Incheon, Korea, 09-10-2015
TEAM INTERNATIONAL FIGHTS BACK ON DAY TWO AT PRESIDENTS CUP
Korea’s Sangmoon Bae delivered when it mattered the most in his Presidents Cup debut on Friday.
With his Fourball match with partner Danny Lee all square with Americans Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker heading into the 18th hole at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, the local hero rolled in a 12-foot pressure-packed birdie putt to seal a vital 1-up win for the International Team.
Bae’s last-hole heroics delivered one of the main highlight for the Internationals who rallied from an overnight four point deficit by winning three matches, halving one and losing another as the second day’s scoreline ended with the United States ahead by 5.5 to 4.5.
Korean-born Lee was delighted to combine effectively with Bae and put a point up for the Internationals after losing his first day’s Foursome match with Marc Leishman.
The South African duo of Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace maintained their winning run by outclassing a subdued world number one Jordan Spieth and Dustin Jordan 4 & 3 in the top match while Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee secured his first point with a 2 & 1 win with partner Charl Schwartzel as they beat Chris Kirk and Bill Haas.
Jason Day and Adam Scott halved their match with Zach Johnson and Phil Mickelson, who was penalized for playing a different type ball on the seventh hole while the U.S.’s lone win came through Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes who maintained their winning combination with a 2-up win over Steven Bowditch and Marc Leishman.
Thongchai picked up his first Presidents Cup win as his partner Schwartzel, closed out their match with an 18-foot birdie conversion.
With a big day ahead on Saturday with two sessions of four Foursomes and four Fourball matches, Price is hoping to keep players relaxed ahead of the weekend sessions.
“I think that just as a captain, watching yesterday, it was like a different team out there that I had on Tuesday. And so I tried to say to them, you know, you guys had this buzz going on Tuesday, and it wasn't there today, or yesterday, should I say,” said Price.
“I just tried to calm the guys' nerves. Just tell them, hey, you all played very well all year to get to this situation, and just go back to playing golf. They just responded so well today.”
U.S. Captain Jay Haas said Saturday morning’s four Fourball matches could be key to the outcome of this year’s Presidents Cup.
“Obviously we're not as pleased with our day as we were yesterday. We had some great match-ups out there, and the guys felt comfortable with who they were out with. Just the nature of the game. Some days are better than others,” Haas said philosophically.
“I don't think the guys are discouraged. There were some hard-fought matches, and other than Jordan and Dustin getting beat 4 & 3, the matches were right down to the wire. It's a putt here, a putt there; things could have been differently. But you know, still a little bit ahead, and looking forward, it's obviously a very important day tomorrow. I think the guys realise that and they will come out ready to go.”
Friday’s Fourball Results (US first)
Dustin Johnson/Jordan Spieth lost to Louis Oosthuizen/Branden Grace 4 & 3
Rickie Fowler/Jimmy Walker lost to Danny Lee/Sangmoon Bae 1-up
Zach Johnson/Phil Mickelson vs Adam Scott/Jason Day A/S
J.B. Holmes/Bubba Watson beat Marc Leishman/Steven Bowditch 2-up
Bill Haas/ Chris Kirk lost to Charl Schwartzel/Thongchai Jaidee 2 & 1
Saturday’s Foursome Draw (US first)
7.05am: Patrick Reed/Rickie Fowler vs Louis Oosthuizen/Branden Grace
7.16am: Bubba Watson/J.B. Holmes vs Adam Scott/Marc Leishman
7.27am: Bill Haas/Matt Kuchar vs Sangmoon Bae/Hideki Matsuyama
7.38am: Dustin Johnson/Jordan Spieth vs Jason Day/Charl Schwartzel
(Four Fourball matches to follow in the afternoon)
Thursday’s Foursome Results (US first)
Bubba Watson/J.B. Holmes beat Adam Scott/Hideki Matsuyama 3 & 2
Matt Kuchar/Patrick Reed lost to Louis Oosthuizen/Branden Grace 3 & 2
Rickie Fowler/Jimmy Walker beat Anirban Lahiri/Thongchai Jaidee 5 & 4
Phil Mickelson/Zach Johnson beat Jason Day/Steven Bowditch 2-up
Jordan Spieth/Dustin Johnson beat Danny Lee/Marc Leishman 4 & 3
Courtesy: Asian Tour
Elsewhere, at the European Tour’s British Masters, Jeev Milkha Singh (67-73) was the lone Indian to make the cut as he was placed tied 42nd at two-under-140 after round two. Shiv Kapur (70-73) missed the cut by one shot as he totalled one-over-143 for the first two days.
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