Presidents Cup 2024: Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im lead wild international team sweep to draw USA

Even the best golfer in the world couldn’t fend off the international team’s blitz Friday afternoon in Quebec.

After a second historic day in a row at Royal Montreal, we suddenly have a battle for the Presidents Cup.

The international team, led by a wild 7&6 victory from Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im, defeated the Americans in Friday’s foursomes matches. That was the international team’s first victory in an alternate shot match session since 2005 and marked the first time back-to-back sweeps had occurred in a Presidents Cup or a Ryder Cup.

Thanks to a clutch putt from Si Woo Kim to end the day, the match is tied at 5-5 at halftime.

Matsuyama and I started the day and wasted no time. The duo soared to what matched the largest margin of victory in Presidents Cup history. They needed just 12 holes to knock out Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele and score the first points their team has seen all week.

It was pure domination. Cantlay and Schauffele did not win a single hole in the match, and Matsuyama and Im made seven straight birdies to end their match. Naturally, there was a big celebration on the 12th green as soon as the match was official. A 7&6 victory has only happened twice before in the history of the Presidents Cup, and only by international combinations.

Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes weren’t far behind either. The duo did not record a shutout in their match against Wyndham Clark and Tony Finau. The Canadians won on holes 1, 2, 5, 8 and 9, before Conners sank a deep birdie putt on the 11th, suddenly putting them up by six. That pushed them to their 6&5 win.

Although they got off to a slow start, Adam Scott and Taylor Pendrith defeated Sahith Theegala and Collin Morikawa 5&4 in their match. They won holes 4, 5 and 6 to move ahead after a few tight openings, and then won three in a row to start the back nine before closing their match early. Theegala and Morikawa won one hole, the 7th, the only victory for the United States among the three blowout groups.

The win for Scott also made him the winningest international player in Presidents Cup history, surpassing Ernie Els’ points record of 21.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Jason Day ended their match against Max Homa and Brian Harman 1 Up after also holding on late, bringing the international team within one point. Then, in what was by far the closest match of the day, Kim and Ben An finally overtook Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley. After splitting holes twice on the front, Kim and An finally made another birdie on the 13th after hitting a dart off the tee.

Kim and An nearly tripped on the 18th after their drive landed in the thick rough along the left side of the fairway. But Kim drained a deep par putt to convert the up-and-down, completing the session sweep and making history.

The Americans have a dominant 12-1-1 record in the Presidents Cup and have won nine in a row heading into this weekend’s event in Canada. Based on how Friday went, the U.S. team will need a strong showing early Saturday to regain control of the tournament. Otherwise, Sunday’s 12 singles matches could be very interesting.