Woods makes history and inspires USA to Presidents Cup victory
Presidents Cup report: What happened on day one?
The Presidents Cup got off to the perfect start for Ernie Els and his International team as they stormed to an unlikely 4-1 lead after the opening session at Royal Melbourne.
It’s the first time since 2005 the International side have led the event after any session – they last led after the second session in that year.
Heading into the event Team USA looked to be much the stronger side but it didn’t pan out like that on the first day fourballs.
The big story prior to a ball being hit was that American player captain Tiger Woods had selected himself to play in the first match alongside Justin Thomas, and he turned out to be the only player on his team that really got going.
Tiger Woods/Justin Thomas beat Marc Leishman/Joaquin Niemann – 4&3
The American pair immediately took the initiative in their match, going 2-up through two and, from there, they were never to be caught – winning handsomely 4&3.
Woods continued his strong start by carding birdies at the 14th and 15th holes, which sealed the first and only point of the day for the visitors.
The tee shot. 🎯
The putt. 🕳️
The fist pump. 👊@TigerWoods' fifth individual birdie of the day has his pair 3 UP with 4 holes to go. pic.twitter.com/iMsnmKgoay— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 12, 2019
But behind that a very different picture was developing as the young Internationals found their feet.
Louis Oosthuizen/Abraham Ancer beat Dustin Johnson/Gary Woodland – 4&3
In the final match to get under way, veteran Louis Oosthuizen partnered Abraham Ancer in his first appearance to an emphatic victory.
They got off to a lighting start and found themselves 4-up through five holes over Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland. Johnson was playing his first professional round since undergoing knee surgery and it looked to have showed.
After a near hole-out from @Abraham_Ancer, @Louis57TM sinks his putt from deep.
Make it 4 UP through 5 now for the pair. pic.twitter.com/vVeDXOAtfu
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 12, 2019
The only hole won by the US duo was the 8th and their fate was sealed when the teams halved the 15th, much to delight of the home crowd.
Adam Scott/Byeong Hun An beat Bryson DeChambeau/Tony Finau – 2&1
The leaderboard in this third match was awash with the International colours. Scott birdied the 3rd to go 1-up but the Americans hit back at the 5th, only to immediately fall behind again at the next thanks to a birdie from An.
An and Scott went 2-up after 9 and had their lead briefly halved at the 12th before a birdie from Scott at 13 put the pair in position for victory. They secured the point at the 17th.
Keeping it going.@AdamScott sinks his putt and keeps the 2 UP lead for his pair heading to the 15 hole. pic.twitter.com/yaXBBTEzng
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 12, 2019
Sungjae Im/Adam Hadwin beat Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele – 1-up
Adam Hadwin headed out alongside PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Sungjae Im and the 21-year-old, who led the tour in birdies and eagles last season, found that form immediately.
The South Korean hit the perfect tee shot and chipped in for an eagle two at the short opener to give the pair an immediate advantage over Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.
Sungjae Im led the TOUR in eagles last season (18).
He's got the home crowd going with one early on @PresidentsCup. pic.twitter.com/gm2CYWTlTp
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 11, 2019
They held that until the 6th, where they lost the first of two consecutive holes but won the 9th to make the turn all square. It would stay like that until the 16th, when the home pair took a slender lead again and closed it out.
Hideki Matsuyama/CT Pan beat Patrick Reed/Webb Simpson – 1-up
There were a few hecklers keen to jump on Patrick Reed’s rules mishap and the home crowd let him know about it when his opening tee shot found a bunker.
The American didn’t let that get to him and remained largely emotionless for the majority of the round, apart from when he holed an important birdie putt at the 16th to level the match.
The perfect time for a clutch birdie. @PReedGolf comes up big for the #USTeam on 16 to tie the match with two holes to play. pic.twitter.com/qDJ6HzNhlw
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 12, 2019
But Simpson and Reed spent virtually the entire match behind and, no sooner had they rectified that at the 16th, they trailed again at 17. The last was halved and capped a desperately disappointing first day for the visitors.
Scoreboard: Internationals 4 – 1 USA
Joe Hughes
Tour editor covering men's golf, women's golf and anything else that involves the word golf, really. The talk is far better than the game, but the work has begun to change that.
