The Internationals returned the favor, sweeping the USA to clinch the President’s Cup

MONTREAL — Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im tied the record for the most hits, and Si Woo Kim polished off a perfect day as the international team produced the America’s Cup of Presidents Cup on Friday.

“It’s amazing,” Adam Scott said. “It’s a great day for us to come back and show everyone what this team is made of.”

The Presidents Cup that started out looking like another American victory took on a completely different feel in front of a Royal Montreal crowd chanting “INT!” from the opening tee.

Unlike America’s four-ball sweep on Thursday, many of the foursomes matches have not been close. The Internationals trailed by just one match, and that was only by one hole.

Every video screen showing the score is filled in yellow.

“There was a lot of belief in the room, among the guys, that hey, we can still do this,” Mackenzie Hughes said. “We’re still a great team, and we’ve got a lot of golf left to play. We got here this morning, we got our heads up, our chins up, and we’re ready to play.”

Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, 3-0 in foursomes at the Presidents Cup, never stood a chance against Matsuyama and Im. The Internationals birdied their final seven holes, a remarkable streak considering they were swinging shots, to win 7 and 6.

It tied the Presidents Cup record, which was last accomplished in 2011 when Scott and KJ Choi defeated Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker in 12 holes. The Americans didn’t help the cause by not hitting the fairway until the eighth hole. Then again, Matsuyama and Im were 8 under through 12 holes.

Behind them, Scott and Taylor Pendrith made three straight birdies and never trailed in defeating Sahith Theegala and Collin Morikawa, 5 and 4. Scott became the all-time leading international scorer, passing Ernie Els with his 22nd career point.

The Canadians delivered big as Hughes and Corey Conners won the first two holes on the course 6 and 5 over Wyndham Clark and Tony Finau.

It marked the first time in President Cup history that a team won three games in one session on the 14th hole.

Two games have gone a long way, and internationals are no exception. Jason Day hit a bogey on the muddy left of the 18th green to a 1-foot victory over Max Homa and Brian Harman.

And then Kim produced the ultimate joy. In a match where 13 holes were halved, Kim and Byeong Hun An were 1 up over Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley going into the 18th when they hit a rough putt and had no chance of reaching the green.

Henley missed a 25-foot birdie putt. Kim drained a 15-foot par putt to secure another 1-up victory, another full point, and a tie heading into the weekend.

“We started well, and the energy is there,” said Scott. “It’s a good feeling because yesterday was flat. We didn’t enjoy them too much. But today, hopefully, this is the start of a good weekend.”

This is the second time the President Cup has been tied after two sessions. In 2003, it was 5.5-5.5 and eventually tied 17-17, after Woods and Els tied 3 sudden-death holes and captains Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player agreed to draw under cover of darkness.

Saturday features two sessions — four four-ball matches, four foursomes — before Sunday’s 12 singles matches.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.