USA retains Presidents Cup

So it is easy to see why they might not get motivated for a “meaningless” exhibition in which there is no prize money awarded, their offseason schedules interrupted by more worldwide travel.

It could not have come at a worse time with the Presidents Cup still in the balance but, like everything that has happened to Spieth this year, it all worked out in the end and he finished a victor. At one point, Team U.S. was leading in seven matches, which was more than enough to secure the victory.

Bill Haas beat Bae Sang-moon of South Korea 2-up in the decisive singles match to clinch the win, with the U.S. prevailing 15 1/2 to 14 1/2 against the Internationals.

The United States won the “Ryder Cup of Asia” with a close finish on the 18th hold of the last singles match in one of the most exciting golf tournaments of the year.

A loss by Haas, the son of USA captain Jay Haas, would have resulted in the two teams sharing The Presidents Cup.

It was a heartbreaking scene, as Bae fell to his knees and covered his head, the groans of his countrymen in his ears.

Bae, who will start his compulsory two-year military service soon, sank to his haunches and put his head in his hands after he fluffed his final approach shot.

He’d teamed up with countryman Louis Oosthuizen to win all four matches the previous three days – a foursome match on Thursday, a four-ball match on Friday and a foursome and a four-ball match on Saturday.

On the opposite side of the emotional spectrum was Haas, who may be the least emotional player on the team.

Speaking about his player generally this week, and not specifically about a potential showdown at the Australian Open – as his presence is still unconfirmed – McDade gave an insight into the 31-year-old that doesn’t always show up on TV screens.

Phil Mickelson and Patrick Reed enjoyed that ending. They ended up halving their match with Jason Day and Adam Scott, a half point that proved to be quite significant.

He said Bubba Watson was among the first to approach him to share how Watson also had missed that putt. Both teams were awarded half a point.

He popped up his 3-wood, punched back into the fairway, hit a wedge shot that spun off to the collar of the green and missed his par putt.

The Presidents Cup was tied, and with the status of other matches on the course, a point from Lahiri looked as though it would be the victor for the worldwide team.

In Sunday’s singles at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon, west of Seoul, the 27-year-old defeated Matt Kuchar 2 & 1 to complete a ideal 5-0-0 week. He went 3-0-1 and made shot after shot like this one.

Although Mickelson had played in the 10 previous editions of the Presidents Cup, he did not earn automatic selection this time and only got in after Jay Haas chose him as one of his captain’s picks. He was magical with short irons in his hands with three hole-outs from around the green and another from a fairway bunker.

That kind of emotion, tenseness, and pressure are what make these team competitions the best in golf and the fact that we had them here at the final hole on Sunday means there’s hope for the Presidents Cup yet.

Leishman fought back, however, and Spieth was unable to get the magic going, and Leishman was able to pull off the upset by halving the 18th hole. I’m just proud of all of them. Only a drop in the number of matches from 34 to 30 was accepted by a stubborn Finchem.