Presidents Cup: US take early lead over International team at Medinah
The United States opened up a 3-2 lead over the International team after Thursday's fourball matches at Medinah Country Club in Illinois. Friday's foursomes will be followed by two Saturday sessions and Sunday's singles matches.
Day One at Medinah
The United States began their bid for an 11th consecutive Presidents Cup win by taking a 3-2 lead over the International team after Thursday's fourball matches at Medinah Country Club in Illinois.
Justin Thomas and rookie Jackson Koivun put the first point on the board for captain Brandt Snedeker's American team, defeating Canada's Corey Conners and Colombia's Nico Echavarria 4&3. World number one Scottie Scheffler, paired with Sam Burns, closed out a win over Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im by taking the 17th hole, after the International pair missed several putts down the stretch. Two-time major champions Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa led from the first hole against Adam Scott and reigning Open champion Ryan Fox, sealing a 3&2 victory.
The International side, captained by Geoff Ogilvy, also had reasons to celebrate: Japan's Hideki Matsuyama and debutant Ryo Hisatsune beat Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele 3&1, while Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim comfortably defeated Chris Gotterup and Patrick Cantlay 3&2.
"A session win is a session win; we're going to take it any way we can get it," Snedeker said afterwards.
Ogilvy's team will look to build on that momentum in Friday's alternate-shot foursomes, aiming for only their second title in the event's history since their sole win in 1998.
What's next
Five foursome matches are scheduled for Friday. According to PGA Tour, the most anticipated pairing is a rematch between the Kim duo and the Cantlay/Schauffele pair, who won 1-up two years ago in Montreal following Si Woo Kim's famous "Night night" celebration; that American pairing holds an overall Presidents Cup record of 5-1. Saturday brings two more sessions — four fourball matches in the morning and four foursomes in the afternoon — before all 12 players from each team compete in Sunday's singles matches, with 15½ points needed for outright victory.
