United States clings to 1-point lead in Presidents Cup

As the ball rolled back down the slope, Bae sank to his knees and covered his eyes as caddie Matt Minister consoled him.

But he hasn’t lost any of the fire that he displayed throughout a PGA Tour Player of the Year season that ended with him atop the world rankings.

Dustin Johnson, United States, def. Danny Lee, International, 2 and 1. That was particularly true in the morning, when he and Johnson fell three holes behind Jason Day and Charl Schwartzel through nine holes. The worldwide team was happy to be back in the match.

According to Missy Jones, a USGA official, the general idea behind not having a one-ball condition in foursomes is that there is a likelihood the two players might normally play different balls and they want to protect the players from the possibility of an inadvertent penalty for breaching the one-ball rule.

Hideki Matsuyama, International, def. J.B. Holmes, United States, 1 up. Let’s take a look at how all 12 matches played out.

Many of those victories were achieved far too easily as the Internationals struggled to match the Americans’ strength in depth. – Watson / Holmes vs. Scott / Leishman – Halved 7:27 p.m. ET Friday.

While the US started the day with only a 1-point lead, failing to win the Cup would have been another major gag for this American team. Oosthuizen hit his second shot on the par 5 into the water.

For the Internationals, Steven Bowditch hung on to beat Jimmy Walker 2-up, tying the score at 12 1/2 apiece. When Haas splashed out close, Bae conceded the hole.

Phil Mickelson can back it up.

The information was cheered to the rafters by the massive band of travelling Aussie spectators referred to as “The Fanatics”, who’ve lit up the primary Presidents Cup held in Asia this week with their hilarious singing, vibrant costumes and pleasant banter.

“Had he been able to play out and make a four and tie the hole, then it would only have been one down instead of two down”. He’d conclude the competition with a 3-0-1 slate that included today’s dominating performance.

That statement hardly does justice to what was an outstanding week where the Presidents Cup was elevated to a new standing in the game and any suggestion that the event has developed into a one horse race has been largely put to bed.

The last three morning matches all went to the 18th hole. And on the par-5 18th, they matched tee shots and second shots short of the green. Bae made a great escape to about a foot of the cup and had his par.

Marc Leishman, International, def. Jordan Spieth, United States, 1 up.

Schwartzel opened with a birdie and the next five holes were halved until Spieth took over. 4 and 9 to square the match. He was in the fairway just over 290 yards from the hole, which he could have reached with a good shot. He poured it in the middle of the cup. Lefty tried to gird Johnson for a tough day.

“I don’t think it could have got a whole lot more exciting than that”, global captain Nick Price. Kirk hit an terrible chip on the final hole but made the long comeback for birdie. From there, it was a matter of time.

Bae Sang-moon delivered the biggest moment of his career.

There also were two key half-points. Day would run out of steam however and when he bogeyed the 16th the match was over 3&2. Haas never trailed and regained a 1-up lead with a birdie on the 14th hole.

Should the match go right to the wire, then it will be down to South Korea’s Bae Sang-Moon in the anchor match against the American captain’s son, Bill Haas, in front of a frenzied crowd in Incheon.