Americans clinch Presidents Cup for 11th time with epic comeback in singles
The United States won its 11th Presidents Cup on Sunday with a brilliant 8-4 comeback showing during singles play at Royal Melbourne.
The Americans entered singles matches facing a two-point deficit but were able to mount a final-day charge led by captain Tiger Woods. He was in the first match out versus Mexico's Abraham Ancer and earned his team a crucial point to get the ball rolling. The U.S. won the first three points of the day to quickly erase the Internationals' advantage.
To their credit, the Internationals didn't go down without a fight. Many matches hung in the balance for the majority of the day. Presidents Cup rookie Sungjae Im defeated Gary Woodland and Australian Cam Smith knocked off the Americans' top-ranked player in Justin Thomas.
However, the Americans' depth would eventually prevail. After winning the first three points, the U.S. added another five to the board to put the competition to bed. In the second-last match, Matt Kuchar clinched the deciding half-point over Louis Oosthuizen on the 17th hole.
The final score finished at 16-14 in favor of the Stars and Stripes.
The United States improves to 11-1-1 all time in the event's history. Tiger becomes the first playing captain to win the Presidents Cup, doing so with a perfect 3-0 record.
Here's how the singles matches ended:
| Americans | Score | Internationals |
|---|---|---|
| Tiger Woods | 3 & 2 | Abraham Ancer |
| Tony Finau | Tied | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Patrick Reed | 4 & 2 | C.T. Pan |
| Dustin Johnson | 4 & 3 | Haotong Li |
| Bryson DeChambeau | Tied | Adam Hadwin |
| Gary Woodland | 4 & 3 | Sungjae Im |
| Patrick Cantlay | 3 & 2 | Joaquin Niemann |
| Xander Schauffele | 2 & 1 | Adam Scott |
| Webb Simpson | 2 & 1 | Byeong Hun An |
| Justin Thomas | 2 & 1 | Cameron Smith |
| Matt Kuchar | Tied | Louis Oosthuizen |
| Rickie Fowler | Tied | Marc Leishman |
*Bold denotes winner