US storm back on Sunday to keep Presidents Cup at Medinah
Jacob Bridgeman holed a four-foot par putt on the 18th hole at Medinah to seal a 17-13 win for the United States over the Internationals in the Presidents Cup on 27 September.
It completed a steep Sunday comeback. The Americans trailed 10.5-7.5 going into the 12 singles matches, one-on-one contests where each match is worth one point, and then took nine of them to turn the week around, The Guardian.
Bridgeman beat Australia’s Min Woo Lee 1-up. That means he finished one hole ahead with no holes left to play. The par putt on the last never looked straight, but it dropped and the American bench spilled onto the green.
The victory was the 11th in a row for the United States in this event. Their overall record in the biennial rivalry now stands at 14 wins, one loss and one tie, The Guardian.
For the Internationals, the wait goes on. They arrived in Chicago chasing a first win in 28 years. They led after three days and still could not close it out. Nine defeats from 12 on Sunday tells the story.
On paper it was always a hard task. The American side under captain Brandt Snedeker included eight of the world’s 11 top-ranked golfers. Donald Trump was present for the final day at Medinah Country Club in Chicago, Illinois, where the 16th edition of the Cup was played from 22 to 27 September.
The week swung hard. On Thursday, Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns beat Lee and Sungjae Im 1-up to restore an early American lead in the opening session, Reuters. On Saturday, Corey Conners and Nick Taylor produced the fightback of the team sessions, rallying from 3-down after 10 holes to win 1-up, PGA Tour.
The American 12 blended automatic qualifiers Scheffler, Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Burns, Russell Henley and Collin Morikawa with captain’s picks Chris Gotterup, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Jackson Koivun and Bridgeman. The Internationals qualified Si Woo Kim, Hideki Matsuyama, Ryan Fox, Tom Kim, Lee and Adam Scott, with Sungjae Im, Nico Echavarria, Conners, Nick Taylor, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Ryo Hisatsune added by selection.
What makes this one stand out is the pressure of that last stretch. A three-point deficit in strokeplay can feel safe. In singles matchplay it is thin air. Every tee shot matters, every short miss is loud, and a rookie with a four-footer can decide it all.
