CHARLOTTE, N.C. – After watching his team lose both sessions on Saturday and its lead heading into the final day trimmed to four points, U.S. Presidents Cup Captain Davis Love III trusted that his 12-man team would deliver in Sunday singles.
“This is one of our best formats, and they’re going to come out mad tomorrow,” he predicted.
Love front-loaded his lineup with several of the top players in the world to attempt to put a sea of red on the scoreboard early: Justin Thomas in the leadoff spot followed by Jordan Spieth, Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. They delivered mixed results, but Team U.S.A. needed just four points to retain the Presidents Cup and continue its domination in its biennial match, winning 17 ½-12 ½.
On an overcast fall day at Quail Hollow, they did enough to take care of business, led by Jordan Spieth, who went out in the second match of the day and defeated Australian Cam Davis 4 and 3. Spieth secured his first-ever victory in singles and notched a perfect record of 5-0, the first player from either team to do so since South African Branden Grace in 2015.
“It feels really good,” Spieth said. “When you go out early as I’ve done pretty much every team event on a Sunday, they’re looking for red on the board, and it feels good to finally provide that.”
Patrick Cantlay avenged his lone defeat of the week on Saturday afternoon, besting Adam Scott, 3 and 2.
“I knew it was really important for me to get my point today,” Cantlay said, “and I’m really content with how I played.”
But the outmanned International team kept it interesting until late Sunday. South Korea’s Si Woo Kim shushed the crowd, with his finger at 15 and silenced them with his putter on 18, draining a clutch birdie putt at 18 to edge Thomas 1 up.
“J.T. give me fist pump, and then I had to do it. And I had to make it, and I made it,” said Kim, who was a team-best 3-0-1, of his putt to tie the 15th hole. “Then, like, yeah, I had to do something. I think that give me more energy.”
Colombia’s Sebastian Munoz was 2-0-1 in the matches he played, knocking off World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who finished 0-3-1, by a score of 2 and 1.
Xander Schauffele, who was in the seventh match of the day and won a total of three points for his country, squandered a 3-up lead but hung on to defeat Canada’s Corey Conners 1 up and clinched the winning point.
“I was really struggling out there. Good thing there…
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