Internationals Stun Team USA, Take Historic Lead Into Presidents Cup Sunday
The International Team leads Team USA 10.5-7.5 entering Sunday singles at Medinah — the first time it's held the lead this late in the competition on U.S. soil — after captain Brandt Snedeker's stunning call to bench World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
.jpg)
Team USA's decade-long stranglehold on the Presidents Cup is suddenly in real jeopardy. The International Team carries a three-point cushion, 10.5 to 7.5, into Sunday singles at Medinah Country Club outside Chicago — the first time in the event's history that the Internationals have led entering the final day on American soil, and just the fourth time overall they've held the lead after the doubles sessions.
Saturday's split-session format did USA no favors. In the morning four-ball matches, the Americans clawed back some ground, winning the session 2.5-1.5 after Friday's brutal 5-0 foursomes sweep by the Internationals. Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns beat Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune 2&1, and Cameron Young and Chris Gotterup picked up their first win of the week, beating Canada's Nick Taylor and Corey Conners 2&1. Justin Thomas and rookie Jackson Koivun let a 2-up lead with four to play slip away, settling for a half against Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im.
The Scheffler decision
The bigger story came that afternoon. With Scheffler sitting at 1-4-0 for the week, U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker made the call to sit the World No. 1 for Saturday's foursomes session — a session the teams ultimately split 2-2. \"I feel like Scottie's got the weight of the world on his shoulders carrying Team USA. It's time for us to carry him for a session,\" Snedeker said, according to Sky Sports' live coverage from Medinah.
IT WAS TOUGH — IT'S PROBABLY WHY MY HEAD IS STILL SPINNING
\"It was tough. It's probably why my head is still spinning,\" Snedeker added. \"I love Scottie Scheffler to death, that was a really tough decision to sit him this afternoon. But I wanted to get him some rest and wanted him to get ready to go tomorrow in singles.\"
The stakes of Sunday's finish are enormous for both sides. Team USA has won 10 straight Presidents Cups and entered the week with a dominant 13-1-1 all-time record against the Internationals, according to PGA Tour's match recap. The International Team, by contrast, hasn't won the Cup outright since 1998.
Twelve singles matches await Sunday at Medinah, with the first team to 15.5 points claiming the Cup. The math favors the underdogs: the Internationals need just 5 points from those 12 matches to close it out, while the Americans need 8 to retain the trophy — and to keep Scheffler, presumably rested and ready, at the top of their lineup.