Americans off to fast start
Incheon ( South Korea), Oct. 8: The US team got off to a flying start Thursday in the Presidents Cup to lead the International team 41 after the first five foursome matches.
Third pairing out Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker got the first point on the board for the US with a dominant 5 and 4 victory over rookie duo Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand and Anirban Lahiri of India.
By then the scoreboard was bathed in US red with only the South African pair of Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace offering resistance with a solid 3 and 2 win over the out- of- sorts Matt Kuchar and Patrick Reed.
Australia’s Adam Scott had the honour of the first tee shot of the 11th Presidents Cup but set the tone for a day of scrappy play from the International side by finding the right rough.
Bubba Watson struck the first blow for the US with a booming right- toleft drive that landed in the heart of the fairway.
Hideki Matsuyama rescued the situation for Scott with a solid approach as the hole was halved in par.
But then the Americans caught fire slamming in birdies at the next four holes to race to three up after just five.
Player of
the
year Jordan Spieth and partner Dustin Johnson had an uncharacteristic sloppy front nine against the similarly wayward pair of Marc Leishman and Danny Lee.
But the American duo showed their class after going to the ninth just one up and eventually ran away with the match 4 and 3.
Only one match went to the final hole as Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson led most of the way against Aussie pair Jason Day and Steven Bowditch