When Si-woo Kim holed his putt on the 18th on Friday evening, it appeared that the Internationals had put themselves in an amazing position to win the Presidents Cup for only the second time, with all of the momentum with Mike Weir’s side.
However, Weir perhaps struggled with the decision over whether to stick or twist, and the US took back the momentum in emphatic fashion on Saturday, winning 3-1 in both sessions to leave themselves just four points away from retaining the trophy.
Five of the American players actually go into the Sunday singles with a chance of winning their fourth point of the week. And it will not surprise any golf fans that both Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele are amongst those looking to reach that mark.
Scheffler has not had his best stuff this week, but he has also come up with some big shots in some crucial moments. Meanwhile, Schauffele has been talismanic – apart from the heavy defeat he and Patrick Cantlay suffered on Friday against Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im.
American star has outshone Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler at the Presidents Cup
But it seems to have been another member of the team who has been even more impressive, with Rex Hoggard telling the Golf Channel Podcast that neither of the two best players in the world have actually been the standout for him at the Presidents Cup.
“Look, Scottie Scheffler is the heart and soul of the team and he’s the first one you have to point out, he was going to be a horse. And he delivered this time. And you say that like, ‘of course he would’, he’s the world number one, he’s done incredible things this season. He hasn’t particularly played well in these matches, either the Ryder Cup or the Presidents Cup, so this is a bit of a breakthrough for him, as far as performance, as far as leading on the golf course,” he said.
“I think Xander Schauffele, and we talked about this earlier in the week, he has become the leader of this team. And he played like it today, that was a very close match that could’ve swung it either way. Jim Furyk brought up a really good point that as Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffle are finishing up their match against the Kims, as they’re coming up 18, Jim’s trying to figure out Sunday lineups, thinking we could have a two-stroke lead, a three-stroke lead or a four-stroke lead. That was the margin at this point. So you’re right, it was exceedingly close, I love what Xander has done.
“But Collin Morikawa has probably been the best performer though, I don’t know if the statistics hold up to that. But I have seen him hit shot after shot after shot under pressure when he has to hit it. You have to be impressed with the way he’s played.”
An outstanding career record
Morikawa was pivotal in delivering a point on Thursday, with the two-time major champion making all four of the birdies between himself and Sahith Theegala as they won 1 up.
Meanwhile, his two birdies on Saturday morning kept the US in contention before Scheffler came to the fore in the final two holes of their match. And it cannot have been easy for him and Sam Burns to hold off the Canadian pair of Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes later in the day, particularly after shots like the one Hughes hit on 13.
Morikawa has never been part of a consistent pairing in the early stages of his Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup career, but has still managed to take 9.5 points from 15 matches.
It would not be a surprise if he made it into double figures on Sunday.
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