After a terrible Friday outing for the Americans, a lot hung in the balance on Saturday. But with Justin Thomas and Jackson Koivun tying their four-ball match, Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa had some pressure on them. But in a match filled with multiple momentum swings, Morikawa’s performance, or the lack of it, turned the tables upside down.

The international team’s Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim kept their patience and eventually rallied from a two-hole deficit to win the matchup. But a big part of that loss for Team USA falls on Morikawa. And at one point, his inability to keep the ball on the fairway cost his team a chance to tie the match and cost him his captain’s trust for the rest of the day. Tempers flaring was imminent.

At the 17th hole, Morikawa hit his shot and, within seconds, realized how it would go. Understanding that the trajectory put his ball into the left bunker—his sixth miss of the day—he slammed his driver into the ground in anger. The moment was caught on camera, and in the PGA Tour’s play-by-play, it can be seen Clark tried to calm him. But Morikawa’s frustration was understandable.

On Saturday, Morikawa had the worst Strokes Gained OTT (-1.23), and his SG Putt at +0.33 was not the best either. But the biggest reason for the reaction was the shift in momentum in that game.

For most of the second match of the day, Team USA remained in the lead over their international counterparts. But the final three holes became decisive. Entering the 17th hole, the American pair was already one down. Meanwhile, SW Kim and T. Kim had already found their momentum. Even though Morikawa hit a good shot from the bunker to put the ball just seven feet away from the hole, it did put more pressure on Clark to save the day when he was struggling himself.

Wyndham Clark made a double bogey on the 17th. Paired with S.W. Kim’s birdie, the international team took the win with a 2-and-1 result. Morikawa’s reaction also came against the backdrop of the duo’s recent struggles in the competition.

Morikawa has consistently underperformed at Medinah

Clark and Morikawa had opened the Presidents Cup on Thursday with a 3-and-2 four-ball victory over Adam Scott and Ryan Fox, giving the U.S. an early 3-2 lead. But on Friday, Morikawa and Clark suffered a narrow 1-up loss to Ryan Fox and Min Woo Lee.

That match was part of a brutal Friday for the Americans, who were swept 5-0 in foursomes and fell behind 7-3 overall. Since then, the momentum has shifted sharply.

Even on Friday, the American pair had taken a lead. But Fox produced consecutive birdies on Nos. 15 and 16, while Morikawa missed an opportunity on No. 17 before the International pair closed out the match 1-up. On Saturday, they simply couldn’t keep up with the pace.

While they started with a 1-up lead on the par-4 second hole, thanks to Morikawa’s birdie, Tom Kim quickly took the point back for the International team on the next hole. After that, the American team went 2 up by winning the fifth and seventh holes. The International team responded by winning the ninth and eleventh.

Both teams were tied until the 15th hole, but the South Korean duo made a late surge. On the par-three 16th, Si Woo Kim scored a birdie to take the lead. He then followed it with another birdie on the 17th. The American duo lost the match without playing the final hole. The performance even led captain Brandt Snedeker to bench him.

Brandt Snedeker makes Collin Morikawa ride the pine

After Saturday’s morning foursomes, Snedeker made some harsh decisions to improve foursome outcomes. Among those decisions was benching Collin Morikawa. His partner, Wyndham Clark, was paired with Sam Burns instead. Neither Snedeker nor Morikawa has publicly discussed the decision or strategy behind it yet. As it turns out, though, Morikawa wasn’t the only one out of action.

Snedeker also benched Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas. Scheffler and Burns had won the Saturday foursomes, but Scheffler’s foursomes record is very bad. However, this might not necessarily be the reason he was asked to sit out this afternoon. The World No. 1 said he was okay with the decision and that it would be fun to rest.

Thomas didn’t lose Saturday’s four-ball match, but he did let a point slip away. He and Jackson Koivun had a 2-up lead through 14 holes. But they allowed the International team to make a late comeback by winning the 15th and 16th holes. This resulted in a tie at the end.

Snedeker’s decision to leave Collin Morikawa out of Saturday afternoon’s foursomes adds another layer to an already frustrating day for the American star. After the outburst and another narrow defeat, Morikawa had to watch from the sidelines as the U.S. team looked to close the gap. They currently trail the international team 7.5-10.5.