Stewart Cink aces 16th hole at the Masters

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The U.S. Team has won the 14th Presidents Cup, defeating the International Team by a 17.5-12.5 margin at Quail Hollow Club. PRESIDENTS CUP: Scoring The U.S. improves to 12-1-1 all-time in the biennial competition, remaining undefeated on American soil at 8-0-0. The U.S. Team entered Sunday Singles with an 11-7 advantage over the International Team, and the United States weathered an early opposing surge with consistent play across the lineup. Here’s a match-by-match breakdown of Sunday’s 12 Singles matches at Quail Hollow Club. SUNDAY SINGLES MATCH 19 Si Woo Kim (Intl.) def. Justin Thomas (U.S.), 1-up This first match got tense on the back nine, with the normally stoic Kim showing some fire as he won the 14th (par) and 16th (birdie) holes and “shushed” the partisan crowd with a nice par putt at 15. Thomas, who led most of the match, hit his approach close for birdie at 17 to tie; both players had good birdie looks at 18. Kim putted first and made from 10 feet. Thomas, just inside, missed his putt left. Thomas had a strong week (4-1-0) but fell to 0-3 in Presidents Cup Singles. QUOTES: “I’ve never (felt) like pressure, even when I won THE PLAYERS Championship. It was a really hard match. … My goal was playing 18 holes. I kept the pressure on him.” – Si Woo Kim Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 12, International Team 8 Player records this week: Thomas (4-1-0), Si Woo Kim (3-1-0) MATCH 20 Jordan Spieth (U.S.) def. Cameron Davis (Intl.), 4 and 3 Spieth, the most seasoned U.S. player, came into Sunday having never won in Presidents Cup/Ryder Cup Singles play, holding a record of 0-6-1. He lost his first two holes, but he got going with the putter, birdied Nos. 4 and 5 and was tied after nine. Spieth would run away by winning six of the last seven holes. Not only did he get his Singles victory, but Spieth became only the sixth player in Presidents Cup history to finish 5-0-0. QUOTES: “I had a great back nine … I rattled off three straight birdies (starting at 11) and then just kept trying to hit greens. It feels really good. I was more nervous than I probably should have been today, just because I wanted to get that monkey off my back.” – Jordan Spieth Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 12, International Team 7 Player records this week: Spieth (5-0-0), Davis (2-3-0). MATCH 21 Sam Burns (U.S.) tied Hideki Matsuyama (Intl.) Another close match near the top of the lineup, with Burns, a rookie on the U.S. Team, and Matsuyama, an International Team veteran, heading to the 18th hole tied. Matsuyama hit a drive down the left side that struck a marshal and caromed left into the rough, a terrible break. From 182 yards, he hit his approach just over the green. Burns piped a drive, and hit his approach to 24 feet. Matsuyama’s long curling chip hit the flagstick and stayed out. Burns, playing the 18th hole for the fourth time, watched his birdie putt to win drift off right. Burns played much better on the week than his record would show. QUOTES: “He just blew the lid off this place.” NBC’s Paul Azinger after Burns made birdie from 48 feet at the 10th hole Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 13.5, International Team 8.5 Player records this week: Burns (0-3-2), Matsuyama (1-3-1) MATCH 22 Patrick Cantlay (U.S.) def. Adam Scott (Intl.), 3 and 2 Cantlay came out a determined man after he and partner Xander Schauffele lost their afternoon Four-ball match on Saturday. He birdied the second, third and won the fourth with a par when Scott putted off the green. There was some beautiful golf in this match at times. Scott, the oldest man of the match at 42, stiffed his approach at the ninth with Cantlay’s ball sitting just 2 feet from the hole. Cantlay simply left Scott with few openings in a tactical victory. Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 13, International Team 8 Player records this week: Cantlay (3-1-0), Scott (2-3-0) MATCH 23 Sebastian Munoz (Intl.) def. Scottie Scheffler (U.S.) 2 and 1 Scheffler, the world No. 1, came in fired up after going winless (0-2-1) in three team matches, but he faced a formidable foe. Munoz, from Colombia, was 2-down through seven, but kept punching. He won holes 8-10, then holed a bunker shot for eagle at the short 11th. Scheffler would answer, holing a curling downhill putt from 62 feet to keep from going 2-down. Munoz had a 1-up lead when the players traded birdies at 15 and 16. A poor tee shot by Scheffler at 17 cost him, his bogey clinching the match for Munoz. QUOTES: “It was tough. I really had to focus. It’s probably one of the best things I’ve ever achieved in my life, playing this week, holding him off two times this week. I threw everything at him, and luckily we got the win.” – Sebastian Munoz Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 13.5, International Team 9.5 Player records this week: Scheffler 0-3-1, Munoz 2-0-1 MATCH 24 Tony Finau (U.S.) def. Taylor Pendrith (Intl.), 3 and 1 Finau clinched at least a half-point for the U.S. side when he birdied the 16th hole against the long-hitting Canadian rookie, then secured a full point at the par-4 17th when he made his seventh birdie of the round. Pendrith, winless on the week, led from the sixth hole through the 11th, but did not win a hole after 11. Finau won five of the final nine holes of the match. QUOTE: “I fought as hard as I think I’ve ever fought in a match. We know what’s on the line here this week, and it just adds that little intensity. I needed every bit of it. I played really nicely. I had to if I was going to beat Taylor today.” – Tony Finau Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 14.5, International Team 9.5 Player records this week: Finau (3-1-0), Pendrith (0-4-0). MATCH 25 Xander Schauffele (U.S.) def. Corey Conners (Intl.), 1-up The man who won gold at the 2020 Olympics now owns a clinching point at the Presidents Cup, too. Schauffele was struggling mightily on the back nine, tugging his tee shot into the water at the par-3 14th and then driving his ball into the left-side creek at 15, but he showed lots of fight. He hit an incredible third shot from 218 yards after his drop and saved his 4 at 15 to regain a 1-up lead. Schauffele was 1-up with two to play and cold-shanked his approach at the par-4 17th with Conners sitting on the green in two. Conners, who had a rough week, three-putted to allow Schauffele to tie the hole with bogey. A scrambling par at 18 sealed his 1-up victory and the cup for the U.S.. QUOTES: “This is a really strange feeling. Man, we were struggling out there, and I’m really happy there are no pictures on the scorecard. I had all the boys pulling for me. I knew it was going to be close. Corey just let me in, and I was able to take advantage of it.” – Xander Schauffele Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 15.5, International Team 9.5 Player records this week: Schauffele (3-1-0), Conners (0-4-0) MATCH 26 Sungjae Im (Intl.) def. Cameron Young (U.S.), 1-up Young had a nightmare start. Im came out with three pars and was 3-up on the fourth tee. But Young, one of six U.S. rookies, can go on some incredible stretches of golf, and he worked his way back into the match. When he birdied the par-4 15th, Young owned the lead. Im, an incredible ballstriker, was tough all week, and he would birdie the last two holes – making from 22 feet at 18 – to turn around the deficit and pull out a hard-earned point. Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 15.5, International Team 11.5 Player records this week: Young (1-2-1), Im (2-2-1) MATCH 27 K.H. Lee (Intl.) def. Billy Horschel (U.S.), 3 and 1 In a battle of two Presidents Cup first-timers, the South Korean Lee steadily built a 3-up advantage through 11 holes, and he held off the fiery Florida Gator with just one hole surrendered the rest of the way – Horschel’s birdie at No. 13. Lee two-putted for birdie at the par-5 16th to match Horschel’s up-and-down from a greenside bunker, and the reigning back-to-back AT&T Byron Nelson champion was conceded the match while facing a 21-foot birdie try on No. 17, as Horschel faced 43 feet for par. Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 15.5, International Team 10.5 Player records this week: Lee (2-1-0), Horschel (1-2-0) MATCH 28 Max Homa (U.S.) def. Tom Kim (Intl.), 1-up No player at Quail Hollow has been on a hotter run than Homa, who, one week after winning the Fortinet Championship, capped off an undefeated week (4-0-0) at the Presidents Cup by beating Kim. Homa did not start well – he was 3-down through 11 to the 20-year-old – but won holes at 12, 13, 14 and 15 to flip the match. Kim missed an 8-foot birdie putt at the last to tie the match. Homa’s birdie at the 15th, the end of Quail Hollow’s daunting Green Mile, produced an incredible roar that echoed across the course. Kim was one of the real standouts from the week, winning two points on Saturday. Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 17.5, International Team 11.5 MATCH 29 Collin Morikawa (U.S.) def. Mito Pereira (Intl.), 3 and 2 Morikawa set the tone for the match on No. 1; after Pereira hit his approach on the long par-4 to within inches, the Cal Bear drained a 17-foot birdie to tie the hole. Pereira never led the match at any point. Morikawa matched his U.S. Team compatriot Spieth for largest advantage at any point Sunday (4-up), which he held through 10 holes on the strength of four birdies and an eagle. Pereira won the par-4 11th with a birdie but could draw no closer, and the two-time major winner drained a 24-foot curling birdie at the par-5 16th to conclude the proceedings, lightly flipping his putter and delivering a stout fist pump to the fans. Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 16.5, International Team 11.5 Player records this week: Morikawa (2-1-0), Pereira (0-2-1) MATCH 30 Christiaan Bezuidenhout def. Kevin Kisner (U.S.) vs. (Intl.), 2 and 1 Birdies were difficult to come by in the day’s anchor match. Bezuidenhout, who was on the golf course for only the second time all week, played solidly and never trailed, though Kisner never let him far out of his sight. Bezuidenhout went 2-up with two to play with a deft up-and-down from a greenside bunker at the par-5 16th. When Kisner’s par putt at 17 spun out of the hole, victory was Bezuidenhout’s, and the Presidents Cup had ended in a five-point U.S. victory. Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. Team 17.5, International Team 12.5 Player records this week: Kisner (0-2-1), Bezuidenhout (1-0-1)

