Team USA collects four points in the first five matches of the Presidents Cup 2022.
Team USA collects four points in the first five matches of the Presidents Cup 2022.
After the first day, Team USA leads 4-1 and needs 11 more points to retain the cup.
The plan was for two of the most dependable American teams to set the tone for Thursday's Presidents Cup match, and the outcome was obvious.
In the first match, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay dispatched Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama. They didn't make a bogey in a 6-and-5 victory, boosting their Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup foursomes record to 5-0.
Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, closest friends since they were 14, made big strokes to make up for their errors and won 2 and 1 over Sungjae Im and Corey Conners.
Another strong American team from top to bottom performed admirably on a sweltering day at Quail Hollow, taking a 4-1 lead after the first session.
On September 22, 2022, Justin Thomas of the United States Team reacts on the 15th green during the Thursday foursome matches on day one of the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Country Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
"I told the players last night that we needed to set the tone - our match with J.T. and Jordan — and we did," Schauffele said. "On a day like today, playing this format and not making any bogeys is precisely what we need."
Players departing the PGA Tour for Saudi-funded LIV Golf, notably Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann, harmed the International squad even harder than the Americans.
Si Woo Kim and Cameron Davis were the only ones who saved the International side from being shut out. They were 2 down with four holes to play against Masters winner Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns when they capitalized on American errors and won 2-up.
Taylor Pendrith and Mito Pereira, two of the International team's eight rookies, came close to adding another point. When Pereira struck a wayward tee shot on the tricky par-4 final hole, Pendrith could barely handle the right bunker and they made bogey. Tony Finau and Max Homa won 1-up and earned a point.
"We did what we had to do," Finau explained.
The United States Team's Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth, Sam Burns, Scottie Scheffler, Assistant Captain Fred Couples, Cameron Young, and Justin Thomas watch as Max Homa and Tony Finau play the 18th green during the Thursday foursome matches on day one of the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Country Club on September 22, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Collin Morikawa and Cameron Young, the PGA Tour rookie of the year, soaked in the atmosphere in front of a packed audience at Quail Hollow and delivered his own victory moment.
They were all square with six holes to play in a close match against 20-year-old Tom Kim and K.H. Lee. The previous three matches may have gone either way at the moment. It was just one point, despite how simple Cantlay and Schauffele made it appear in the first match.
The Americans reclaimed the lead on the downwind 14th hole when Morikawa smashed a wedge into 2 feet for eagle. Young sunk a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th to end the match with a one-shot advantage.
"That moment is pretty much all I can ask for," Young added. "Obviously, it's the first day, but every point counts. And it's a sensation I've been craving for a long time."
Cantlay and Schauffele met for the first time on the lengthy journey to Australia for the Presidents Cup in 2019, their first team matches. They've become close friends off the course and a formidable tandem inside the ropes.
They had plenty of support from Scott and Matsuyama, the International team's two most experienced players, who both missed putts that could have won or halved holes along the road. Matsuyama missed from 4 feet on the third hole, giving the Americans the lead.
(L-R) Xander Schauffele of the US Team and Patrick Cantlay of the US Team fist bump on the fifth green during the Thursday foursome matches on day one of the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Country Club in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 22, 2022. (Warren Little/Getty Images)
They won three straight holes to the par-5 seventh to take a 4-up lead, and they finished with three pars.
Thomas, the 2017 PGA Championship winner at Quail Hollow, had a crazy day. On the par-3 fourth, he chunked a 9-iron so horribly that it came up 40 yards short of the green. On the par-5 16th, he shank from the bunker. He and Spieth did not lose a hole.
When Spieth's drive landed on the left side of a creek on the 15th hole — traditionally the 18th at Quail Hollow for stroke-play tournaments — Thomas did well to get to the back of the green, and Spieth ran his downhill putt some 25 feet by the pin, the match was over.
Corey Conners and Sungjae Im were 7 feet away from winning the hole and tying the match. Conners missed the par putt, and the Americans were 2 up and heading for another point.
"You win when you pick up your buddy," Spieth explained. "That transition on the 15th was fantastic. Instead of moving to even, we leave that green 2 up. It made all the difference in the game."
Five fourball matches followed on Friday, with each point bringing the Americans closer to a ninth straight triumph in these one-sided encounters. Since the Presidents Cup began in 1994, they have never lost on home grounds.
On September 22, 2022, in Charlotte, North Carolina, during the Thursday foursome matches of the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Country Club, Jordan Spieth of the United States Team lines up his putt on the tenth hole. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
.jpg)
