Internationals Take Presidents Cup Lead Into Sunday Final Session

The Marathon Saturday Surge

Everyone on the property had their eyes on Corey Conners. Spectators, wives, both teams, and the whole of the television audience watched as he and Nick Taylor played the final match on the golf course during a marathon Saturday. Conners stood over a six-foot putt for the win on the final hole. Conners is, essentially, last on the PGA Tour in putting from short distances and had missed a handful from that length already on this day and through the week, but this attempt rolled right into the heart of the cup.

The Canadian duo faced a steep deficit early on, falling three down after three holes against Jacob Bridgeman and Russell Henley. They remained three down through the 10th hole before turning the tide in their afternoon foursomes match. The pair won five consecutive holes from Nos. 11 through 15 to take a 1-up advantage through 16. On the closing hole, Taylor put his tee shot into a difficult spot, but Conners responded by roping a stinging approach just short of the green. Taylor left a 38-yard pitch at a makable distance, clearing the way for Conners to secure the match.

“I’m loving it. I’m loving being next to this guy,” Taylor said of his Canadian countryman, per the source text. “What an experience to battle back from three down through three (and) through 10. We’ve just been relentless all week. That’s been the message through the captain. Just proud of this guy. That was an awesome putt.”

Morning Session Battles and International Resilience

Earlier in the day, the International side split the afternoon session after losing the morning session 2.5-1.5. In morning play, Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim continued their strong form by defeating Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark 2 and 1. Meanwhile, Americans Chris Gotterup and Cameron Young topped Taylor and Conners by a 2 and 1 margin, while Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns defeated the Japanese duo of Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune 2 and 1. Sungjae Im and Min Woo Lee secured a tie against Justin Thomas and Jackson Koivun after winning two of the final four holes.

International captain Geoff Ogilvy noted the difficulty of weathering the early morning pressure when the scoreboard showed red across multiple matches. “It’s those guys that got it done. It shows you the spirit of this team is really strong. That’s tough to weather that storm and you see all red on the board in the morning, and we somehow snuck out with a point and a half out of that session,” Ogilvy said.

Afternoon Foursomes and Tactical Shifts

The afternoon session featured notable lineup changes, with the Americans sitting world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler as his side attempted to chip away at the lead. Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele handed Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim their first loss of the week with a 2 and 1 victory. Cameron Young and Chris Gotterup returned to action following their morning win, defeating Adam Scott and Sungjae Im 6 and 4 after playing six under par through nine holes in alternate-shot format. Ryan Fox and Min Woo Lee defeated Sam Burns and Wyndham Clark 3 and 2, setting the stage for the Canadian pair to finalize the day’s scoring.

“Two Canadians sticking together, we knew that would be good, comfortable pairing and exciting for them both to represent this team with another Canadian by their side. It’s really exciting. To be 3-down and win a Presidents Cup match, that’s really impressive,” Ogilvy said regarding the pairing.

Per golf blog Monday Q Info, Conners and Taylor took down the Nos. 20, 9, 4, and No. 1-ranked golfers in the world across Saturday and Sunday. With a 10.5-7.5 lead heading into Sunday’s finale, the International team seeks to win the Presidents Cup for just the second time in history and the first time on American soil.

“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Conners said. “Gave them a few holes early on, and I think we were both motivated to try and get back on the right side of things, just keep battling away.”