At home and with a denser squad, América won the Presidents Cup again. Against combative but limited internationals, the locals won 17.5 to 12.5.
The United States has not lost the Presidents Cup since 1998 and its undefeated streak will continue for at least two more years. On Sunday at Quail Hollow, the Davis Love III team clearly dominated Trevor Immelman’s international team by winning 17.5 to 12.5 points.
Despite a rebellion started on Saturday and spearheaded mainly by South Korean Challengers players, the hosts quickly recovered the 15.5 points needed to secure victory. During Sunday’s 12 singles, the US may have lost the first match (a big Si Woo Kim over Justin Thomas, 1 up), but their opponents never made the miracle of a comeback possible.
Early victories by Jordan Spieth (eventually winning a single in the team event), Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau quickly put down any attempt at international rebellion. A hope that Sebastián Muñoz’s great success over world number one Scottie Scheffler could not revive. After a big mistake on the 17th by Canadian Corey Conners (3 putts at 8 meters), Xander Schauffele will finally recover the decisive point, with a victory from 1 up.
6
United States six of their last seven team events. Only the 2018 Ryder Cup escaped them.
It is, therefore, the eighth success at home for the United States in eight editions of the Presidents Cup on American soil, as well as the twelfth in the history of the biennial competition. If the winners have confirmed the power of one of their doubles pairings heading into the 2023 Ryder Cup (Spieth/Thomas, Schauffele/Cantlay), or have discovered in Max Homa a solid partner under pressure, the Internationals will be satisfied with the performances by young players, such as Tom Kim (20 years old) or Sung Jae Im (24 years old), who create atmosphere and perform well on the pitch.
Too bad for them, and for the interest of a first-leg event for almost 20 years, not having been able to field, among others, the Australian Cameron Smith (number 2 in the world) or the Chilean Joaquín Niemann (21st), excluded from the Presidents Cup for joining LIV Golf this summer.