Americans running away in the Presidents Cup
JERSEY CITY, New Jersey — Phil Mickelson and Kevin Kisner rehearsed the dance from Three Amigos. The only question was whether to use it at the Presidents Cup, and as the veteran of 23 team events, Mickelson concluded it would need to be a big moment.
Their match was all square on the 18th hole Friday. Mickelson was 12 feet away for birdie. A victory would give the Americans a record lead.
“If this putt goes in,” Mickelson said he told his rookie partner, “we’re going to dance.”
This turned out to be one big dance party for an American team that has gone nearly two decades without losing. They hammered the International teams on the back nine to go unbeaten in fourballs and build an 8-2 lead.
Mickelson had his 24th match victory to tie the Presidents Cup record held by Tiger Woods, and he set a record with his 10th victory in fourballs.
As for that dance? It looked a little awkward, though Mickelson did slightly better than when he cropped most of his face out of a selfie he took at the opening.
“I’m clearly the worst selfie taker. I’m the worst Three Amigos dancer,” Mickelson said. “But I can putt.”
So can his teammates, who have followed the script set out by U.S. captain Steve Stricker to win every session. They won handily in the other three matches. The other match was a halve, but even in that one, Hideki Matsuyama and Adam Hadwin had a 2-up lead with four holes to play until Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed rallied. The Americans nearly won that one, too, except that Spieth narrowly missed birdie putts on the last two holes.
“Our guys stepped up again,” Stricker said. “They have a knack for doing that. To finish like that is huge for us going into [Saturday].”
Mathematically, the International team could be done Saturday, the first day of a double session. The Americans are 71⁄2 points away from clinching the cup.