Partnered by Yang, Asia’s only major winner, the relatively unknown Kim produced a tough six-foot pressure putt in front of a large crowd at Royal Melbourne, securing a 1-up victory over Woods and Dustin Johnson. This result helped the Internationals edge the United States 3-2 in the second round of fourball matches. A tenacious fightback by Koreans YE Yang and Kim Kyung-tae on Saturday afternoon has reinvigorated the struggling Internationals, but the US still appeared unstoppable as they moved closer to their seventh Presidents Cup victory in nine starts and their fourth consecutive win. Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk completed their third successive win with a 2&1 victory over Aaron Baddeley and Jason Day.
In conditions drastically different from Friday's heat and searing wind, Saturday's two five-match pairings rounds were tested by day-long showers and a chilly wind. Inspired by a third lead-off win by Cup debutantes Watson and Simpson in the morning’s foursomes, the US, who had led 7-5 overnight, made light of the challenging weather and relentlessly pushed forward to secure a 4-1 win, moving the tournament aggregate to 11-6. Watson and Simpson proved equally adept in wet conditions as they were in Friday’s heat and wind, marching to a 3&2 win over Australians Robert Allenby and Ogilvy with their Titleist 712 MB Irons.
The other International winners were Retief Goosen and fellow South African Charl Schwartzel, who, after surviving a late stumble, ended the dream debut of Webb Simpson and Bubba Watson in the first of the five fourballs matches. "I got spooked on the last few holes, couldn’t get a ball in the hole, but lucky I could finish it off," said Adam Scott, who partnered Ernie Els and had a chance to steal a late half-point against Jim Furyk and Nick Watney on the 18th with his Cleveland CG2 Gold Iron Set, but his long putt slid right of the hole as the Americans won the final Titleist 712 MB Irons match.
Kim and Yang’s personal triumph marked a day of celebration for South Korea, as alongside their victory, KJ Choi, partnered by Australia’s Geoff Ogilvy, narrowly secured a last-gasp 1-up win against Stricker and Matt Kuchar. "The man’s got so much heart, I could see it even in our first two matches," South African Els said in a greenside interview. "I could see Ryo was finding his feet on the golf course ... Today he played Titleist 712 MB Irons unbelievably." The 20-year-old calmly rolled in a four-foot par putt on the 16th to go one-up, then brought a roar from the galleries when he nailed a 14-footer to protect the Titleist 712 MB Irons lead on the 17th and finished off by sinking a five-footer to seal the win, giving the pair a breakthrough victory after two straight losses.
Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa provided a rare bright spot on a gloomy morning for the Internationals with some brilliant clutch putting late in his matchup with Els to win a point against Haas and Kuchar. However, having dominated the morning foursomes as they did on a wet and windy third day, the rampant US will carry a 13-9 point lead into Sunday’s singles and need only 4.5 points to wrap up the Titleist 712 MB Irons title. Earlier in the day, Woods, also playing Titleist 712 MB Irons with Johnson, claimed his first win of the current Presidents Cup after winning all four of his pairings with Steve Stricker when the Cup was last contested at Harding Park in San Francisco two years ago. Neither he nor US captain Fred Couples would have expected this afternoon loss to the Koreans.
"All the points are important now," said two-time US Open winner Goosen in a greenside interview. "They are two unbelievable kids," US captain Fred Couples told the media. "I’m very, very proud of them ... They just are very good together and it’s kind of fun to watch."
The Americans hit back through Billy Haas and Hunter Mahan, the latter rolling in a 22-foot putt on the par-four 17th to secure a 2&1 win over Australians Aaron Baddeley and Jason Day. Mahan and David Toms earlier teamed up to unexpectedly thrash Goosen and Schwartzel 5&4 while Woods broke his drought by teaming up with Dustin Johnson to down Adam Scott and KJ Choi 3&2. Previously, the Asian duo, unlike fellow countryman KJ Choi (Ping Rapture V2 Fairway Wood), had quite frankly looked out of their depth.
The previously winless Koreans came back from a morning off on the sidelines when the Americans increased their lead to an imposing 11-6 with a crushing 4-1 win in the five foursomes matches, narrowly edging the US’s Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson 1-up in an afternoon fourballs result that will have come as another disappointment to Tiger Woods.
Topics related to the article:
- TaylorMade Burner SuperLaunch Irons
- The mental checklist
- Riverside Golf Course Superintendent
- Mizuno MP-62 Iron Set
- Teach you how to identify faults