Team USA lands two clutch puts to draw closer to Internationals in battle for Presidents Cup
Team USA will start day three of the Presidents Cup with momentum on its side, however the Internationals still hold a three-point buffer and are undaunted by the US landing two clutch putts to will themselves back into the contest.
A late afternoon US charge was enough for everyone wearing red, white and blue at Royal Melbourne to declare the Presidents Cup script had been flipped.
But the scoreboard still had them three points behind a confident International outfit and Aussie star Marc Leishman put the visitors back in their box declaring “you don’t get momentum with two putts”.
International captain Ernie Els also stuck to his data-driven game plan for the crucial Saturday session after recording the best foursomes result in years, enough for him to declare the shared Friday points “a win”.
That history of foursomes failure looked like being cast to the wind when yellow and black numbers dominated the leaderboard and the Internationals were up in all five matches at one point.
Stream over 50 sports live and on demand with KAYO SPORTS. Just $25/month, no lock-in contract. Get your 14-day free trial and start streaming instantly >
But first Patrick Cantlay and then Justin Thomas made 18th hole birdies to win their respective matches for the US before Rickie Fowler made a snaky 1.5m par putt for the first tied match of the event. With another eight points on offer in a monster 36-hole Saturday double-header, Els opted for another selection shake-up for the crucial morning session after their day one blitz left them with a handy lead.
“This is the beast that sometimes bites you. You want to put a spear in it, but sometimes it fights back, and that is the nature of this Cup,” Els said.
“The big picture is what it is. I am just looking at my guys. I just want my guys to play as good as they can and get the best results as they can. That is all I kept thinking and can hope for. “This was probably good what happened the last couple of holes so that the guys can understand what can happen in the Cup. Saying that, we are in the lead.”
MORE DAY TWO NEWS:
Presidents Cup: Dustin Johnson proving to be liability for team USA as Aussies turn up heat
Team USA captain Tiger Woods was his outfit’s best player again but benched himself for the morning four-ball as “part of the game plan”.
Woods, who could play in the Saturday afternoon foursomes, saw the late Friday surge as a better indication of what his team, with 10 of 12 players ranked inside the world top 20, would deliver for their country.
“At one point, we were down in four and even in one, and so it looked pretty bleak, but the guys turned it around,” Woods said.
“It was important for us to end the way we did and it totally changed the last hour.” But Aussie star Leishman, who delivered his first point on Friday, dismissed any suggestion his opponents now had the upper hand.
“They were tied -- they made a couple good putts on 18, definitely give them that, but I don't think you get momentum with two-putts,” he said.
“We know it's 18 holes matches and you have to be right there at the end. They made a couple putts at an important time, but if they feel that, that's great. We probably don't feel that way, so, yeah.
“There's still a lot of points to play for. You know, we need to keep doing what we're doing and keep improving because we know their jet-lag is going to start wearing off, and I'm sure they will start firing up. We need to be ready for it.”