Americans dominant out of the gate

INCHEON, South Korea — 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 Price or the International team could do about it Thursday.

Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson capped off a performance that was as businesslike as their handshakes, notching a 2-up win over Australians Jason Day and Steven Bowditch, and the Americans had a 4-1 lead after foursomes in which they never trailed in any match except the one they lost.

The Americans have lost the Presidents Cup only one time since it began in 1994 and are going for their sixth straight victory. They had all the momentum Thursday. Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes ran off four straight birdies early in their match against Adam Scott and HidekiMatsuyama, 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.

Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker picked up their first win as a team, 5 and 4, over India’s Anirban Lahiri and Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee.

The lone International victory came from Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace of South Africa, who beat sloppy Matt Kuchar and Patrick Reed 3-and-2.

Jordan Spieth, the No. 1 player in the world, and Dustin Johnson proved as formidable as advertised in a 4-and-3 win over New Zealand’s Danny Lee and Australia’s Marc Leishman.

Mickelson, who has never missed a Presidents Cup, tied a tournament record with his 11th foursomes victory. TigerWoods also has 11 foursomes wins.

Friday’s action included five fourball matches.