The United States team is already making moves at the Presidents Cup in Chicago, racking up early leads in three of five matches on Thursday afternoon at Medinah Country Club. While no points are officially on the board yet, the U.S. is looking strong to start their bid for an 11th straight win in this biennial event, having only lost once since the mid-1990s.
Scheffler Still Searching For First Match Win
In a surprising twist, top-ranked Scottie Scheffler and his partner Sam Burns are tied through 11 holes in their four-ball match against the International team’s Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im. Scheffler, despite his huge success on the PGA Tour, has really struggled on the international stage recently. He’s yet to snag a match win alongside his friend Burns, which has to be a frustrating start for such a dominant player, especially as the U.S. aims for another cup. Each match here is worth a full point, so this one being tied through 11 means the pressure is on for those final holes.
U.S. Grabs Early Leads in Thrilling Opening Day
While the Scheffler-Burns match remains tight, the U.S. squad is finding its rhythm in other contests. Justin Thomas and Jackson Koivun are up 2UP through 10 holes against Corey Conners and Nico Echavarria. Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa have an even stronger lead, going 3UP through 9 holes against Ryan Fox and Adam Scott. However, it’s not all smooth sailing for the Americans. Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele are 2UP down through 11 holes to Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune. And to round out the early action, Chris Gotterup and Patrick Cantlay are 1UP down through 8 holes against Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim.
The first team to hit 15.5 points will hoist the Presidents Cup. With matches still in progress and no points officially recorded on the overall scoreboard, every shot counts. The remaining holes will decide who takes those critical early leads and sets the tone for the rest of the event.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply