Five American players go into the singles at the Presidents Cup with a chance to end the event with four points under their belt, with Jim Furyk’s men in a commanding position at Royal Montreal.
It is probably fair to say that the Americans are on the verge of retaining the Presidents Cup as they won both of Saturday’s sessions 3-1 to move to 11-7 up heading into Sunday in Canada.
Of course, the highlight on Saturday evening came when Patrick Cantlay holed that superb putt on the last as he and Xander Schauffele beat Si-woo Kim and Tom Kim. Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler made two crucial birdies at the end of the day’s fourball session to deliver such an important point. Scheffler has not had his best stuff at the Presidents Cup, but has still managed to contribute in a big way.
Another key point for the visitors yesterday came when Collin Morikawa and Sam Burns beat the Canadian team of Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes – who had played unbelievably well on Friday.
‘Unbelievable’ American player lauded ahead of the singles at the Presidents Cup
The Internationals led early on, and when Hughes made an eagle to tie the match again on the 13th, it appeared that the momentum could swing in Mike Weir’s side’s favour. However, the US were able to get the job done at the last to win 1 up.
And speaking on The Smylie Show, Smylie Kaufman waxed lyrical about the one player in the field who has not been beaten this week.
“The guy that we haven’t talked about enough who’s been the MVP and undefeated so far, is Sam Burns. 3-0 in this Presidents Cup, he looked unbelievable out there today,” he said.
“The combination of him and Collin Morikawa, it’s the best combo I’ve seen as a pairing that’s just like, ‘woah, this makes sense’. Because when Sam drives it good, and Collin’s ironing, Sam’s putting is lightyears better than many of the other players. I really hope to see that team of those two again.”
Some inspired decisions from the captain
Credit has to go to Jim Furyk. While Burns was never a contentious pick, the USA captain did attract some criticism for simply picking the next six names in the qualification standings ahead of Royal Montreal. With that, some would have expected some bland choices when it came to pairings.
Of course, Burns is great friends with Scheffler, and they have played together on a number of occasions – without much success. So it seemed to be a safe bet to assume that they would be paired this week. But Furyk has not done that once.
Instead, he appears to have found something – which Keegan Bradley can perhaps take forward – in pairing Burns with Cantlay and Morikawa.
And if Tom Kim cannot find a way to stop Burns on Sunday, then there should be no question that the 28-year-old has been the star of the show for the American side.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
