Si Woo Kim won the sweep 5-0 on Friday in the President Cup.
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Three of our writers are on the ground at Royal Montreal this Presidents Cup weekend. After Thursday went one way (a 5-0 US sweep) and Friday went the other (a 5-0 international sweep) we put them together to split after the round.
Dylan Dethier, senior author (@dylan_dethier): Hello, James. Hello, Nick. It’s Friday night in Montreal again wow – what a difference a day makes. I can’t stop thinking about this moment last night, when things were dark. It didn’t seem like the event was over after the heavily favored US side went up by five wickets. It felt like the President’s Cup itself it might be over. If that sounds weird and dumb, it probably was. However, now it feels different. So I’ll start with a simple question: What the hell did we just watch?
James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): Man, I think we just watched an explosion. The Internationals hit the brakes on America from the opening bell. Of the five rounds played, only two went past the 14th hole – and both were won by INT anyway. It’s hard to make sense of what two clobberings from either team meant where this thing was headed, but man, that was fun.
Nick Piastowski, senior editor (@nickpia): The road-Ryder Cup of America appeared. They were beaten in the opening game (Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im took down Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay 7 and 6) and the dominoes – and international putts – fell from there. Wild. We were also talking about this after a delicious Tim Horton’s breakfast (shout out to Tim Bits!) about how the US seems to play better on the road in the Presidents Cup, compared to the Ryder Cup. Maybe the jinx came from us?
Dethier: You can’t get it out! There’s no doubt that Friday was a global hit, but the statistics were more surprising: Every American lost a stroke on Friday, while eight out of 10 internationals were in good shape. Our own Sean Zak wrote about this more but it got me thinking about the playoffs about how the winning team “just made more putts” and how, on Friday, that was true.
So how do we make sense of that? We could throw our hands up and quote random, I guess, or the golf gods, but that’s not very interesting. Instead I think we should focus on what we saw and heard and heard – and what the players did, too. How different things are to hear he left the course on friday vs. Thursday?
Colgan: Like the difference between a funeral and a rock concert. Fans were arrested. I the players they were arrested. Whatever aerosolized Xanax was used at Royal Montreal on Thursday had worn off by the time the game started.
Piastowski: The fans were very different, for sure, and I spent the afternoon campaigning for a few, including a close friend of Mackenzie Hughes – who was easy to spot when he caught Hughes’ big head chop. Well done. But I will add another thought and say that it seems a few speeches were presented last night by the International, and they came out with their hair and golf bags on fire. On Friday, the US was a flat team.
Dethier: Agreed by fans. And look, there are chicken and egg things here. Like, the fans were quiet on Thursday because their team was losing, but maybe, just maybe, their team was also partially losing. because are they silent?
However, things were different on Friday from the start. The opening tee was it shakes. It’s my humble opinion that I believe that changing the set list for a beginner DJ (fast setup, loud music, better selection, more variety, I tell you) has made a difference in the game. It was the first domino to fall. The fans got excited, the players got excited, the Internationals went 3-0-2 in the first goal and it continued for a long time from there. If Thursday’s crowds felt like they were out for a walk and stumble at a golf tournament, Friday felt like they were out for a hockey game — and it was back-to-back. Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes have never experienced it. that in their lives.
But let’s make a second guess. Is there anything American captain Jim Furyk should have done differently?
Colgan: Eh, the pairing was going very well. If Furyk made a mistake, it was failing to prepare his team for the onslaught everyone I didn’t know you were coming today. This happens to US teams far too often at these events, but I’m not sure how much of that falls on the captain.
Piastowski: Maybe you played Keegan? But only he and Burns were sitting, and the pairs were the same. Maybe the 5-0 lead made them feel comfortable and I’d rather they bring out the “ruthless” instead.
Dethier: When the captain’s pick came out, my immediate reaction was surprise that Furyk went with Brian Harman over Justin Thomas. I couldn’t help but think about that all Friday afternoon, when Harman struggled with Max Homa. Also, I didn’t believe international captain Mike Weir sat Tom Kim in Friday’s games, so I’m not sure if they should have taken advice from me – that strategy worked well.
But gentlemen, I’ve been meeting you over there, wandering inside the ropes on this lovely Quebecois afternoon. Give a scene from there that made you feel something.
Colgan: Standing on the sidelines of the 18th hole as Si Woo Kim hits a par putt to beat World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was epic. (Watch “C’mere” give to his teammates when the putt lands in the video below.) All day that game felt like one the Americans might steal back, but Si Woo and Ben An took it to them when it mattered. . An unbelievable, improbable, unbelievable win to bring the score back to a draw.
Dethier: No. 13 course par-3 course surrounded by large grandstands. I had just arrived when Corey Conners hit his tee shot, which made a loud noise. And when Hughes finished it off with a short birdie putt, I couldn’t help but think it had to be the best sporting moment of both of their lives. Two Canadians of the same age, younger opponents, college teammates go out together in front of a raucous home crowd, finishing off two top Americans 6 and 5? Man, what a feeling. One drunk fan kept yelling at Conners while the two were conducting an interview. Corey! Corey! That was a f– dart, Corey! And Tom Kim was behind the green, dancing, jumping, screaming, floating. That was a moment.
Piastowski: You nailed it. I was, happily, there for both of them. I’ll just add that it was a treat to see Tom Kim dancing on the 13th green after the game was won. And Kim didn’t even play today. He likes to see that.
DethierLast question: What happens now?
Colgan: Dylan, I really want to know, but right now I feel like I’m just walking into the eye of the storm. It’s quiet for now, but I don’t know what happens next. Do I think uncertainty favors the home team?
Piastowski: 25-5, US Kidding, playing. It will be loud. Everyone I talked to said it might get a little boozier, too. Happiness. And the game continues.
Dethier: I will enter the picture: What is happening now is that the President Cup continues to exist. How is that done with overreaction? We have an amazing weekend ahead, because Friday saved the tournament. At least one day…
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