2017 Presidents Cup - Day 2 news & notes - SPOILER ALERT

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2017 Presidents Cup

Liberty National Golf Club

Day Two – Results and Notes – September 29, 2017

Day Three Pairings included at the bottom

Four-Ball Matches – U.S. Team 4.5, International Team 0.5

Overall – U.S. Team 8, International Team 2

Match 6: Jordan Spieth/Patrick Reed (U.S.) halved with Hideki Matsuyama/Adam Hadwin(International)

Match 7: Rickie Fowler/Justin Thomas (U.S.) def. Louis Oosthuizen/Branden Grace (International), 3 and 2

Match 8: Phil Mickelson/Kevin Kisner (U.S.) def. Jason Day/Marc Leishman (International), 1 up

Match 9: Kevin Chappell/Charley Hoffman (U.S.) def. Charl Schwartzel/Anirban Lahiri (International), 6 and 5.

Match 10: Dustin Johnson/Brooks Koepka (U.S.) def. Adam Scott/Jhonattan Vegas(International), 3 and 2

Note: Presidents Cup rookies (10) are in bold

The United States has led after the second day in nine of the 12 playings of the Presidents Cup, last trailing after Day Two in 2005. The six-point lead is the largest for the U.S. Team following the second day since leading by nine points in 1998 (note: the number of sessions on Day One and Day Two were increased in the early years of the Presidents Cup, changing to its current format in 2005). The six-point lead for the U.S. Team is the largest through two sessions by any team in the history of the Presidents Cup.

Since 2007, the U.S. Team leads the International Team in Four-Ball play 30-28.

There are 10 players making their debut in the Presidents Cup, which is tied for the second-most ever in the history of the event. There were 11 in 2013 and 10 in 2003, 2011, 2015 and this year. The six first-timers on the U.S. Team is also tied for the most ever (2011).

Both Presidents Cup teams are the youngest in the event’s history. The average age of the U.S. Team is 31.8 years old, while the International Team is 30.3 years old.

Match 6

Jordan Spieth/Patrick Reed (U.S.) halved with Hideki Matsuyama/Adam Hadwin (International)

Captain Stricker sent out the victorious Day One pairing of Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed against Captain Price’s selections of Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and Canada’s Adam Hadwin, who made his Presidents Cup debut after sitting on the first day. The first match of the session proved to be a tight competition with the U.S. Team overcoming a 2-down deficit with four holes to play to halve the match.

Reed has not lost a Four-Ball match in his Presidents Cup career, playing both with Spieth.

Spieth and Reed are a preeminent pairing in international competition, and this is the third time they have been paired together at the Presidents Cup (2-0-1). They defeated Emiliano Grillo and Si Woo Kim 5 and 4 in Day One Foursomes play.

Matsuyama’s record in Four-Ball competition is 1-1-2, and his overall record is now 3-5-3. Hadwin halved his first match in Presidents Cup play.

Spieth’s Presidents Cup record: 6-4-1

Spieth’s Four-Ball record: 2-2-1

Reed’s Presidents Cup record: 2-2-2

Reed’s Four-Ball record: 1-0-1

Matsuyama’s Presidents Cup record: 3-5-3

Matsuyama’s Four-Ball record: 1-1-2

Adam Hadwin’s Presidents Cup record: 0-0-1

Adam Hadwin’s Four-Ball record: 0-0-1

Match 7

Rickie Fowler/Justin Thomas (U.S.) def. Louis Oosthuizen/Branden Grace (International), 3 and 2

The undefeated duo of Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler won their second match in as many days, knocking off Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace, the most successful pair in the history of the Presidents Cup, 3 and 2.

Fowler and Thomas won the third hole with a birdie by Fowler and never relinquished their lead. On the 14^th hole, Thomas holed out from the greenside bunker and nearly holed out again on the 16^th, also from a greenside bunker. The lone win for the International team came at the sixth hole, where Branden Grace made an eagle three at the par-5.

The South African duo collected their fifth consecutive victory in the Presidents Cup yesterday, knocking off first-timers Daniel Berger and Brooks Koepka and securing the first full point for the International Team in the opening Foursomes. Grace and Oosthuizen compiled a perfect 4-0-0 record in 2015, making them the second pair to win four points in a single Presidents Cup (Tiger Woods/Steve Stricker, 2009). Here’s a look at their performance in 2015 together:

Day One Foursomes: defeated Matt Kuchar/Patrick Reed 2&1

Day Two Four-ball: defeated Dustin Johnson/Jordan Spieth 4&3

Day Three Foursomes: defeated Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler 3&2

Day Three Four-ball: defeated Bubba Watson/J.B. Holmes 1-up

Grace went on to become the fifth player to win five matches in a single Presidents Cup after going 0-4-0 in his debut in 2013; Oosthuizen halved his singles match in 2015 to finish undefeated.

Fowler’s Presidents Cup record: 3-3-0

Fowler’s Four-Ball record: 1-1-0

Justin Thomas’ Presidents Cup record: 2-0-0

Justin Thomas’ Four-Ball record: 2-0-0

Louis Oosthuizen’s Presidents Cup record: 6-4-2

Louis Oosthuizen’s Four-Ball record: 3-2-0

Branden Grace’s Presidents Cup record: 6-5-0

Branden Grace’s Four-Ball record: 2-3-0

Match 8

Phil Mickelson/Kevin Kisner (U.S.) def. Jason Day/Marc Leishman (International), 1 up

In a rematch of the opening Foursomes match between Phil Mickelson/Kevin Kisner and Jason Day/Marc Leishman, the U.S. duo rallied, never leading until Mickelson birdied the par-3 18^th to win the match with a 12 foot, 4 inch putt.

