Day one of the 2024 Presidents Cup is history. Unfortunately for the International team, history repeats itself. They struggled during yesterday’s completion as Team USA jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Will the International Team be able to rebound today?
International Team May Have Fared Better Swilling Suds
The 2024 Presidents Cup kicked off yesterday with International team member Mackenzie Hughes chugging a beer on the first tee. Fortunately, the cold brew did not affect his play as he sat out this round. The Canadian chugged a Stella Artois. Yes, an international beer. But not one of the many fine Canadian lagers he could have selected.
As the matches proceeded, it turned out the International Team couldn’t have fared any worse even if they had been drinking beers all day. As they have in eight of the past nine Presidents Cups, the US team took the lead after the day 1 fourball matches. The US team demolished the Internationals. Winning all five matches for a 5-0 lead.
The Big Flatstick Failure: Presidents Cup Pressure?
It’s not as if the International Team wasn’t trying, they just came up short time after time. While Americans like Tony Finau were chipping in for birdies, the Internationals missed more short birdie putts than your average weekend hacker. It had to be a painful Presidents Cup for International fans to watch.
Nothing illustrates the point more than the performance of Christiaan Bezuidenhout. The South African is known for his putting prowess. But on Thursday, his flatstick let him down as he missed three makeable putts of less than seven feet on three critical holes: 14, 16, and 17.
“I’m happy for the guys,” U.S. captain Jim Furyk said. “Right now, all smiles. … I hate to say it, but at times, it came down to a lot of putts. I saw the Internationals lip out a bunch of putts, a bunch of really good putts that coulda, shoulda, didn’t go in.”
Presidents Cup Rule #1: Don’t Poke the Bear
The biggest drama of the day played out on the par 3 seventh hole. Tom Kim celebrated excessively after holing a 30-foot birdie putt. Shouting “Come on!” as world #1 Scottie Scheffler lined up a long putt to tie. Paul McGinley, an accomplished golfer and golf analyst, called Kim’s antics “disrespectful.” Meanwhile, Scheffler buried his bomb to tie the hole. Then proceeded to shout “What was that?” in Kim’s direction. Kim is known for showing his emotions on the course, but perhaps he’ll learn not to “poke the bear” in the future. Upsetting the World No. 1 player didn’t work out well for the young Korean.
Presidents Cup May Be Over After Day 2
Thursday marked the fifth time in Presidents Cup history that one team swept an entire session. The United States is far out in front at Royal Montreal holding five of the required 15 points to claim victory. With 25 matches remaining, the Americans only need to win 40% of the remaining matches to hoist a 10th straight Presidents Cup. The International Team better show up Friday ready to play or the 2024 Presidents Cup could be over before the weekend.
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