MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) — The deficit was bigger than anything the Americans had ever experienced at home in the Presidents Cup. The party on Sunday afternoon? It was all too familiar, even the part where President Donald Trump stood there for the trophy presentation.
American players – from world number one Scottie Scheffler to 21-year-old rookie Jackson Koivun – won the gold cup, which was fitting.
Everyone participated in the final comeback in Medinah, where the Americans delivered the most lopsided singles session in Presidents Cup history. They won nine of 12 matches and halved the others for a 17-13 victory, their 11th in a row against the luckless Internationals.
U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker went from blaming himself for the three-point deficit to suppressing his emotions as his team set the tone early and rode momentum and a raucous Chicago gallery late that left them believing again they could succeed in team golf.
The real proof comes in a year in Ireland for the Ryder Cup. For now, the Americans have redeemed themselves in a competition they have lost only once since these matches began in 1994.
“Is that a singles record? It doesn’t happen unless you have a special group of guys, and we do,” Snedeker said. “I’m really proud of how they came together.”
It was a blow for Geoff Ogilvy and his international team, who dominated the Americans in team matches for three days, taking the lead for only the fourth time in the Presidents Cup, and the first time on American soil.
Five matches were in progress – the United States led 1 of three, the other two were halved – and the Internationals must find three points to win the cup. The Americans simply did not budge.
“I just felt like it was kind of on the knife’s edge for a lot of the day,” Ogilvy said. “If you make a few putts at the right time and get a little more yellow on the board at the right time, the momentum and the crowd stays a little bit out of that.
“We kind of started to drift apart over the last few hours.”
The Americans, dominated all week on Medinah’s No. 3 course and Ogilvy’s architectural firm overhaul, upset two key matches on the last nine. Collin Morikawa beat Hideki Matsuyama and Koivun came from 2 points down after 10 holes to a 2-point victory over Si Woo Kim.
Trump, honorary chairman of the Presidents Cup, was on the first tee for the start of the 12 singles matches and was there for the trophy presentation, as he was at Liberty National in 2017 during his first term.
It was an American explosion. This one was close, and yet it seemed inevitable, nothing like the Ryder Cup at Medinah in 2012, when Europe recovered from a 10-6 deficit to win on the road.
Americans rallied behind incessant, loud cheers, some of which went a little too far.
Someone shouted during Nico Echavarria’s backswing, causing him to drop the driver as his ball sailed to the right. Scheffler barked at the fan, and after missing a birdie putt, he conceded a 30-foot par to the Colombian in a show of sportsmanship.
Scheffler continued to win. Cameron Young, Justin Thomas and Chris Gotterup also did the same early in the lineup as the deficit narrowed and quickly turned into another comfortable victory.
“I told the guys last night that funny things happen here. Medinah has a history of funny things happening,” said Snedeker, who was part of the losing Ryder Cup team in 2012. “Sure enough, they came out and played their (tails) today. I’m so proud of these guys.”
That group included Koivun, who just over a year ago was part of the winning amateur Walker Cup team. Just four months ago, he helped Auburn win an NCAA golf title. And there he was on Sunday, turning a loss into a point and making decisive shots at the end.
Koivun trailed Kim 2 through 10 holes when he won three straight holes to move the color to American red on the board. The kid holed his tee shot on the 18th and twirled his iron when he knew the approach was clean. He finished with a 2-way win, and it was only a matter of time.
“This kid is special. He’s different,” Snedeker said. “You saw that for a 21-year-old to stand there and hit those last two balls like he did. Not a lot of people like that.”
The decisive point came from Jacob Bridgeman, another Presidents Cup rookie.
Patrick Cantlay had another moment, as he always seems to do in these events, sinking a birdie putt from just shy of 60 feet on the par-3 16th against Adam Scott, who has now played 12 times in this competition without ever being on the winning side.
“Look, it’s a very difficult thing to beat the United States in singles in the United States,” Ogilvy said. “They are great players and the crowd has come to see them. There is a little red on the board and the noise is getting loud. They started the day with a lot to do and they all played well.”
All the Internationals can do is regroup and try again at Kingston Heath in Australia in two years. Their only victory came at Royal Melbourne in 1998, and there was a tie in South Africa in 2003.
___
See AP’s complete golf coverage here
Gn sports
