CHARLOTTE, NC — Jordan Spieth capped off a perfect week at the Presidents Cup as the United States posted their ninth straight victory over the international team.
The arrival of the LIV circuit, financed by Saudi Arabia, undermined the chances of the international team, which lost several of its key cogs. Despite the result, the international team fought hard. However, she has no trophy to prove it.
Barely a year ago, the United States inflicted Europe’s worst Ryder Cup defeat, with a young and hungry squad. This version returned to the charge for the Presidents Cup.
Xander Schauffele offered the winning run when he hit a six-foot putt on the 18th hole. This par allowed him to defeat the Canadian Corey Conners by one stroke.
That gave the Americans a total of 15½ points with five games to go. The final score was 17.5-12.5.
“I think our biggest challenge for us this week has been to stay within ourselves and not be swayed by the outside world,” Spieth said. We saw predictions plastered all over the place saying that we were supposed to win, that we were the favorites, etc. »
Trevor Immelman, the captain of the international team, referred to the disruptive introduction of the LIV circuit as one of the many hurdles his team faced. And he reacted strongly to the theory that his 12 players – only three of whom are among the top 25 players in the world – were unlucky to win.
“When you consider that we were down 8-2 on Friday night, this team is no laughing stock. I’m tired of it being called a joke, Immelman said. We love this event, and we love our team. And we can’t wait to come back and have another chance. »
Conners and Taylor Pendrith, the only Canadians on the team, were the only golfers to be shut out.
Conners needed three putts on the 17th hole when he had a chance to tie the game. He then sent his ball into a pit from the fairway at 18th.
“I’m really disappointed that I couldn’t add to our total, but it was a fun week,” admitted Conners.
The biannual event alternates between runs in the United States and international venues. The next edition will take place at the Royal Montreal Golf Club, which hosted the 2007 edition of the tournament and saw a legendary showdown between Canadian Mike Weir and Tiger Woods in the final round.
“I made it my goal to be on this team,” said Pendrith, who, like Conners, made his Presidents Cup debut. “It’s been a great week and I’m really looking forward to scoring points. »
Spieth putted from all over the Quail Hollow course to earn a 4-3 victory over Cameron Davis that prevented the international team – who needed their best performance on a Sunday – from getting back in the running .
Spieth became the sixth player to win all five Presidents Cup games, winning all four games as a team with Justin Thomas.
Spieth, a three-time major champion and former world number one, first qualified for Team USA at the age of 20. However, he had never won a solo match. He was 0-3 in the Presidents Cup and 0-3-1 in the Ryder Cup.
The Americans have improved their record to 12-1-1 since the event’s inception in 1994. They have lost only once, in 1998 at Royal Melbourne in Australia, and a draw in South Africa. South in 2003.
The international team presented a draft that included eight rookies. Half of them replaced golfers such as British Open champion Cameron Smith and Louis Oosthuizen who were ineligible after the PGA Tour suspended them for signing with the lucrative rival Tour.
One of those rookies, Colombian Sebastian Munoz, beat world number one Scottie Scheffler and went undefeated throughout the week (2-0-1). Another is 20-year-old Tom Kim, who gave hope to the international team on Saturday night with a performance as flamboyant as his personality.
However during the four days, the Americans were too strong and demonstrated the strength of their entire formation.
