On the back of an extraordinary sweep of the foursomes matches on Friday, the International Team struggled to keep pace with a resurgent American unit in Saturday’s morning fourballs.

The US team won the morning matches 3-1 and repeated the scoreline in an absorbing afternoon of fourball matches, the star-studded Americans winning two matches on the 18th hole for a 6-2 day and 11-7 overall advantage.

An Adam Scott point with Canadian partner Taylor Pendrith was one of few highlights in the latter matches as the International team fell to a four-point deficit that looked like being as little as two.

A 4&3 win from Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim over Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark was the only joy for the Internationals in the morning matches, Aussies Jason Day and Min Woo Lee both sitting out as Scott and Pendrith went down 2&1 to Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa.

In a move that received mixed reactions on social media, captain Mike Weir retained the same four combinations for the afternoon matches, Day and Lee again restricted to cheerleader roles as each match see-sawed in fading light.

A holed bunker shot from Canadian Mackenzie Hughes and an impossible hole-out from deep rough by Si Woo Kim were telling blows for the International Team, yet neither could find the knockout punch.

SI WOO KIM ARE YOU KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/w4rhTGEEJH

— Presidents Cup International Team (@IntlTeam) September 28, 2024

Only one match failed to make it as far as the final hole, the US combinations of Collin Morikawa and Sam Burns and then Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay stealing full points for their team to claim a commanding lead with a day to play.

It leaves the International Team needing a minimum of 8.5 points from the 12 singles matches on Sunday to win for just the second time in Presidents Cup history.

Teaming up with Pendrith for the third straight match in the afternoon fourballs, Scott and his partner went 1 up after a birdie on three but were 1 down two holes later when the American duo of Max Homa and Brian Harman made back-to-back birdies.

The match was halved again when the Internationals made birdie on eight and they would edge ahead with another birdie on nine.

Despite some nervous moments it would be a lead they would never relinquish, closing out a 2 up win with a conceded hole on 18.

“It didn’t quite go our way this morning, but we were really solid this afternoon,” said Scott.

“Maybe a little fatigue kicked in on the last few holes, but we managed to scratch out a point.

“Sometimes they’re pretty unexciting and sometimes they’re just ugly, but a point is a point.

“We’re going to have to be tenacious out there tomorrow and heroic, actually.

“This is a big format tomorrow, 12 matches, 12 points up for grabs, an incredibly strong US Team.

“Our guys are going to have to throw caution to the wind and play their asses off.”

Jason Day will lead off the singles matches for the International Team against Xander Schauffele at 2:02am AEST, Min Woo Lee faces off against 2023 US Open champion Wyndham Clark (3:31am) and Adam Scott plays Collin Morikawa in the 10th match of the final day (3:55am).

Photo: Harry How/Getty Images

With captain Mike Weir pulling the levers and deploying a bunch of different pairings, the Internationals swept the USA in Friday foursomes matches before a raucous and partisan crowd in Canada.

It was 5-0 on the day when South Korea’s Si Woo Kim nailed a 15-foot par-saver at the 18th giving he and Ben An a 1-up win over Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley. It is the first time ever that Presidents Cup matches have been swept two days in a row.

After a disastrous start on Thursday where the USA swept the four-ball matches 5-0, Weir’s team is now level at 5-5 overall with two days to play.

Scott partnered Canadian Taylor Pendrith in a 5&4 demolition of Sahith Theegala and Collin Morikawa. Day and South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout defeated Max Homa and Brian Harman 1 up.

“We didn’t get defeated,” said Scott. “There’s a lot of fight in this team. We’re not gonna go away.”

Min Woo Lee sat out the day’s contests on his Presidents Cup debut.

It was the veteran Scott’s 22^nd point in Presidents Cup matches, making him the ‘winningest’ International player in the history of the event ahead of Ernie Els. This is his 10^th appearance, and the Australian closed out the match with a nice putt in close from the fringe at the 14^th hole.

Scott and Pendrith made five birdies and never trailed in the match.

Day and Bezuidenhout had a tougher time against Max Homa and Brian Harman with their match going to the 18^th hole where Day hit a superb lob shot from the left rough to effectively finish the match.

The Internationals set the tone early with Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im beating Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay 7&6, rolling in seven consecutive birdies to stop the match at the twelfth green. It was the shortest match in Presidents Cup history.

