U.S. team takes Cup
Daniel Berger earns the winning point as U.S. team wins The Presidents Cup
Unleashing every bit of its considerable might from the first day onward, the USA completed a thorough clocking of the Internationals on Sunday in the 12th edition of the Presidents Cup.
After sleeping on leads of
31⁄ 2- 11⁄ 2, 8-2 and 141⁄ 2- 31⁄ 2, the heavily favored Americans needed just one point from the 12 singles matches on the final day at sun-drenched Liberty National Golf Club to punctuate the rout.
That winning point was delivered courtesy of Daniel Berger, who defeated Si Woo Kim, 2 and
1. Nine matches were ongoing when Berger took a swig of champagne by the 17th green and only the final score was left to be determined.
Fittingly Phil Mickelson, the only player to participate in every Presidents Cup, brought the proceedings to an end. His 2
and-1 victory against Adam Hadwin made the final score 19-11.
“We planned for this for months and it’s just a great feeling,” said Berger, who was 2-1-0 in his Presidents Cup debut. “I’m speechless right now. You dream of moments like this, to be able to clinch the winning point for your American side, but it was a team effort. I got two points for us, but there’s so many guys that played so well this week. You know, if it wasn’t me, it was going to be someone else, so I’m just happy to be a part of this team.”
With the Freedom Tower, Manhattan skyline and Statue of Liberty providing a stunning background, the week got started with former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama on the first tee Thursday. The week ended with President Donald Trump becoming the first sitting president to hand the trophy to the victor.
It was the 10th time the USA was on the receiving end of the trophy presentation. The USA has won the last seven Cups and is 10-1-1. The talented Americans — who had six rookies — were on form when they took to the course by the New York Harbor and stayed on form as all but one player on the squad had a winning record this week.
World No. 1 Dustin Johnson had the best record at 4-0-1. Also undefeated for the Americans were Mickelson (3-0-1), Rickie Fowler (3-0-1) and Kevin Kisner (2-0-2). Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed and Justin Thomas all won three points.
No Internationals player won three points and only three players on the team had winning records. The Internationals won just eight of the 30 matches.
“I thought we would be com- petitive this week,” Internationals captain Nick Price said. “You can always point fingers or blame something, but we just got outplayed this week. We just came up against a juggernaut.”
The USA looked like a juggernaut for months, which is why captain Steve Stricker stressed two things to his team — don’t be overconfident and go out and win every session. The USA won the first four sessions before losing singles, 71⁄ 2- 41⁄ 2, when the outcome had long been decided.
“It was a fun ride,” Stricker said. “These guys played so well. They played well all year long and they came here with a lot of confidence. They continued it right through this tournament here. So proud of them all. They just kept grinding it out and kept fighting, and they never lost the focus.
“They played great.”
They included Mickelson, who at No. 30 was the lowest-ranked player on the team. But he was pivotal in the team room and on the course. Earlier this year he played in his 100th major at the PGA Championship. Sunday he played in his 100th match in The Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup. His three wins this week took him to a record 26 victories in The Presidents Cup, a mark that was held by assistant captain Tiger Woods.
“This has been a fun, special week,” said Mickelson, who is 44-36-20 in 23 consecutive Presidents Cup and Ryder Cups. “I’ve never been a part of a team all these years that’s this talented and gone out and lit the course up like this and had such a big lead going into Sunday singles. This is a stress-free day for us, and that’s just something we’ve never had. ...
“These events are my favorite weeks of the year. These team environments, the support system, getting to know the guys, spending time on and off the course, being able to partner; they are memories that I cherish for a lifetime. I’m so appreciative and honored to be a part of this team, especially when you look at how talented our young foundation is with these guys. Not only are they great players, but they are really quality individuals.”
The future does look good, indeed, as the average age of the Americans was 31.8 — the youngest in Presidents Cup history.
“They are going to be a force to be reckoned with over so many years, because they are young and playing some pretty good golf right now,” Internationals player Jason Day said. “They are just tough to beat.”