Capsules of Presidents Cup singles matches

By DOUG FERGUSON 15 December 2019, 12:00AM

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A capsule look at the Sunday singles matches in the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club:

Tiger Woods, United States, def. Abraham Ancer, International, 3 and 2.

Woods set the Presidents Cup record with his 27th match victory, putting the first point on the board for the Americans. They halved the opening hole, and then alternated winning the next six holes. Woods seized control when Ancer bogeyed the ninth from the bunker, and Woods won the next hole with a birdie. Ancer was 1 down after his birdie on the 13th, but then he three-putted to lose the 14th, Woods won the 15th with a beautiful lag from 120 feet and closed him out with a 20-foot birdie on the 16th.

Tony Finau, United States, halved with. Hideki Matsuyama, International.

This looked like an International point all the way when Matsuyama was 3 up through four holes, and extended his extended his lead to 4 up through 10 holes. Finau, known for pouring in birdies, picked a good time to live up to his reputation. He ran off three birdies in the next four holes, and won the other with a par, to square the match. Matsuyama went 1 up with a 10-foot birdie on the 16th, only to give it back with a three-putt from 25 feet, missing par from 5 feet. They halved the last hole with pars.

Patrick Reed, United States, def. C.T. Pan, International, 4 and 2.

A troublesome week for Reed ended with a vintage performance. With his coach, Kevin Kirk, caddying for him, Reed won the opening four holes and was 6 up through seven. Pan made him work for it, though. He won three straight holes, and a birdie on the 13th trimmed Reed's lead to 2 holes. Reed birdied the par-5 15th to go dormie, and then closed him out when Pan made bogey on the 16th. Reed is 3-0 in Ryder Cup singles. It was his first singles win in three Presidents Cup.

Dustin Johnson, United States, def. Haotong Li, International, 4 and 3.

Li played only one match all week, and he was no match for Johnson. The former world No. 1 made three birdies in a four-hole stretch early in the match and was 4 up through seven holes. Li won only three holes and was never closer than 3 down since the sixth hole. Two of the holes Li won were from mistakes by Johnson, who was playing for the first time since knee surgery after the Tour Championship in August.

Bryson DeChambeau, United States, vs. Adam Hadwin, International.

DeChambeau never trailed and was happy to get out of the match with a half. He had a 2-up lead through five holes, and the Canadian coming off an illness squared the match at the turn. It was decided over the final holes. DeChambeau holed a 25-foot birdie on the 16th to go 1 up, only to find a bunker on the 17th and miss a 20-foot par putt. All square going to the 18th, DeChambeau missed his 25-foot birdie. Hadwin had 15 feet for the win, and it grazed the right side of the cup.

Sungjae Im, International, def. Gary Woodland, United States, 4 and 3.

Im matched Abraham Ancer with the best record of the week for the International team. Playing his fifth straight match, the South Korean won the par-5 second hole with an eagle. Woodland responded with birdies on the fifth and sixth holes to take his only lead. They were tied through 10 holes when Woodland bogeyed the short par-4 11th, Im went 2 up with a birdie on the 13th and stretched his lead when Woodland missed a 6-foot par putt. Im closed him out with a birdie on the 15th.

Patrick Cantlay, United States, def. Joaquin Niemann, International, 3 and 2.

Cantlay won three straight holes, two with birdies, to go from 1 down to 2 up through six holes. Niemann rallied to square the match at the turn, and he went 1 up with a birdie on the 10th. Cantlay answered with a birdie on the 11th, and then pulled away with two more birdies to go 3 up through 14. He never lost another hole, went dormie with a birdie on the par-5 15th and closed out the Chilean with a lag putt for par on the 16th.

Xander Schauffele, United States, def. Adam Scott, International, 2 and 1.

Schauffele won the second hole with a birdie and led the rest of the way against the most popular Aussie at the Presidents Cup. Scott had been the emotional leader as player in his ninth consecutive Presidents Cup. He just couldn't deliver in singles. He fell 2 down with a double bogey by missing a shot putt on the par-3 fifth, and Schauffele put together enough birdies to go 4 up through seven holes. Scott was at his best when the match was dormie, holing a long eagle putt on the 15th. Schauffele bogeyed the 16th, but closed out the match when Scott missed a long birdie attempt.

Webb Simpson, United States, def. Byeong Hun An, International, 2 and 1.

Simpson was 0-3 in the week and delivered solid golf for singles in never trailing against An. He made three birdies through six holes to build a 2-up lead, and An never cut into the margin the rest of the way. They halved the next six holes with pars before Simpson seized control when An missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the 15th that would have halved the hole. Simpson closed him out on the 17th when An missed a 20-foot birdie putt, and Simpson lagged his 15-footer.

Cameron Smith, Australia, def. Justin Thomas, United States, 2 and 1.

Thomas was upset about losing a 5-up lead through 10 holes in Saturday afternoon foursomes. This might have felt like a replay. He opened with three straight birdies and was 3 up through four holes against the Australian rookie, but that was as good as it got for the American. Smith began cutting into the lead with a birdie at he sixth. He won the ninth and 10th holes with a birdie and a par to square the match. Smith took his first lead when Thomas made bogey from the bunker on No. 12. Thomas was 1 down when he missed a 7-foot birdie putt, and Smith converted his birdie from 6 feet to win.

Matt Kuchar, United States, halved with Louis Oosthuizen, International.

Oosthuizen birdied the first two holes, won the third with a par and quickly was 3 up. He remained 3 up when they made the turn, and Kuchar birdied the 10th and 11th holes as his putter started to warm up. Another birdie on the par-3 14th and a birdie on the par-5 15th squared the match. By then, he only needed to halve his match for the Americans to win. Oosthuizen missed a 15-foot birdie putt. Kuchar holed his 5-foot birdie to go 1 up and assure the half-point for the win. Kuchar bogeyed the last hole. By then, it didn't matter.

Rickie Fowler, United States, halved with Marc Leishman, International.

Leishman did his part in the anchor match by going 2 up early. The match was up-and-down all day, and it only took on extra meaning when the Presidents Cup looked as though it would come down to the last few matches. Fowler took his first lead with a par on No. 9. Leishman bounced back with a birdie, and then went 1 up again when Fowler bogeyed the 11th. The match was all square when Kuchar ended it. Fowler won the 17th to go 1 up, and then missed an 8-foot par putt on the 18th for the match to end in a draw. Fowler failed to win a match for the week, but he had three halves.

By DOUG FERGUSON 15 December 2019, 12:00AM

Trending Stories

Samoa Observer

Upgrade to Premium

Subscribe to
Samoa Observer Online

Enjoy unlimited access to all our articles on any device + free trial to e-Edition. You can cancel anytime.

>