Even though it was just north of the border, it was the biggest margin for the Americans in the Presidents Cup, and their 10th straight victory.
Xander Schauffele, who won a double major this year, took the lead and made four birdies in a row to set the tone with a 4-and-3 victory over Jason Day. Patrick Cantlay recorded seven birdies with no bogeys and had three birdies in his final four holes for a 3-and-1 victory over Taylor Pendrith.
Perhaps the decisive point came from Keegan Bradley, who spent 10 years without competing for the U.S. team and has already been named next year’s Ryder Cup captain. He thought he might not be able to play in the next Cup, but he got screwed when he beat Kim Si-woo on the 18th hole.
“We talked about taking care of business today and we all went out there and did it. I was just lucky to be there that day, but it was a really meaningful moment in my life. I did,” Bradley said. “The last time I played in these games, I scored the winning goal for Europe in the Ryder Cup. 10 years later, today I get to do it.
“It’s truly something I’ll never forget.”
For Americans, it was old hat. Max Homa scored his first goal of the week in a 2-1 win over Mackenzie Hughes. The Internationals earned most of the points with a 5-0 shutout win over the Foursomes on Friday, winning four of five sessions.
“They’re very close, but you know, they can play flat,” Furyk said. “When times were tough, every time the international team put pressure on us, they paid their (tail) for us. I’m very proud to be a part of that.”
The Internationals needed everything to do well at Royal Montreal. All they managed to do was fight better, closer, but still fall short of the cup.
Their only win since that tournament, which featured players from countries other than Europe, was at Royal Melbourne in 1998, long before Tiger Woods had made his Presidents Cup debut. . The United States’ winning streak dates back to 2005.
“A lot of these games were close,” varsity captain Mike Weir said. “It’s disappointing that we didn’t win. We came together as a team to win this game, so it’s disappointing that we didn’t win, but we have a lot to gain.”
The Americans got the winner from Furyk, who was France’s captain when Europe won the Ryder Cup five years ago. This is a new team, a young team, without distractions and full of confidence having won every Presidents Cup since 2005.
“The game really comes down to some special moments,” Furyk said. “For some reason, they usually play loose in the Presidents Cup, but they let it fly and we were able to score some important points and make some important putts. Ta.”
Furyk sent Schauffele out in the opening round, and the cool Californian took control from the start with five birdies in eight holes. He sank a 45-foot birdie putt on Day on the opening hole to get within birdie range, then made a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 fifth to take his first lead and never let up.
“All 12 of us can compete,” Schauffele said. “My goal was just to set the tone and get red on that board as quickly as possible, and I was able to accomplish that.”
Sam Burns was the only player to remain undefeated this week, cutting his match against Tom Kim in half. The 22-year-old Korean looked like he was going to take a 1-up lead when he sunk his tee shot to 3 feet on the par-3 17th hole. Burns also hit his pitching wedge next to the flag for birdie.
Kim sparked the international team’s fire during the opening session by fist-pumping and provoking Scheffler with words of congratulations. He said the tide would turn at some point, and the 22-year-old Korean firmly believed it would be Sunday.
Not just this Sunday.
“I feel like there are stories where people always come back no matter how many times they lose. Victories don’t last forever,” Kim said. “Sometimes the altercations will go our way. A few breaks, a few bounces will go our way and that will make the difference. We are playing great and , sometimes we fall short, but we don’t lose hope.”
In the Internationals, Hideki Matsuyama defeated Scotty Scheffler to earn points in a battle of Masters champions, and Corey Connors had an easy win over Tony Finau. However, they trailed 11-7 going into 12 singles. It was never enough.
The International will now have to wait two more years for the 2026 game to be played in Medina, a Chicago suburb.
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