Tiger leads Americans to Presidents Cup win
MELBOURNE, Australia — Tiger Woods set the Presidents Cup record for most victories and set the tone for another American victory.
Woods beat Abraham Anceer in the opening singles matches for his 27th match victory in this event. Then, he switched from player to captain and watched his U.S. team follow suit.
The board was filled with red American scores for so much of the day as Patrick Reed and Webb Simpson won for the first time all week at Royal Melbourne, and California rookies Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay won their matches.
The best the International team could hope for was a tie by winning the final two matches.
Instead, Matt Kuchar made a 5-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole for a 1-up lead over Louis Oosthuizen. That assured the Americans at least 15 1/2 points, all they needed to win for the eighth straight time. The series stands at 11-1-1.
WOODS SETS RECORD
Woods set the Presidents Cup record for most victories at Royal Melbourne.
He went 3-0 for the week as the first playing captain since Hale Irwin at the inaugural Presidents Cup in 1994. His singles victory was his 27th in nine appearances, breaking the record Phil Mickelson had set in 12 events.
The idea was to get American red on the board quickly, and Woods did his part. The rest of the team was following the script, building early leads in five other matches.
Ancer, one of seven rookies on the International team, three times answered when Woods the lead. Woods, however, took over with a par on No. 9 and a birdie on the 10th. Ancer was still only 1 down through 13 holes when he three-putted from long range for bogey on the 14th.
Woods closed him out with a 20-foot birdie on the 16th hole, turning to remove his cap and shake hands with Ancer before the ball dropped into the cup.
REED’S CADDIE BOOTED
The caddie for Patrick Reed will not be on the bag for the final session of the Presidents Cup after shoving a spectator who he felt was encroaching too close to Reed while cursing him.
The tour announced the decision after Saturday’s dual session, which ended with the International team holding a 10-8 lead. Reed said in a statement he respected the decision and that everyone was focused on winning.
Kessler Karain, the brother-in-law of Reed, says he heard heckling for three days at Royal Melbourne, some had taken it too far and he’d had enough.
Reed was a singular target of the American team this year because of a rules violation last week in the Bahamas. He twice removed a clump of sand from behind his ball in a waste area at the Hero World Challenge. When he was shown the incident on video, Reed accepted the two-shot penalty.
Reed failed to make a birdie in fourballs Saturday morning as he and Webb Simpson lost for the third straight time.
“Riding on the cart, guy was about 3 feet from Patrick and said, ‘You (expletive) suck.’ I got off the cart and shoved him, said a couple things, probably a few expletives,” Karrain said in a statement to “Fore Play,” a podcast operated by Barstool Sports.
Karrain said security arrived and he left in the cart.
“I don’t think there’s one caddie I know that could blame me,” Karrain said. “Unless his bones break like Mr. Glass, the most harm done was a little spilled beer, which I’m more than happy to reimburse him for.”