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International team overwhelms USA and draws level in Presidents Cup


International team overwhelms USA and draws level in Presidents Cup

The international team made a remarkable comeback by dominating the foursomes on Friday and drawing a 5-5 draw against the United States at the Presidents Cup in Montreal.

Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im led the match by firing off seven straight birdies and were eight under after 12 holes, giving them their biggest win ever in the competition by defeating Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele 7&6.

That gave Mike Weir's side the foundation to reverse the Fourball scoreline in stunning fashion on Thursday.

It was the first time since 2003 that the USA failed to score a single point in a session – they failed to triumph in the event last year.

Australia's Adam Scott and Canada's Taylor Pendrith picked up a second point for Weir's side, securing a 5&4 win over Sahith Theegala and Collin Morikawa.

Scott now has 22 Presidents Cup points, an international team record. He is taking part in the competition for the 11th consecutive year, but has never played on a winning team in a tournament that has been dominated by the Americans since its inception in 1994.

Corey Conners almost sank his tee shot on the 13th as he and home favorite Mackenzie Hughes secured a 6&5 win over Wyndham Clark and Tony Finau.

And Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Jason Day were able to beat Max Homa and Brian Harman in the first game of the day and ended up on the 18th hole.

Si Woo Kim's 15-foot par putt on the 18th ensured he and partner Byeong-Hun An defeated world number one Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley.

“I saw the first four groups winning points and I knew I needed the point,” Kim said. “We’re in the game.”

As of Friday, there had also been no sweeps in consecutive sessions at either the Presidents or the Ryder Cup.

“Every great comeback story starts with a deficit,” said Internationals captain Weir.

“That was the message and the boys were very motivated.

“We responded incredibly. I believed in the boys. We just wanted to get back into it and 5-0 was a bonus. The boys played unbelievably.”

There are 20 points available on Saturday and Sunday, with a total of 15½ points required for overall victory.

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