The United States’ bid for an 11th consecutive Presidents Cup title suffered a significant blow on Friday as the International Team executed a flawless session sweep in the foursomes matches. The dominant performance has propelled the Internationals to a stunning 7-3 advantage at Medinah.
Geoff Ogilvy’s squad has now taken control of the biennial contest, handing Team USA its first deficit since the event began. Although the Americans boast an unblemished home record in the competition and have claimed victory in 13 of the previous 15 editions, their dominance was thoroughly dismantled by a resilient International side.
In the featured matchup, Canadian pair Corey Conners and Nick Taylor defeated world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns by one hole. Earlier, Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im comfortably dispatched Russell Henley and Jacob Bridgeman with a 3&2 victory.
The momentum continued elsewhere on the course. Open champion Ryan Fox partnered with Min Woo Lee to secure a dramatic final-hole win against Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark. Meanwhile, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Adam Scott sealed a 3&2 triumph over Justin Thomas and Clark.
Taking the match scorecard to completion, Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim defeated Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele 4&3. This marked the second straight Presidents Cup where the International Team has swept the Friday foursomes session entirely.
The surge represents a complete turnaround from Thursday’s fourballs session, which the Internationals lost 3-2. Needing just 8.5 points from the remaining 20 available to clinch their first Presidents Cup title since 1998, the team now heads into the weekend with immense momentum.
Scheffler’s struggles in alternate shot formats persisted, as this loss marked his eighth defeat in nine career foursomes matches across the Presidents and Ryder Cups. Despite giving his team an early lead with a sensational approach shot that set up a birdie, the match shifted when Burns went out of bounds. The Internationals responded by winning four consecutive holes to close out the victory.
Reflecting on the top match, Conners praised his partner’s clutch putting. “We just tried to be relentless out there,” Conners said. “Both hit a lot of quality shots and Nick [Taylor] made some key putts there towards the end to keep us in the position. His approach shot into the last here was unbelievable!”
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