U.S. jumps to lead on first day of Prez Cup

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 in an opening session at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea that ended just like so many others in this onesided affair.

Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson capped off a performance that was as businesslike as their handshakes, and the Americans had a 41 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.”

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.

That makes the five matches of fourballs on Friday more critical.

U.S. captain Jay Haas put Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson in the first match, followed by Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker.

“He’s going for the kill,” Price said. “If we get momentum going, it can change things.”

All the momentum belonged to the Americans on Thursday.

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 3and2 victory. Kuchar hit a tee shot into the water on No. 11, and he hit a wedge so far on No. 14 that it didn’t even reach the creek.