JERSEY CITY, N.J. –  Even when the Internationals won a hole on Saturday, it seemed to backfire on them. A ruling on the 325-yard par-4 12th disqualified Jordan Spieth from the hole, but that only served to fuel his rally with partner Patrick Reed, as they won the final three holes of their afternoon Four-ball match to claim a 2 and 1 win over Jason Day and Louis Oosthuizen at the Presidents Cup. The match was all square going into the drivable 12th. The Americans had already conceded a birdie to Day when Oosthuizen attempted a chip for eagle from behind the green. The ball rolled well past the hole, then Spieth scooped up the ball while it was still in motion with the back of his putter. “The crowd was all cheering for it to continue to go down the slope,â€� Spieth said in explaining his actions. “I thought that was a little excessive, so I just tried to pick it up so we could just then … be quiet and we could go on with the rest of the hole.â€� The ball had not yet come to rest, and European rules official Andy McPhee had no choice but to disqualify Spieth from the hole. That prevented Spieth from attempting a 12-foot birdie putt that could’ve halved the hole. Instead, the Internationals won the hole to go 1 up. A discussion took place on the 12th green after the ruling, with Spieth explaining his actions to McPhee. U.S. Captain’s Assistant Tiger Woods also spoke with McPhee. “It’s a bad rule. We all agree,â€� Spieth said. “The Internationals wanted to concede the 13th hole. They felt so bad, even though I was a good 12-, 15-feet away from the hole. They handled it so well. Obviously we were trying to do the right thing; a rule’s a rule.â€� The International duo each said they did not want to win the hole that way. “I had no idea that there was a rule like that,â€� Oosthuizen said. “Unfortunately, you know, he’s there — a rules breach — we didn’t want to halve it. We wanted Jordan to putt and we offered the 13th hole to them, to walk to 14, and Jordan said, no, that’s the rule, and that’s how it is and don’t worry about it. “You know, that is the rule but again, silly rule. Added Day: “This is what’s wrong with rules sometimes in golf. He’s just doing the courtesy thing. I understand that Andy is trying to do his job and we’ve got to live by the rules out here in golf but it’s just unfortunate. “We wanted him to putt. No one wants to win a hole like that. It’s kind of a stupid rule. That’s why I think golf rules should be simplified a lot more.â€� NBC rules analyst Stephen Cox said that if McPhee hadn’t been assigned to the match, “I think you probably would have seen a situation where nothing would have happened. But as he has been assigned by the committee to accompany that match, if he spots a breach of the rules, unfortunately – as innocuous as it may seem and not necessarily in the spirit of the game – unfortunately he has got an obligation to act upon that. And unfortunately that’s the way it’s played out.â€� It only served to rile up the Americans. Spieth squared the match three holes later with a birdie at the 15th, then Reed and Spieth posted back-to-back birdies to win the next two holes and close out the match. “Yeah, I was fired up,â€� Spieth said. “I hit my next putt on the next hole about 8 feet by, really trying to throw it down the throat. Fortunately we both were able to come through and ham-and-egg it nicely coming in and make a comeback.â€� The comeback win moved the Spieth/Reed partnership to 3-0-1 this week.
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