“I had a good feeling about this when we were up here a couple weeks ago scouting,” said Scott. “We played a little bit, felt easy to me. I’ve played with lots of different guys, and I knew that we were going to be a good pairing, and the captains seemingly found a lot of good pairings in this format today.

“But (it) felt easy. The momentum got going our way, and in this format, that’s a big advantage. Happy to close it out like we did.”

The Montreal crowd was a factor today as local heroes Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Conners smashed Wyndham Clark and Tony Finau 6&5.

On Saturday there are eight matches in four-ball and foursomes format followed by 12 singles clashes to close out the contest on Sunday, local time.

The USA is protecting a 12-1 record with one tie, and is chasing a 10^th consecutive Presidents Cup win.

Adam Scott celebrates a putt going down at the fifth today in his win. Image: Getty

Scoring

“It obviously didn’t go our way at all today. We’re now in a really tough spot, but thankfully there’s tomorrow,” said veteran Australian Adam Scott.

Playing with President’s Cup debutant Min Woo Lee today, Scott and Lee fought hard in their match against Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala.

Battling back from an early loss on the first hole, Lee and Scott managed to grab a 1-up lead on the sixth, courtesy on a Lee birdie, and managed to hold that lead until the 11th.

Two Morikawa birdies on 12 and 14 however, swung the 1-up lead in the opposite direction, and the Australian pair found themselves 1-down heading up the 18th.

Scott made a fighting birdie on the last, however it was matched by Theegala, the Internationals losing the match by the narrowest of margins.

“Yeah, I’m disappointed. I think Min Woo and I could have won that match today. It’s disappointing that we didn’t do just a little bit better,” said Scott.

“I have a feeling the matches were closer than what the score indicates. Our guys are just going to have to lift a little bit. We’re going to have to find another gear to beat a tough American team.”

Playing in the group ahead of Scott and Lee, Jason Day and his partner Byeong Hun An endured an equally close affair in their match against Tony Finau and Xander Schauffele.

An early 1-up lead to the Internationals was quickly snatched back by Finau and Schauffele, the Americans dominating much of the back-nine.

An made a clutch birdie on 15 however, and when Day was the only player to manage a par on 16, the match was suddenly all-square with two holes to play.

Schauffele’s birdie on the par-3 17th restored the American lead however, and as An and Schauffele traded birdies on the final hole, it was another agonisingly close-call for the Internationals.

“Yeah, it was close,” said Day. “Obviously we got lucky with 16, both of those guys three-putting there. Then Benny, the putt just needed to stay a little bit higher, and he would have holed it on 17 for birdie.

“That would have potentially flipped because obviously coming off the back end of a win on 16 and you’re looking for that momentum going into 18, but unfortunately, we just didn’t quite get it.

“The best players in the world had to birdie the last hole to beat us. That’s why grinding it out is important. We’ve just got to kind of regroup and think about tomorrow.”

Both Scott and Day will be out for redemption in the Friday foursomes matches, while Lee will sit the Friday out in preparation for a big weekend.

Full scoring.

The 44-year-old Scott’s Presidents Cup journey is like no other.

As a 23-year-old he made his International team debut at Fancourt in South Africa in the famous tied competition where darkness ended a titanic contest with Ernie Els and Tiger Woods on the course.

He remembers being “incredibly nervous” and leaning on his teammate Ernie Els for support; they played together at Fancourt, and Els remains a close confidante and mentor for Scott to this day.

His first match with Els sticks is embedded in his memory. “Ernie and I were 2-down with three to go in alternate shot and I was very nervous. He was playing great at the time, and I felt like it had been my fault we’re 2-down and he said, ‘Don’t worry about it, we’ve just got to stay the course’. He kept telling me that.

“And then I holed a good putt on 16, he holed a good one on 17 and then he chipped it stiff and we won the 18th and the match 1-up. That’s just one that really sticks with me. It was a great first match in the Presidents Cup for me, playing with one of the greatest friends and real flip in match play.”

As it happens 21 years on it is still the closest Scott has come to a win in International colours. Despite leading deep into the event at Seoul in 2015 where it ended up 15.5-14.5, and Melbourne in 2019 when it was 16-14, Scott still does not have a victory in this competition.

The Internationals’ win at Royal Melbourne in 1998 is the only time the US has lost in the Presidents Cup. Potentially, this could be Scott’s last opportunity.

