In what turned out to be a thrilling final session, the U.S. team of elite mid-amateurs held onto its lead to defeat the International squad, 17-15, to win its third straight Bridges Cup.
The 12-man American team came out firing in the opening session Monday at Haesley Nine Bridges in South Korea, but the Internationals clawed back in the three-day competition to get within two points to begin Wednesday’s singles session.
But with 12 points up for grabs, it was truly anyone’s game. And early on in Wednesday’s matches, it seemed the International squad was riding that momentum for a potential comeback.
“After nine holes, it really looked as though the Internationals could have had a chance to squeak it,” said Simon Holmes, a golf professional and Bridges Cup commentator on-site this week.
The Internationals — behind a strong opening trio of Matthew McClean, Hugh Foley and Lukas Michel — won tightly contested matches early, but the U.S.’s Drew Kittleson finally put red on the board with a 2-and-1 win over Jacob Austin.
The pieces then started falling into place for the Americans.
They took five of the last eight matches — Scott Anderson, Andrew Medley and Drew Stoltz all won their matches 5 and 4 — to remain undefeated in the three playings of the Bridges Cup.
“The Internationals arrived with no real sparkle, and they didn’t perform early, and they were behind so many points that they thought the game was lost,” Holmes said. “But the way they fought back, the intensity of the competition, the amount of stress that was created today for the players and certainly the captains, just goes to show that the Bridges Cup, the combination of 8AM and CJ, and this concept of mid-am team golf is an absolute winner.”
Even after the U.S. clinched the 16 points needed to retain the cup, Joseph Deraney, who was 2 down after nine holes in the anchor match against Angus Carrick, won three holes on the back nine, including the 18th with a long birdie putt, to clinch a 1-up victory and the outright win for the U.S. The singles session ended as a 6-6 split between the two teams.
For full results from the 2024 Bridges Cup, click here. Below are the complete results from the singles session on Day 3.
DAY 3 SINGLES RESULTS:
FINAL RESULT:
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