U.S. squeaks to Cup victory
Emotions and nerves make this Presidents Cup a thriller, with slimmest of margins.
INCHEON, South Korea — The final hour when both teams thought they had it won. The clutch putt that turned a rookie into the hero. The stubbed chip that made the local star cover his face with both hands as if he wanted to hide.
The Presidents Cup, packed with raw emotion and nerves, was unlike any other in the last 10 years — except for the outcome.
The Americans won for the sixth straight time Sunday when Chris Kirk made a 15-foot birdie putt to win his match in a stunning turnaround on the final hole, and Bill Haas provided a storybook ending with the winning point for his team and for his father.
“A moment I’ll never forget,” said U.S. Captain Jay Haas, who was so choked up when it ended that he couldn’t speak.
Haas used a captain’s pick on his son, sent him off in the 12th and final singles match at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea and then watched as Bill Haas hit all the right shots to hold off Bae Sang-moon for a 2-up victory.
The 151⁄2-to-141⁄2 margin was the slimmest since the famous tie in South Africa in 2003. Not since 2005 has the Presidents Cup been decided by the final match.
The final session was not without its share of heartbreak.
Bae, the only player under the Korean flag, was playing for the final time before he starts mandatory military service. When it became evident the Presidents Cup would be decided by Bae’s match with Bill Haas, the American was 1 up and not giving away any shots. Bae holed a 10-foot putt on the 16th to halve the hole. He came within inches of holing a bunker shot on the 17th to halve the hole, which assured the Americans would do no worse than tie.
Facing that tough chip below the 18th green, Bae hit it heavy and the gallery groaned as it rolled back to his feet. He covered his face as his caddie, Matt Minister, placed a hand on Bae’s shoulder to console him. Bae chipped about 12 feet by the hole, and when Haas blasted out of a bunker to eight feet, Bae conceded the putt.
“I wanted to make the winning point for the team, but at the end of the day, our team lost,” Bae said. “So I was very sad and disappointed about it.”
Phil Mickelson was unbeaten (3-0-1) for the third time in the Presidents Cup, trouncing Charl Schwartzel of South Africa. Zach Johnson also went unbeaten in easily beating Australian Jason Day, who failed to win a match this week.