MONTREAL — The United States swept the opening session of the Presidents Cup on Thursday for the third time behind a feisty Scottie Scheffler, late heroics from Xander Schauffele and plenty of help from a putting-challenged International team.
The Americans are going for a 10th straight win in this lopsided series, and the Internationals didn't put up much of a fight in four-balls at Royal Montreal.
It was the first time the Americans swept the opening session since 2000, and they went on to win by a record 11 points. Scheffler and Russell Henley never trailed in their 3-and-2 victory over Sungjae Im and Tom Kim, the spiciest match of an otherwise flat day before a quiet Canadian crowd after Mackenzie Hughes, who sat out the first session, chugged a beer on the opening tee to get them going.
Scheffler and Kim are good friends who play money games in Dallas. On the par-3 seventh hole, the 22-year-old Kim holed a putt from just inside 30 feet and did a pirouette on the green, screaming, «Let's go!» Scheffler matched the birdie from about the same length, and the world's No.