Presidents Cup | Internationals keep nose ahead

Leishman-Ancer duo pulls off fine win; USA makes good headway

December 14, 2019 10:35 pm | Updated 10:35 pm IST - Melbourne

A win to remember:  Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, shaking hands with Patrick Reed, and  Pan Cheng-tsung pulled off the biggest upset of the Cup so far.

A win to remember: Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, shaking hands with Patrick Reed, and Pan Cheng-tsung pulled off the biggest upset of the Cup so far.

A gutsy comeback from Marc Leishman and Abraham Ancer gave Ernie Els’ Internationals a massive confidence boost at the Presidents Cup on Saturday as Tiger Woods’ USA stormed into contention.

The pair was five down against Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler after 10 holes in the afternoon foursomes, but fought back to halve the tie on the 18th.

Woods' team won the foursomes 3-1 after losing the morning fourballs 2.5-1.5 to leave the showdown on a knife-edge ahead of Sunday's 12 singles. Internationals leads 10-8.

Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland won, beating veteran Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen, while Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele also secured a point, overcoming Australia's Cameron Smith and South Korean Im Sung-jae.

However, the day’s proceedings were marred by an altercation between Reed's caddie Kessler Karain and a fan.

The PGA Tour has banned Karain from carrying Reed's bags on Sunday.

The results: Internationals 10 leads USA 8 [Saturday fourballs: Marc Leishman & Li Haotong lost to Justin Thomas & Rickie Fowler 3 & 2; Im Sung-jae & Abraham Ancer bt Xander Schauffele & Patrick Cantlay 3 & 2; Hideki Matsuyama & Pan Cheng-tsung bt Webb Simpson & Patrick Reed 5 & 3; Adam Scott & An Byeong-hun tied with Matt Kuchar & Tony Finau.

Foursomes: Louis Oosthuizen & Scott lost to Dustin Johnson & Gary Woodland 2 & 1; Leishman & Ancer tied with Thomas & Fowler; Cameron Smith & Im Sung-jae lost to Schauffele & Cantlay 2 & 1; Byeong-hun & Joaquin Niemann tied with Kuchar & Finau].

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.