Skip to content

Internationals win four-ball session to cut U.S. lead to 4 at Presidents Cup

Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The International team put on a heroic effort during Saturday afternoon's four-ball matches at the Presidents Cup, winning the session 3-1 over the U.S. to cut the deficit to four points.

The Americans lead 11-7 ahead of Sunday's 12 singles matches at Quail Hollow.

The biggest story from Saturday was International rookie Tom Kim knocking in his putt at No. 18 to win the match with Si Woo Kim over Americans Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.

Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas again showed how well the two major champions play together, defeating Hideki Matsuyama and Taylor Pendrith 4&3 for the lone American point in the fourth session.

Here's a full list of scoring from Saturday afternoon's four-ball session:

Match 1: S.Kim/T. Kim 1 up over Cantlay/Schauffele

Tom Kim has been the talk of the week with his electric celebrations, and the 20-year-old provided some big moments for the International team on Saturday afternoon.

The turning point in the match for the Internationals came when the rookie made his 54-foot eagle putt, his second eagle of the day at No. 11 after making one in the earlier foursomes session. His partner, Si Woo Kim, drained a long birdie putt two holes later to tie the match.

The battle saw another long birdie a few holes later at No. 15 - this time for the Americans - as Schauffele rolled it in from off the green to go 1 up. Schauffele and Cantlay looked like they would win another point for their country before the two Kims rallied. Si Woo Kim made a birdie at No. 16, and Tom Kim recorded a birdie putt at No. 18 to win it for the Internationals.

Match 2: Thomas/Spieth 4&3 over Matsuyama/Pendrith

Thomas and Spieth continued their unstoppable performances during Saturday afternoon's four-ball session. The longtime friends and Ryder Cup/Presidents Cup partners breezed to a fourth straight victory this week at Quail Hollow, becoming just the third pair to go undefeated in their first four rounds in Presidents Cup history.

Matsuyama and Pendrith went 1 up after the first hole, but that was the only time things looked bright for the International pair in the afternoon's second match. The Americans met Matsuyama's early birdie at No. 1 with three straight winning holes to go 2 up by the fourth hole. From there, the duo sailed their way to the strong victory, grabbing the only point for the U.S. in Saturday's four-ball.

Thomas and Spieth didn't waste time, making Matsuyama and Pendrith the first team to fall in the afternoon session despite playing in the second match.

Match 3: Im/Munoz 3&2 over Finau/Kisner

Sungjae Im and Sebastian Munoz came up big in Saturday afternoon's session. The International pair produced one of the few dominant performances by their team so far with a 3&2 win over Tony Finau and Kevin Kisner.

Munoz, who has played in only two of the four sessions at Quail Hollow, has now provided 1.5 points for his team - both while partnered with Im. Both golfers contributed Saturday. Im earned two winning holes, and Munoz claimed three en route to the victory.

Im and Munoz's win started a momentum change for the Internationals, as Trevor Immelman's group won the next two matches that finished.

Match 4: Scott/Davis 1 up over Horschel/Burns

Australian duo Adam Scott and Cameron Davis went back-and-forth with Americans Billy Horschel and Sam Burns all Saturday afternoon in the final match. The competition went down to the last hole, where Davis secured the win with a birdie to finish 1 up on the U.S.

Horschel and Burns grabbed a late 1-up lead at No. 14 and kept it for another hole before Davis put on an incredible eagle-birdie-birdie finish to win two holes for the Internationals.

Davis, playing in his first Presidents Cup, made a 9-foot birdie at No. 18 to land the International team their third point of the session and seventh of the tournament.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox