For the 10th time in a row, America won the Presidents Cup. Heading into the final day at Royal Montreal, the away team built on an 11-7 lead to reach the magic 15.5-point total first.
Keegan Bradley beat Si Woo Kim on the 18th hole in Canada to seal the deal for the team he will captain at the Ryder Cup next year at Bethpage Black in New York.
America hasn’t lost the Presidents Cup since 1998 and has only failed to win twice since the tournament was born in 1994. Captain Jim Furyk led his side to victory this time, having been a losing Ryder Cup captain in 2018.
The week wasn’t without drama and excitement though. If you’ve kept up with our key takeaways from each day below, you’ll have seen Si Woo and Tom Kim brought the energy for the Internationals, captained by former Masters champion Mike Weir.
But despite bringing the scores level to 5-5 after Friday’s play, having been whitewashed 5-0 in the first session on Thursday, Saturday was where the damage was done. Team USA won the fourball session 3-1, and the foursomes session 3-1. This gave them a four-point lead heading into the Sunday singles, a deficit only miracles can overcome (see Brookline ’99 and Medinah ’12).
Below we have the key takeaways from the final day of the 2024 Presidents Cup…
ALSO: Where to watch the Presidents Cup: A TV Guide to the action at Royal Montreal
ALSO: Presidents Cup pairings and tee times: Who is facing who at Royal Montreal?
Presidents Cup: Day four highlights
Final singles scores
Xander Schauffele vs Jason Day 4&3
Sam Burns vs Tom Kim A/S
Scottie Scheffler vs Hideki Matsuyama 1 up
Russell Henley vs Sungjae Im 3&2
Patrick Cantlay vs Taylor Pendrith 3&1
Keegan Bradley vs Si Woo Kim 1 up
Tony Finau vs Corey Conners 5&3
Wyndham Clark vs Min Woo Lee A/S
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Sahith Theegala vs Ben An A/S
Collin Morikawa vs Adam Scott 2&1
Brian Harman vs Christiaan Bezuidenhout 2&1
Max Homa vs Mackenzie Hughes 2&1
Internationals 4-5 – 7.5 USA
Total score: Internationals 11.5 – 18.5 USA
What do we do with Keegan Bradley?
Keegan Bradley. What on earth do we do with Keegan Bradley?
It was a surprise to many when he was chosen as a captain’s pick to play for Team USA in Canada, given this meant he gave up his leadership role as a vice captain, roughly 12 months before he leads Team USA in the 2025 Ryder Cup.
But Bradley won two good points for his nation at the Presidents Cup, impressively taking down the Internationals’ passion bomb in Si Woo Kim in the Sunday singles.
The former PGA Champion clinched the winning point for the US to win the cup again, further showing that the 38-year-old’s playing days haven’t slipped from their peak just yet.
What happens if Bradley, the recent winner of the BMW Championship on the PGA Tour, keeps playing well and earns an automatic spot on his own Ryder Cup team next year?
How can he delegate instructions, think about pairings, crunch numbers and juggle all of this at once while playing golf at Bethpage? We are a year away, of course, but Bradley’s performance at Royal Montreal has given more food for thought on both his and Team USA’s menu in the coming months.
Is Russell Henley a team star waiting to be born?
Russell Henley doesn’t quite have household name status in golf, and he hasn’t won on the PGA Tour in two years.
Henley was also making his professional team debut for Team USA at Royal Montreal, but played like a veteran and offered golf fans a peek into what Team USA’s rookie could yet add to the Ryder Cup side in 2025.
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He was in the top seven at the 2024 US Open and the top five at The 2024 Open, so it should be no shock that he took three points from four matches for the Stars and Stripes this week.
Captain Furyk paid him the compliment of being sent out fourth in the singles order for America, with only Schauffele, Scheffler and Sam Burns seemingly judged to be stronger options in the batting order.
Henley took down Sungjae Im 3&2 in a match where he never trailed.
Xander Schauffele sparks up again
Xander Schauffle was unsurprisingly superb for Team USA this year. Despite being thrashed 7&6 in the Friday foursomes alongside Patrick Cantlay, the reigning PGA and Open champion still won four points in the week.
He completely silenced any hope of a quick start for his opponent Jason Day in match one. The American made seven birdies, including a string of four consecutive ones, to win 4&3.
Just as he did when America won the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, Schauffele took out his cigar packet and enjoyed a few puffs.
A big win for Hideki
He has lost more matches than he’s won in his Presidents Cup career, but Hideki Matsuyama dug deep in the second match out on Sunday to beat Scottie Scheffler, the World No.1 and most dominant force in the game.
Having been 1 down for the first six holes, Matsuyama battled back with three birdies to lead 1 up after 11. Three birdies in the final five holes saw to it that the former Masters champion silenced this year’s Masters champion to, at that stage, give the Internationals some hope.
Presidents Cup: Day three highlights
Internationals 7-11 USA
Abuse towards Scottie Scheffler’s wife
Gabby Herzig of The Athletic reported that Scottie Scheffler’s wife was subjected to a “derogatory comment” by a fan who was later confirmed to have been removed by security.
Herzig also reported that Scheffler’s caddie Ted Scott went over to offer some verbals of his own…
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Tom Kim accuses US players of “cursing at us”
After a long, tumultuous day at Royal Montreal after which Team USA built a four-point lead to take to the singles, players headed to fulfil media obligations at Royal Montreal Golf Club.
Tom Kim, having just been beaten alongside Si Woo Kim by Xander Schauffele and a rallying Patrick Cantlay, said he was “cursed at” on Saturday by other players and he questioned the sportsmanship of his opponents.
“I think the start of the round was definitely a little harder, but as it got towards the end, it got a little feisty out there. I could hear some players cursing at us. That part wasn’t really – I don’t think there was good sportsmanship there. But it’s all part of the fun. I understand it.
“So the U.S. Team definitely motivated us to go out there.”
Cantlay turned up again for Team USA
Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele might’ve been handed a dog license in the Friday foursomes, but Cantlay, who was arguably America’s best player at the 2023 Ryder Cup, responded in superb fashion.
He and Sam Burns beat Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im 2&1 in the Saturday fourballs and then in the Saturday foursomes, he roared home a long winning putt on hole 18 for him and Schauffele to beat Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim.
He celebrated passionately and although he has become a player who divides opinion having become embroiled in debates surrounding remuneration to play for America and pace of play, Cantlay performs at his best in team match play.
His putt took America to an 11-7 lead heading into the Sunday singles.
Si Woo Kim had an extraordinary day
It has become apparent on several occasions that Si Woo Kim lives for this event.
In the Saturday morning fourball session when he and Tom Kim faced Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark, he walked in a winning birdie putt with his ball a few feet before it dropped into the cup. This was on hole 1 too.
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Kim went again on hole 15. This time, a couple of feet short of the hole before the ball dropped, Kim took his hat off in Tiger Woods style and celebrated before it went in. This closed out the match 4&3, continuing a fine week for the South Korean.
He wasn’t done there either. On hole 16 of the Kims’ Saturday foursome match against Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, Kim pitched in from below the green, in thick rough from a tough lie, causing raucous scenes in Canada.
Kim ran around the green doing the ‘night-night’ celebration reminiscent of American basketball icon Steph Curry. This took the match to all square, but Cantlay holed a beauty of a putt on 18 to win the match and silence the Internationals thereafter.
The same International side in the morning played in the afternoon
The Internationals headed into day three level on 5-5 with Team USA. They were beaten 3-1 in the Saturday fourball session, with the electric Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim fist-pumping their way to a 4&3 win over Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark.
With the score at 8-6 now, captain Mike Weir chose to play the same eight players from the morning session in the afternoon session. So Adam Scott, Taylor Pendrith, Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes, Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im, and the Kims all went again in the afternoon foursomes – another session they lost 3-1 to trail 11-7 into the Sunday singles.
This meant that Jason Day was left out for a full day, and Min Woo Lee only made one appearance (the Thursday fourballs) in the week leading up to the Sunday singles where every player plays.
Fog delayed proceedings
The Saturday morning fourball session was delayed by fog, which speaks to why the very last match of the afternoon foursomes finished in the dark.
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At around 7.30 am local time at Royal Montreal, it was announced that play was temporarily suspended and firstly, players were initially held in place before they were brought in. Play got back underway at 9 am which constituted a lengthy delay to proceedings at the Presidents Cup.
Presidents Cup: Day two highlights
Internationals 5-5 USA
Internationals whitewash America in remarkable comeback
‘You couldn’t write it’ is the most overused phrase in sport, but you really couldn’t write this.
Having been thrashed 5-0 in the Thursday fourball session, the Internationals have drawn level with Team USA after day two by winning every foursomes match.
It is the first time in a Presidents Cup, a Solheim Cup or a Ryder Cup that there has been back-to-back sweeps. Take a look below at how it went down at Royal Montreal Golf Club:
Hideki Matsuyama & Sungjae Im beat Patrick Cantlay & Xander Schauffele 7&6
Adam Scott & Taylor Pendrith beat Sahith Theegala & Adam Scott 5&4
Christiaan Bezuidenhout & Jason Day beat Max Homa & Brian Harman 1 up
Corey Conners & Mackenzie Hughes beat Wyndham Clark & Tony Finau 6&5
Si Woo Kim & Ben An beat Scottie Scheffler & Russell Henley 1 up
The Canadian crowd turned out on Friday
While the Internationals clearly outscored, out-putted and out-drove the Americans at Royal Montreal Golf Club, the crowd in Canada seemed far more game and raucous in session two.
Here is what Tom Kim said about the crowds after day one when the Internationals were beaten 5-0. Perhaps they took note…
“Absolutely, especially on our home soil. Definitely, when the crowds are with us, it definitely helps when you can kind of get loud.
“Like Taylor said, I think it was a little too quiet today being on home soil. I don’t think the fans were really — I wish they would have helped us out a bit more, especially being in Canada. I know how much they love golf.
“I’m definitely expecting more crowds to be louder and for them to be on our side.”
Adam Scott becomes a record-breaker
By winning his 22nd point at the Presidents Cup, beating Sahith Theegala and Collin Morikawa 5&4 alongside Taylor Pendrith, Adam Scott became the record points scorer in the history of the International team at the event.
Scott made his debut for the Internationals in 2003 and is trying to win the Presidents Cup for the first time at his 11th attempt.
Schauffele and Cantlay destroyed in opening foursomes match
A wave of gold came over the scoreboard in Montreal on Friday. The Internationals bounced back from an embarrassing start to inflict embarrassment on Team USA’s opening pairing in the day two foursomes.
Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im destroyed Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay 7&6. The pair dressed in black won the first hole and didn’t look back. They made seven consecutive birdies from holes 6 to 12 which is quite remarkable in the foursomes format.
This kickstarted a surge that saw the Internationals earn the first three points of the afternoon on the second day at Royal Montreal Golf Club.
Presidents Cup: Day one highlights
Internationals 0-5 USA
USA whitewash the Internationals in a disastrous start for the home team
The Presidents Cup has begun in a catastrophic but perhaps predictable fashion for the International team, who were beaten 5-0 across five matches on day one.
Xander Schauffele and Tony Finau edged Jason Day and Ben An on hole 18, while Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley took care of Tom Kim and Sungjae Im 3&2.
On his debut for Team USA, the popular Sahith Theegala secured another point for the away side in Montreal on 18, playing alongside Collin Morikawa against fellow debutant Min Woo Lee and event veteran Adam Scott.
Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay beat Hideki Matsuyama and Corey Conners 2&1 to make it 4-0, and a charged-up Keegan Bradley holed the winning putt on 18 to end the whitewash, playing with Wyndham Clark against Christiaan Bezuidenhout ad Keegan Bradley.
Session two begins on Friday with foursomes, but the result feels inevitable long before the business end of the tournament has arrived.
Schauffele and Finau were superb
Despite a rare short-putt mishap on hole 16, Xander Schauffele took his double-major winning form from 2024 to Montreal and this was complimented by his partner Tony Finau.
Between them, the pair made nine birdies in the 17 holes they finished on. It was a surprise to see captain Furyk split Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, but Team USA weren’t found wanting in any context in the opening session.
To the credit of Jason Day and Ben An, they took the opening match to the 18th hole but were beaten 1 up. You might expect to see more of this Schauffele and Finau pair as the week goes on.
Vice-captain live tweeting from the event
Kevin Kisner has always been a character. He has been a revelation in the commentary booth as his career slowly evolves from a player into a broadcaster.
But the fun American did play in the Presidents Cup two years ago and is a vice-captain to Jim Furyk this time around. Towards the end of the first session when the Americans began to take control, he got his phone out and began tweeting, firstly about Russell Henley who was Scottie Scheffler’s partner for the day.
Rain falls on Montreal parade
Although heavy overnight rain didn’t delay the first session of the 2024 Presidents Cup, the weather did alter the playing conditions a touch.
Preferred lies were in play after the Royal Montreal Golf Club took three-quarters of an inch of rain in the previous 24 hours before Thursday. Players could lift, clean and place their ball in closely mown areas.
Kim and Scheffler back and forth
It’s fairly well documented that Scottie Scheffler and Tom Kim are good friends, but this didn’t stop a little back and forth between them on the 7th hole on Thursday.
Kim holed a super birdie putt to put the Internationals in good shape to win the hole, sparking large celebrations from the young Korean. But Scheffler came back with a birdie of his own and cried back at his pal, but in a competitive and aggressive style.
On the 8th green, Kim holed another good birdie putt which left Scheffler with a birdie putt of his own to halve the hole. But instead of watching on and facing the music, Kim and his teammate Sungjae Im walked to the next tee box and didn’t wait for their opponents to finish the hole.
Scheffler missed the putt while playing alongside Russell Henley, adding to the intrigue and needle of the match.
Sungjae gets in the mood
Play got underway at 4.35 pm in the UK with the first fourball match, but before the event, fans enjoyed this clip of Sungjae Im dancing on the first tee at Royal Montreal.
The Internationals were certainly in good spirits in practice as they looked for success on home turf this week.
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