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OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – News and notes from Friday’s second round of THE NORTHERN TRUST, the opening event of the FedExCup Playoffs. Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Jhonattan Vegas share the early clubhouse lead at 6-under. VEGAS WORRIED ABOUT HURRICANE Jhonattan Vegas enters the weekend at THE NORTHERN TRUST with a great chance to grab his third PGA TOUR win, but his mind may be elsewhere as Hurricane Harvey makes its way towards his Houston base. Vegas, who successfully defended his RBC Canadian Open title this year, shot a sublime bogey-free 5-under 65 on Friday, moving him to 6 under. But his thoughts were with his wife, his 17-month-old daughter, and his mother who are back in Texas about to bear the brunt of the storm. The National Weather Service expects heavy rain, flooding, strong winds and “life-threateningâ€� storm surges, with the potential to be the worst hurricane to hit the U.S. since Katrina ripped apart the New Orleans area in 2005. “It’s hard. It’s hard not being home, not being able to help with the house and with everything. I think I’m a little bit fortunate that we live up north in The Woodlands, and historically, by the time hurricanes come into Houston, it takes a little longer to get into Houston,â€� Vegas said. “But you never know what could happen. I’m in touch with them the whole day today and hopefully it will be just some precipitation but nothing more than that.â€� Vegas is hoping his performance can be a positive distraction although he is worried TV service could be knocked out in the storm, leaving his family isolated. “We’ve been through many hurricanes, even some tough ones, Ike several years ago was a really tough one through Houston that we had to get out of there,â€� he said. “And so hopefully this one doesn’t look as it’s going to be as big, but it’s always scary. It’s always scary when you have a wife and daughter and mom at home by themselves, so God willing, nothing will happen. “Obviously it’s something that it’s going to be in the back of my mind for the next few days.â€� LITTLE RICKIE HOLDS HIS OWN Glen Oaks was supposed to favor the bombers so there is no surprise to see Dustin Johnson up top but playing partner Rickie Fowler has more than held his own through the opening two rounds at THE NORTHERN TRUST. It’s one thing to get the ball out there with the long boys. It’s another to do it accurately. Fowler is averaging 296 yards off the tee through two rounds, well and truly amongst the top bracket in the field and just two yards short of Johnson’s current average. But perhaps more importantly he’s missed just three fairways in two rounds. He backed up his opening 68 with a 4-under 66 to move to 6 under and a share of the early clubhouse lead. “This (course) is right up DJ’s alley, there’s not many courses that don’t fit him. Long courses, they become somewhat shorter for him, and the shorter courses, can basically take driver and lob-wedge and putter,â€� Fowler said. “I think the biggest thing is it continue to drive it well to give myself a legitimate chance this week and continue to make putts. Stuff that I think I’ve done well all year. “I would say there are some holes, certain carries and stuff like that, that open it up for DJ a little bit but by no means does that mean I can’t go out and beat him.â€� Fowler entered the FedExCup Playoffs as the 5th seed and a win would all but secure he gets through to the TOUR Championship inside the top 5. The top 5 at East Lake are guaranteed to win the FedExCup if they win the TOUR Championship. CASEY IN CONTENTION AGAIN A year ago Paul Casey was hot during the FedExCup Playoffs, chalking up runner up results at the Dell Technologies Championship and the BMW Championship before finishing 4th at the TOUR Championship. Had he won in Atlanta he would have been the FedExCup champion. After opening 69-68 at THE NORTHERN TRUST to be just three back of the clubhouse lead at 3-under the Englishman once again has designs on breaking his PGA TOUR victory drought. His lone victory in the USA was the 2009 Houston Open. “That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Didn’t you get the memo? I’ve had a solid season so far but no question now is the time to really up it,â€� Casey, who entered the Playoffs ranked 18th in the FedExCup said. “This has grown in stature. Now we’re over a decade in. It means a big deal. Guys are putting this down on the list of things they want to accomplish on the golf course. “And my goal this time of year to try and get hot. I did it last year with a couple of second-place finishes. It gave me an opportunity to win the FedExCup when we got to East Lake, and I want to do the same. “Guys are playing good. I’ve got to continue to play my good form.â€� Casey admits he has begun to try to dissect the reasons why he has been ultra-consistent the last three seasons with eight, seven and six top-10 finishes respectively but yet has not won an event. But it’s a delicate balance as he tries not to mess with methods that are clearly giving him multiple chances to salute. “I’ve been looking at it. I’ve been looking at things like strategy on the golf course recently. It’s no question, the game has evolved. Certainly, since I’ve been out on TOUR. But the last few years, it’s really, really changed,â€� he adds. “Johnny (caddy) and I have been looking at strategy recently: Have we been aggressive enough off the tee? We talk about, since you have the shots-gained statistics which has come out and you look at the guys who have not only won this year but won multiple times, how have they played golf, how have they attacked golf courses, are we doing the right thing. “So I think my love for the game and enjoyment we’re getting is certainly the right thing. It’s other little aspects that we’ve got to change and see if we’re doing the right thing that might be the difference between winning and not winning.â€�

