U.S. Cup team in command
International squad wins just once in opening foursomes.
The Presidents Cup wasn’t an hour old when Nick Price looked at the scoreboard and had that sinking feeling.
It was filled with American red.
And there wasn’t much the International team and its captain could do about it Thursday in an opening session in Incheon, South Korea, that ended just like so many others in this one-sided affair.
Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson capped off a performance that was as businesslike as their handshakes, and the Americans had a 4-1 lead after foursomes in which they never trailed in any match except the one they lost.
“A tough day for us,” Price said. “Having said that, we are only five points into 30. We still have another 25 points left out there. So we’ve got a long way to go, and that’s that I told my team. Just to keep their chins up and do the best they can tomorrow.”
The International team was adamant that the number of matches be reduced — it was lowered from 34 to 30 — to keep it a close contest. After one day, maybe having one less match on Thursday helped.
It could have been worse.
The Americans, who have lost the Presidents Cup only one time since it began in 1994 and are going for their sixth straight victory, had a lead after the opening session for the fifth straight time. The margin was their largest since a fourpoint lead in 2007 at Royal Montreal.
Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes ran off four straight birdies early in their match against Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama, and that set the tone. They wound up winning a tight match when Scott and Matsuyama missed key putts and ended it on the 16th hole.
The lone International victory came from Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace of South Africa, who took advantage of some sloppy play by Matt Kuchar and Patrick Reed in a 3-and-2 victory.
European Tour: England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick birdied his final two holes in a 7-under 65 for a one-stroke lead at the British Masters in Woburn. Marc Warren, Lee Slattery, Soren Kjeldsen and Robert Karlsson were tied for second.
LPGA Tour: American Alison Lee and China’s Xi Yu Lin shot 6-under 65s to lead the LPGA Malaysia at Kuala Lumpur.