Internationals return favor, sweep USA to tie Presidents Cup - ESPN

MONTREAL — Tony Finau could feel a big change when he stepped on the first tee Friday at the Presidents Cup. The horseshoe-shaped grandstand was packed and loud. The gallery was four-deep down the first fairway. The vibe was entirely different.

The biggest difference was the scoreboards. They switched from red to gold.

All of them.

In a stunning turnaround at Royal Montreal, the Internationals flipped the script on the U.S. team by sweeping the foursomes session, a performance so one-sided, the Americans led in only one of the five matches, and that was for only one hole.

Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im tied a record for the biggest blowout in the Presidents Cup. Jason Day assured a full point with a chip that was sublime even by his standards. Si Woo Kim polished off a most perfect day with a 15-foot par putt.

Three of the matches didn't get beyond the 14th hole.

«Incredible,» said Adam Scott, playing in his 11th Presidents Cup without ever winning. «To come back and show everyone what this team is made of after a tough day out there yesterday is just incredible.… This team knows what it's capable of now.»

Tom Kim didn't play and still played a big role. The 22-year-old from South Korea had said Thursday he thought the crowd was too quiet, and he hoped Canadian fans would «help us out a little bit more.»

That they did, and scorecards filled with gold International leads were not even necessary. The noise across Royal Montreal made it clear what was happening. Inside the ropes, there was nothing the Americans could do about it.

«We definitely felt the energy right out of the gate,» Finau said. «I hit the first tee shot yesterday in our group, and I hit the first tee shot today. It was night-and-day difference, I think