Critics of the Presidents Cup will probably feel that they have been proven right after USA claimed a relatively comfortable win over Mike Weir’s Internationals at Royal Montreal.
It was certainly a mixed event for the Internationals as they looked for only their second Presidents Cup win. There were extremely high hopes when they won the second session 5-0 after losing the first by the same scoreline.
But Saturday will, for many, be looked back upon as the crucial day. Perhaps Mike Weir did not know whether to stick or twist after their task had appeared so simple on Friday. He opted for the same pairings in both sessions, and the US ultimately won both set of matches 3-1 to take an 11-7 lead into the singles.
Brad Faxon was dismayed by Weir naming the same pairings for two sessions running. That also meant that the likes of Jason Day, Min Woo Lee, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Byeong Hun An played no part in Saturday’s games.
Mike Weir criticised for not using Internationals star more at the Presidents Cup
By the time the singles came around, the likes of Sungjae Im and Mackenzie Hughes appeared to have little left in the tank, while Day probably felt that he was in no position to take on Xander Schauffele.
Lee showed his potential by earning half a point from his match with Wyndham Clark. The Australian had sat out Friday also, after he and Adam Scott were beaten 1 up by Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala.
And speaking on The Smylie Show, Smylie Kaufman suggested that he was baffled to see the 26-year-old play so little over the week.
“Min Woo Lee only played two matches, I think that was a big miss, not getting Min Woo Lee out there playing with Jason Day,” he said.
“I felt like that was a no-brainer decision to put those two guys together, especially as I watched Min Woo Lee play on Thursday, I didn’t think he played that poorly. So I don’t know what Mike Weir saw that I didn’t, I know Mike wasn’t really out there, he had another captain walking with that group. I personally just don’t understand how you’re not playing Min Woo Lee more than just two sessions.”
Saturday’s gamble backfired in a big way
What was particularly strange about the decision to leave Lee out after Thursday was indeed the fact that he did not have a poor session. He made one birdie during that opening round, but on another day, he could have had a few more as he seemed to be grazing the edges of the holes on numerous occasions.
And he was not the only player to find themselves using a cold putter on Thursday. Had he been involved on Friday when everything seemed to be going in for the Internationals, it is hard to believe that he would not have been contributing also.
Certainly, not using him again in Saturday’s fourball session seemed like a real error from Weir. He used a couple of the players who were arguably better off in the alternate shot format, and then left himself in a tough position when the US won the session.
Unfortunately, it was players with the talent of Lee and An who suffered.
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