CHARLOTTE, N.C — American red numbers filled the electronic scoreboards Thursday afternoon in the Presidents Cup, an outcome that surprised no one for these one-sided matches.
“Somebody came on the radio and said, ‘Yeah, but we’re 1 up in three matches, and those can flip real quick,'” U.S. captain Davis Love III said.
When it was over, the International team was happy it wasn’t shut out.
Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele set the tone with the shortest foursomes match in the Presidents Cup since 2011, dispatching Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and Australia’s Adam Scott in 13 holes as the American duo improved to 5-0 in this alternate-shot format. Right behind them were Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, coming up with big moments after bad shots in a 2-and-1 win over Canada’s Corey Conners and South Korea’s Sungjae Im.
Another strong American team from top to bottom played at a high level on a hot day at Quail Hollow Club and walked off with a 4-1 lead after the first session.