Mickelson is the only player to have played in all 12 Presidents Cup competitions, and with his win today, passed Vijay Singh for the most wins in Four-Ball matches with 10 career wins. It also moves him into a tie with Tiger Woods (24-15-1) for the most wins ever in Presidents Cup history with 24.

Kevin Kisner is Mickelson’s 16^th different partner in his record 53 matches played (most total matches played):

Woody Austin 1-0-2

Keegan Bradley 2-1-1

Chris DiMarco 3-1-1

David Duval 0-3-1

Fred Funk 0-1-0

Jim Furyk 3-0-0

Zach Johnson 2-0-1

Anthony Kim 1-0-0

Kevin Kisner 1-0-1

Tom Lehman 4-1-0

Justin Leonard 1-0-0

Davis Love III 1-0-0

Hunter Mahan 0-1-0

Sean O’Hair 1-0-1

Corey Pavin 1-1-2

David Toms 0-2-0

Day and Mickelson have faced off a total of seven times in the Presidents Cup, the first five in foursomes. Mickelson is 4-0-3 against the Aussie:

2011, Day Three: Mickelson/Furyk def. Day/Baddeley, 2 and 1

2013, Day Three: Mickelson/Bradley def. Day/DeLaet, 4 and 3

2013, Day Three: Mickelson/Bradley halved with Day/DeLaet,

2015, Day One: Mickelson, Z. Johnson def. Day/Bowditch, 2-up

2015, Day Two: Mickelson, Z. Johnson halved with Scott/Day

2017, Day One: Mickelson/Kisner halved with Day/Leishman

2017, Day Two: Mickelson/Kisner def. Day/Leishman, 1 up

Leishman is now 0-3-0 in the Four-Ball format.

Phil Mickelson’s Presidents Cup Record: 24-16-13

Phil Mickelson’s Four-Ball Record: 10-5-6

Kevin Kisner’s President’s Cup Record: 1-0-1

Kevin Kisner’s Four-Ball Record: 1-0-0

Jason Day’s Presidents Cup Record: 4-9-4

Jason Day’s Four-Ball Record: 3-3-1

Marc Leishman’s President’s Cup Record: 3-5-2

Marc Leishman’s Four-Ball Record: 0-3-0

Match 9

Kevin Chappell/Charley Hoffman (U.S.) def.. Charl Schwartzel/Anirban Lahiri (International)

In a matchup that featured three of four players making their debut for the week (Chappell, Hoffman, Lahiri), Presidents Cup rookies Charley Hoffman and Kevin Chappell never trailed in their sound defeat of Charl Schwartzel and Anirban Lahiri, 6 and 5.

The win for Chappell and Hoffman was the largest margin by any two rookies playing together in their first Presidents Cup matches. Chappell holds the course record at Liberty National Golf Club, shooting a 62 in the third round of THE NORTHERN TRUST in 2013, the last time the first FedExCup Playoffs event was held at this venue (won by Adam Scott, a member of the International Team).

Lahiri is still winless in his Presidents Cup career, with an 0-4-0 combined record through the 2015 Presidents Cup and the first two days of this year’s event.

Despite the loss, Schwartzel is still an impressive 4-3-0 in Four-Ball matches.

Hoffman’s Presidents Cup record: 1-0-0

Hoffman’s Four-Ball record: 1-0-0

Chappell’s Presidents Cup record: 1-0-0

Chappell’s Four-Ball record: 1-0-0

Schwartzel’s Presidents Cup record: 6-9-1

Schwartzel’s Four-Ball record: 4-3-0

Lahiri’s Presidents Cup record: 0-4-0

Lahiri’s Four-Ball record: 0-2-0

Match 10

Dustin Johnson/Brooks Koepka (U.S.) def. Adam Scott/Jhonattan Vegas (International), 3 and 2

The long-hitting duo of Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka closed with two birdies to defeat Adam Scott and Jhonattan Vegas, 3 and 2. The International Team twice took a 1-up lead on the front nine, but the U.S. team countered, with both Koepka and Johnson making birdie at the par-3 7^th.

Johnson, a four-time winner in the 2016-17 season, finished second in Driving Distance last season, averaging 315 yards per drive; Koepka finished seventh.

With the win, Johnson notched his first-career win in Four-Ball play in the Presidents Cup. Scott has lost 19 matches in his Presidents Cup career that spans eight events.

Dustin Johnson’s Presidents Cup Record: 6-4-1

Dustin Johnson’s Four-Ball Record: 1-3-0

Brooks Koepka’s Presidents Cup Record: 1-0-1

Brooks Koepka’s Four-Ball Record: 1-0-0

Adam Scott’s Presidents Cup Record: 13-19-5

Adam Scott’s Four-Ball Record: 5-7-3

Jhonattan Vegas’ Presidents Cup Record: 0-2-0

Jhonattan Vegas’ Four-Ball Record: 0-1-0

 

Day Three Pairings – Morning Foursomes, Afternoon Four-Ball

7:02 a.m.

Match 11: Patrick Reed/Jordan Spieth (U.S.) vs. Jason Day/Marc Leishman (International)

7:13 a.m.

Match 12: Dustin Johnson/Matt Kuchar (U.S.) vs. Adam Scott/Adam Hadwin (International)

7:24 a.m.

Match 13: Phil Mickelson/Kevin Kisner (U.S.) vs. Jhonattan Vegas/Emiliano Grillo (International)

7:35 a.m.

Match 14: Justin Thomas/Rickie Fowler (U.S.) vs. Louis Oosthuizen/Branden Grace