Just Sunday’s singles remain at the Presidents Cup. Given the Americans’ historical dominance, many expected this year to follow a similar pattern. However, Friday’s foursomes flipped that script. The U.S. tried to fight on Saturday, but the International Team still held a three-point lead into Sunday. After Saturday foursomes, U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker praised his players but also accepted that he made some mistakes.
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“This golf course is difficult. It’s going to be a long, hard day tomorrow,” Snedeker said about the mentality going into Sunday. “I’ve got the right guys in that team room. They’re going to compete. So proud of how they’ve kind of hung in there this week despite all of my mistakes.”
Snedeker was somewhat taken aback by the fact that Team USA couldn’t dominate Saturday the way they had traditionally. Last time at Royal Montreal, the Stars and Stripes went 6-2 on Saturday after a dominant display. Two years later, Snedeker’s team earned only 4½ points on Saturday and entered Sunday trailing the International Team for just the third time in Presidents Cup history—and the first time on home soil. Does that put Snedeker under some pressure?
It would seem so from the way he responded to a question from Cara Banks of NBC Sports. Added Snedeker: “I tried to work my tail off to put these guys in the best situation possible, and I don’t think I’ve done a very good job this week to be where we are right now. They look to me to put them in the best position where they’re comfortable. I hold myself to a high standard. I don’t think I’ve done the best job for them in that room.”
Interestingly, right after the fourballs, Banks asked Snedeker about his change of strategy for the foursomes. Snedeker briefly stumbled while explaining the shakeup, struggling to recall Cameron Young’s name.
“We threw a couple of wrinkles in there, you know, obviously going with C.G. [Chris Gotterup] and…,” he said before pausing, unable to speak further. “Um, sorry, my head’s spinning a little bit right now, going with C.G. and, uh…” Banks prompted him by mentioning Cameron Young’s name. “Cameron Young,” Snedeker said, “Thank you very much.”
Snedeker was hoping the afternoon foursomes would help the Americans close the gap further. He opted to bench several players, including Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, and Jackson Koivun. Although some questioned the decision, Snedeker’s response made it evident that it had more to do with resting the World No. 1 than his terrible foursomes record.
“As I said at the beginning of the week, Scottie Scheffler is not going to go out there and win us 15 points, so we’ve got to go out there as a team and do this together,” Snedeker said. “I challenged the guys this afternoon to go out there and be that team that we need them to be, and got Scottie some much-needed rest so he can go out there tomorrow and be the Scottie Scheffler that we know he is.”
The strategy, however, didn’t work, as the International Team responded strongly to maintain its advantage. The four points on offer that afternoon were split evenly, leaving the International Team ahead 10.5-7.5 heading into Sunday’s singles.
Despite failing to erase the deficit, Snedeker was proud of his players: “There’s such a fine line between good shots and bad shots, and I was proud of the way the guys hung in there and battled. Guys came out and did what I expected them to do. They had a ton of energy. They competed their ass off. Really proud of how they hung in there today.”
On the International side, captain Geoff Ogilvy also opted to bench Nico Echavarria, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Ryo Hisatsune, and Hideki Matsuyama. With the foursomes and four-ball sessions complete, all 12 players from each team will compete in singles matches Sunday, with the results deciding who wins the Presidents Cup.
If the International Team can carry this momentum into Sunday, they will secure their first victory at the Presidents Cup since 1998, when they defeated the U.S. 20.5 to 11.5 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia. However, it’s easier said than done. Don’t forget, out of three times the International team led after Saturday, they won only twice.
The Sunday Singles start at 12:02 p.m ET.