Even with different captains, teams and golf course, the scene was a familiar one. Those clad in red, white and blue hugged and cheered and lit cigars, while those in black and gold hung their heads in disappointment. After four days of fierce competition at Royal Montreal Golf Club, Team USA were Presidents Cup victors once again.
“We’ve put a lot of heart and soul into it,” said U.S. captain Jim Furyk. “It was a really good group of 12, an easy bunch. I had great leadership at the top. They made the captain’s job really easy, and these guys played their hearts out this week.”
Keegan Bradley, who a year ago experienced heartbreak in the form of his Ryder Cup snub, found redemption at Royal Montreal as he clinched the winning point for the Americans. The point from his singles victory over Si Woo Kim pushed Team USA across the 15.5-point threshold, but by day’s end, the margin was even larger as the Americans made their 18.5-11.5 victory official.
“That was incredible,” Bradley said. “I was saying all week I didn’t know if I’d ever get to do this again. To just play in this tournament and then to win the point, my goodness.”
Bradley was tapped earlier this year as the U.S. captain for next fall’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. And although he is eligible to be a playing captain, he has stated he will only do so if he automatically qualifies for the team.
“If this is my last round as a player, maybe it is, I’m happy with that,” Bradley said.
The win is the 10th straight for the American side and pushes their all-time Presidents Cup record to 13-1-1. It has now been 26 years since the International team claimed their lone win in the event, and 21 years since Team USA did not walk away the outright victors.
The 15th edition of the Presidents Cup began in familiar fashion as Team USA jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the opening session. However, the Internationals flipped the script the following day as they earned a sweep of their own to even the score at 5. From that point on, Team USA asserted their dominance.
Over the last three sessions, the Americans outscored their counterparts 13.5-6.5. Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele led the way with four points each for the Americans, while Corey Conners, Si Woo Kim, Hideki Matsuyma, Taylor Pendrith, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Adam Scott scored two points a piece for the Internationals.
“We talked about being a dog all week, being the tougher team,” Furyk said. “Those back nine holes if you looked at how many holes won and lost, I’ve got to feel like we kind of owned the back nine this week, and that was the difference.”
