Bridges Cup Day 1: U.S. jumps out to early lead over Internationals

Through the first of three days of play at the 2024 Bridges Cup, the U.S.’s team of 12 elite mid-amateurs finds itself in a familiar position: atop the leaderboard, with a 6-4 advantage over the International side.

With 10 matches — and 10 points — up for grabs at Haesley Nine Bridges in Korea on the opening day, the Americans, who prevailed in the first two editions of the event, won five of six of matches in the morning fourball sessions before the Internationals charged back in the afternoon foursomes sessions, winning three of four available points.

Lukas Michel and Jacob Austin of the Internationals won the opening match in the morning fourballs, but the U.S. dominated the rest of the session. All five of the remaining matches went the way of the Americans, with each being closed out before the 18th hole. By the time the teams adjourned for lunch, the U.S. held a commanding 5-1 lead.

“Team USA definitely had more strut this morning,” said Simon Holmes, a golf professional and Bridges Cup commentator who is onsite this week in Korea. “They just sprinted ahead and won their matches convincingly.”

In much the same fashion as the Internationals at last month’s Presidents Cup, this team of International showed plenty of pluck in the second session. After a pep talk from captain Simon Holt, they returned for the afternoon foursomes session with a renewed sense of urgency.

“We’ve really kind of thrown the kitchen sink at it,” Holt said. “But we’ve got a team full of leaders and four pairs who are playing well with each other … All we can [do] is see what happens this afternoon.”

Once again, the team of Michel and Austin came out in the first match of the session and blitzed their opponents, winning 4 and 3. But this time, the rest of the team capitalized on the positive momentum as the Internationals won three of the four afternoon matches to pull within two points of the U.S. by day’s end.

“The Internationals had a good pep talk and showed some grit in the afternoon,” Holmes said. “Team USA was super comfortable with the fast start, but the Internationals showed their talent by the end of the day.”

Dat 2 of the Bridges Cup will feature six fourball matches, followed by 12 singles matches on Day 3. With 30 points up for grabs, the U.S. needs 15 points to retain the Cup, while the Internationals need 15.5 points to claim it.

For full results and live scoring from the 2024 Bridges Cup, click here. Below are the complete results from the first two sessions:

DAY 1 FOURBALL RESULTS:

DAY 1 FOURSOMES RESULTS: