of knocking off the Internationals’ top team. “He put us out first, and I’m glad we could deliver.”
But then the Americans let a golden opportunity slip through their fingers.
Sam Burns and Wyndham Clark jumped on Min Woo Lee and Ryan Fox early. They won the first two holes and held the advantage until the Internationals won the sixth and seventh to take the lead. The Americans tied the match with a win on 11 but Lee and Fox won 13, 14 and 15 before closing out the Americans on the17th to win 3&2.
“We just had to be there for each other,” Lee said. “I feel like I started terribly. He was right there on my back cheering me on. It’s OK, and we turned it around, which is awesome.”
The fourth and final foursomes match on Saturday afternoon is one the Americans will haunt, should they not mount a comeback on Sunday.
Jacob Bridgeman and Russell Henley got out of the gates fast against Corey Conners and Nick Taylor. Bridgeman and Henley won the first three holes and maintained a 3-up lead after 10 holes. Then, the Canadian tandem struck back. Conners and Taylor won 11, 12, 14 and 15 to take a 1-up lead with three holes to play. Conners and Taylor capped off their comeback when Conners rolled in a five-foot par putt on the 18th hole to win 1 up.
That win gave the Internationals a 10.5-7.5 lead heading into singles. It’s the first time the Internationals will enter Sunday with a lead on U.S. soil.
“What an experience to battle back,” Taylor told Banks after the win. “We’ve just been relentless all week. That has been the message all week from captain. Just proud of [Conners]. What a putt.”
The last time the Internationals led entering a Sunday was in 2019 at Royal Melbourne in Australia. They had a 10-8 lead heading into singles, but the U.S. won the final session 8-4, with the Internationals only winning two matches outright.
Snedeker is hoping that Sunday brings familiar singles magic for the U.S., or else they’ll watch as the Internationals celebrate just their second-ever Presidents Cup victory, and their first on U.S. soil, in what would be a historic upset.
“I thought our guys battled hard. It was a tough day out there. This golf course got really hard this afternoon. There is such a fine line between good shots and bad shots. I was really proud of the way the guys hung in there and battled. The guys did what I expected them to do. They came out with a ton of energy, battled their ass off and I’m proud of how they hung in there today.
“Stay the course. This golf course is difficult. 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 have hung in there this week despite all of my mistakes. I’m so proud of them and I can’t wait to watch them go out there tomorrow and compete.”
