Internationals lead Presidents Cup for 1st time since 2005 after Day 1
The Internationals lead the Americans 4-1 after Day 1 of the Presidents Cup to hold their first advantage after a session in the team competition since 2005.
The best players for Ernie Els' side showed up Thursday. With the help from their rookie partners, Louis Oosthuizen, Hideki Matsuyama, and Adam Scott all earned a full point for the Internationals. Oosthuizen and Abraham Ancer stunned Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland with a 4-and-3 victory.
Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas were the only winning pairing for the United States. Captain Woods played the best of all the Americans, making six birdies in 15 holes to secure his team a point.
Here's the scoreboard from Day 1:
| Americans | Score | Internationals |
|---|---|---|
| Justin Thomas Tiger Woods |
4 & 3 | Marc Leishman Joaquin Niemann |
| Xander Schauffele Patrick Cantlay |
1 UP | Adam Hadwin Sungjae Im |
| Bryson DeChambeau Tony Finau |
2 & 1 | Adam Scott Byeong Hun An |
| Webb Simpson Patrick Reed |
1 UP | Hideki Matsuyama C.T. Pan |
| Dustin Johnson Gary Woodland |
4 & 3 | Abraham Ancer Louis Oosthuizen |
*Winning pair in bold
Webb Simpson and Patrick Reed were tied with Matsuyama and C.T. Pan with two holes to play. However, Matsuyama drilled a clutch birdie on No. 17, which ultimately sealed the lopsided Day 1 lead.
The format switches to foursomes (alternate shot) for Friday's session.