“There’s been a lot of hurt, especially on a couple of the close calls, most recently in Korea and then in Melbourne,” he said. “Melbourne was a tough one going into Sunday with the lead in my home country and not getting it done. But the US is a great team.

“They keep putting up great teams and I feel like the great memories for me are being part of this team, being with the guys and on a different level for the week and hopefully inspiring some of the younger players now to continue to make the teams, continue to gain experience and eventually get the upper hand on the US team.”

Scott’s relationship with captain Mike Weir goes back years, including several times as a teammate for the Internationals. One of his most positive memories is of the famous singles match in Canada in 2007 when Weir took down Tiger Woods.

“I have strong memories of Royal Montreal with Mike in 2007 and for any of the younger guys, if they want to see what Mike is made of, they just need to watch him play Tiger (Woods) at Royal Montreal in 2007 and they know they’ve got a great leader.”

Scott is one of three Australians on the International team, with Min Woo Lee and Jason Day.

Day one matches begin at 1.35am (AEST) Friday.

PHOTO: Adam Scott tunes his bunker play at Royal Montreal on Tuesday. Image: Getty

A return to Linkou International Golf and Country Club should elicit positive memories for Smyth, who broke through in this tournament two years ago for his maiden Asian Tour win and was second last year.

That win also marked the start of a new dietary regime that has significantly impacted Smyth’s health and enabled him to get the very best from his considerable talents on the golf course.

Runner-up at the Shinhan Donghae Open two weeks ago, Smyth was also fourth at the Mandiri Indonesia Open, tied fifth at the International Series Morocco to go with two further top-10 finishes.

Currently sixth on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, Smyth knows that all he needs now is patience to bring that second win to fruition.

“I feel like I’m playing good golf and really feel like a win is going to be coming very soon but I need to go out and earn it,” said Smyth.

“I can’t get in my own way and think about winning too much.

“It’s going to require a lot of patience, digging deep and focusing on those good shots. What do I have to do to hit those good shots?

“Then I think I’ll be in a good position.”

Smyth leads a contingent of 16 Australians in Taipei that includes another Aussie in good form in Aaron Wilkin.

Wilkin endured a heartbreaking playoff loss at the Indonesia Open four weeks ago to climb to 31st on the Order of Merit.

David Micheluzzi (75th) and Jason Scrivener (80th) can advance their chances of qualifying for the DP World Tour Playoffs at the Open de Espana in Madrid and Grace Kim and Stephanie Kyriacou lead the five Aussies at the LPGA Tour’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

Photo: Jason Butler/Getty Images

Round 1 tee times AEST

Asian Tour
Yeangder TPC
Linkou International Golf and Country Club, Chinese Taipei
8:30am            Deyen Lawson
8:50am            Justin Warren
9am                 Jack Thompson
9:10am            Todd Sinnott
9:10am*           Kevin Yuan
9:20am            Zach Murray
9:20am*           Brendan Jones
9:30am            Andrew Dodt
9:30am*           Jed Morgan, Harrison Crowe
9:50am            Lachlan Barker
1:40pm            Aaron Wilkin
2:10pm            Travis Smyth
2:30pm            Jordan Zunic
2:40pm            Sam Brazel
2:40pm*          Maverick Antcliff

Defending champion: Poom Saksansin
Past Aussie winners: Travis Smyth (2022)
Prize money: $US1 million

Presidents Cup
Royal Montreal Golf Club, Montreal, Canada
Day 1: Fourballs
Day 2: Foursomes
Day 3: Fourballs/Foursomes
Final Day: Singles

Defending champions: United States
TV times: Live Friday 1:30am–8am; Live Saturday 3am–8am; Live Saturday 9pm–8am; Live Monday 2am-8am on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.

LPGA Tour
Walmart NW Arkansas Championship
Pinnacle Country Club, Rogers, Arkansas
Australasians in the field: Grace Kim, Stephanie Kyriacou, Gabriela Ruffels, Hira Naveed, Robyn Choi.

Defending champion: Haeran Ryu
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US3 million
TV times: Live 6:30am-9:30am Saturday; Live 4am-7am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo.