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The City of San Francisco and the PGA of America today announced that the 2020 PGA Championship, in which two-time defending champion Brooks Koepka aims for a historic three-peat, will be contested without spectators on-site, August 3-9 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. The decision to play golf’s first men’s major championship of 2020 without spectators was made in coordination with the state of California and city and county of San Francisco, with the health and well-being of all involved as the top priority. “We are thrilled to welcome the PGA Championship to San Francisco,” said San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed. “We are able to safely take this step toward reopening because of the ongoing sacrifices of our citizens, the continued committed work of our healthcare workers and the early action we took to battle COVID-19.” The PGA of America will continue to monitor COVID-19 developments and work in concert with the state of California and San Francisco city and county public health authorities and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention through Championship Week. “We are both inspired and honored to ‘play on,’” said PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh. “In doing so, we will spotlight not only the beauty of TPC Harding Park, but the fortitude of San Francisco and its remarkable people. We’d like to thank the state of California and the city and county of San Francisco for being terrific partners in helping us get to this place. While the local community cannot be with us physically on-site, we will certainly carry their spirit of resilience and unity with us as we stage our major championship, on their behalf, for all the world to see and enjoy.” Many of golf’s greatest champions, from Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan, to Lee Trevino, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka, have had their names inscribed on the famed Wanamaker Trophy. “It has been gratifying for our PGA Professionals to play a meaningful role in helping people find healthy, outdoor recreation during the various phases of reopening golf,” noted PGA of America President Suzy Whaley. “It’s been encouraging to see our entire country and such a wide diversity of people embrace golf as a responsible, yet fun, activity to share with family and friends. We also look forward to returning to San Francisco and The Olympic Club for the PGA Championship in 2028 and the Ryder Cup in 2032, when we will again share this great game with the people of the Bay Area.” In the coming days, those who purchased tickets directly from the PGA of America will be contacted to facilitate refunds. Updates will be posted at pgachampionship.com and on social media @PGAChampionship. Those who purchased tickets from a secondary market platform other than pgachampionship.com should contact that site directly. The PGA of America will be unable to process refunds for those tickets. The 2020 PGA Championship – the first in the PGA of America’s landmark 11-year media rights agreement with CBS and ESPN – will feature CBS Sports, ESPN and ESPN+ combining to deliver an unprecedented amount of broadcast and digital coverage. Globally, the PGA Championship will be broadcast in 164 countries and territories reaching more than a half-billion households. “Welcoming the PGA Championship to San Francisco is the high point of a very unusual year. We are looking forward to sharing the beauty of TPC Harding Park and San Francisco with the players, the media and viewers all over the world,” said Joe D’Alessandro, president and CEO of the San Francisco Travel Association, the official destination marketing organization. TPC Harding Park, which is managed by the City’s Recreation and Park Department, is the fourth municipal golf course to host the PGA Championship. Seven of the past 10 winners of the PGA Championship went on to become No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, including Koepka, who won his second consecutive PGA Championship in May 2019 at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York. The two-time defending PGA Champion will use the season’s initial men’s major championship to bid for history, as he’ll seek to become the first player to win the same major three consecutive times since Australia’s Peter Thomson claimed three straight Open Championships from 1954-56. The field also will once again include the top 20 PGA Club Professionals, who will qualify during the PGA Professional Championship to be played in late July at Omni Barton Creek Resort in Austin, Texas. Prior to its postponement on March 17, the PGA Championship was originally scheduled for play May 14-17.

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