US takes 4- 1 lead in Presidents Cup golf
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 that ended just like so many others in this one- sided affair.
Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson capped off a performance that was as businesslike as their handshakes, and the Americans had a 4- 1 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. So we’ve got a long way to go, and that’s that I told my team. Just to keep their chins up and do the tomorrow.”
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.
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The Americans, who have lost the Presidents Cup only one time since it began in 1994 and are going for their sixthstraight victory, had a lead after the opening session for the fifthstraight time. The margin was their largest since a four- point lead in 2007 at Royal Montreal.
That makes the five matches of fourballs 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.”
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