DP World Tour
acciona Open de España
Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
5pm                 Jason Scrivener
5:40pm            Andrew Martin
6:10pm            Daniel Hillier (NZ)
9:40pm*          David Micheluzzi
10:30pm*         Haydn Barron
11:10pm          Sam Jones (NZ)

Defending champion: Matthieu Pavon
Past Aussie winners: Rodger Davis (1990)
Prize money: $US3.25 million
TV times: Live 10pm-3am Thursday, Friday; Live 9:30pm-2am Saturday on Fox Sports 505; Live 9pm-2am Sunday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.

Ladies European Tour
Lacoste Ladies Open de France
Golf Barriere, Deauville, France
4:15pm*          Momoka Kobori (NZ)
4:39pm            Kelsey Bennett
9:03pm            Kirsten Rudgeley
9:03pm*          Whitney Hillier

Defending champion: Johanna Gustavsson
Past Aussie winners: Karen Lunn (1997), Stacey Keating (2012)
Prize money: €375,000

Japan Golf Tour
Vantelin Tokai Classic
Miyoshi Country Club (West Cse), Aichi
10:30am*         Anthony Quayle
10:40am*         Brad Kennedy
10:50am*         Michael Hendry

Defending champion: Yuta Kinoshita
Past Aussie winners: Graham Marsh (1985, 1990), Brian Jones (1988)
Prize money: ¥110 million

Challenge Tour
Swiss Challenge
Golf Saint Apollinaire, Folgensbourg, France
4:56pm*          Hayden Hopewell
5:29pm            Connor McKinney

Defending champion: Adam Blomme
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: €270,000

Seventeen years on from his epic singles victory against Tiger Woods at Royal Montreal, Canadian Mike Weir returns as captain of a team boasting three of his countrymen, three Aussies, four Koreans, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout.

Standing between them and a first International win since a Peter Thomson-inspired upset at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 1998 is an American team bursting at the seams with major winners and Olympic champions.

The undisputed two best players of 2024, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, headline a US team that also includes major champions in Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Keegan Bradley and Brian Harman.

Competition begins with five fourball matches on Friday morning AEST to be followed by five foursomes (alternate shot) matches on Saturday morning.

Sunday will see four fourball matches in the morning followed by four foursomes matches in the afternoon, the Cup to be decided on Monday morning with 12 singles matches.

Back for the first time since 2017 💪

Former World No. 1 @JDayGolf has returned for revenge with the @IntlTeam.

Everything you need to know before the 2024 Presidents Cup:https://t.co/PMMVGB6Q3R pic.twitter.com/2JeKYT8Oqj

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 24, 2024

As Lee makes his first Presidents Cup appearance, Day returns for the first time since 2017 for his fifth Presidents Cup while Scott is playing his 11th dating back to 2003. He has played more matches in the Presidents Cup than the entire US team combined.

Back for the first time in seven years, Day has already seen a transformation within the International team room that he hopes will translate to a drought-breaking win.

“I’ve missed the last couple, so it’s nice to be able to get into a room and have guys very passionate about trying to win the Cup,” said Day.

“Back in my day, maybe not a lot of the guys were maybe bought into the Presidents Cup as what I’m seeing now, myself included.

“The team environment has shifted a lot since when I first started.”

The Presidents Cup is live all four days on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo. Day one fourballs begin at 1:30am Friday morning AEST.

Details

DEFENDING CHAMPION: United States won 17.5-12.5 in 2022

TOURNAMENT RECORD: 12-1-1 (United States)

TEAMS

International: Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im, Adam Scott, Tom Kim, Jason Day, Byeong Hun An, Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith, Mackenzie Hughes, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Min Woo Lee, Si Woo Kim. Captain: Mike Weir.

United States: Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay, Sahith Theegala, Sam Burns, Tony Finau, Russell Henley, Keegan Bradley, Brian Harman, Max Homa. Captain: Jim Furyk.

LIVE SCORES: www.pgatour.com

SOCIAL MEDIA

Instagram: @presidentscup; @presidentscupintlteam

X: @IntlTeam; @PresidentsCup

Facebook: @ThePresidentsCup

TV COVERAGE: The Presidents Cup is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.

*All times AEST.

Day 1 (Fourball): Friday 1:30am–8am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)

Day 2 (Foursomes): Saturday 3am–8am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)

Day 3 (Fourball, Foursomes): Saturday 9pm–8am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)

Final Day (Singles): Monday 2am-8am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)

Photo: Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)