CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When Patrick Cantlay drained a putt from deep on one of the toughest par-4s on the course, Hideki Matsuyama and Tom Kim shook their heads and exchanged a smile as if to say, “What else can we do?”
It’s a legitimate question.
The U.S. pairing of Cantlay and Xander Schauffele again led another dominant day for the heavily favored Americans on Friday at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte. They finished their rounds with an insurmountable lead on the 15th hole — up three with two to go — and paced another 4-point day for the US.
The Americans now lead the International side 8-2 heading into Saturday, likely setting up their 12th win in the Presidents Cup’s 14-event history.
Cantlay and Schauffele are playing about as well as you can imagine right now: The two finished Thursday up six with five holes to go. And in Friday’s four-ball session, they nearly topped that, winning five of six holes in the front nine (3, 5-8) before a late trio of Matsuyama-Kim wins on 13, 15 and 16 extended the match.
“We have really, really, really simple goals,” said U.S. team captain Davis Love III. “It’s like put the four best alternate shot teams we can out tomorrow and then put the four best best ball teams we can out in the afternoon and try to win every session. We’re just blessed with a whole lot of good players.”
Cantlay and Schauffele weren’t the only Americans who ended their days early. Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas finished up two with three holes to go, building a big enough lead early to carry them on through the rest of the day: The two won three of the first eight holes thanks to three birdies on 4, 5 and 8, and then held on.
The two friends played off each other all day, they said, and it impacted their final result.
“In a foursomes format, we understand that wherever we hit it, the other one is probably capable of hitting it there as well,” Spieth told reporters. “And then getting out of trouble, we wouldn’t choose anyone else in the world to get out of trouble and figure out a way to make a par. And then when we’re on, we can dial it up and really get hot.
“We’ve just wanted to play four-ball. ... So that was pretty fun today to ham and egg and really — we just did a great job making a lot of birdies on different holes, just what you need to do, and not making any bogeys or giving them any holes.”
Perhaps the biggest thrill of Friday came in the Billy Horschel-Max Homa pairing. The two played all 18 on Friday but exited Day 2’s round with a narrow win.
Corey Conners and Taylor Pendrith of the International side started slow but used two wins on Quail Hollow’s infamous Green Mile (11 and 13) to make it level — but a big Homa putt for birdie on 17 gave the team a lead, and another, even-more clutch putt on 18 made sure that lead wouldn’t slip by.
“I was nervous as could be over that putt, but it was fun,” Homa said of that final, match-sealing putt, which he celebrated with a huge roar to the crowd. “I was telling my wife, when we talk about things money can’t buy, money cannot buy that feeling. And that was something that I will remember forever, and I will tell anybody who ever wants to hear about it how that felt.”
It was the first Presidents Cup appearance for Horschel, and the win made a special day an unforgettable one, he said.
“I woke up this morning and felt like I had to throw up for three hours straight,” Horschel said. “It was the most nervous I’ve been ever before any round of golf in my entire life. I think it’s just the anticipation of wanting to be on these teams for so many years and missing out and finally making one.
“When I finally started warming up, that feeling finally went away. Yeah, it lived up to everything that I expected. To see this guy right here perform at the end was truly special.”
The two other matches ended in ties.
Scottie Scheffler had a putt for birdie on 18 that would’ve clinched a win for him and his partner, Sam Burns, but it stopped impossibly close to the cup’s rim. (Let’s just say if this was the 2005 Masters, and this was a young Tiger Woods chipping with a Nike ball at the 16th hole at Augusta, it would’ve fallen in.)
And Kevin Kisner and Cameron Young of the US tied with Mito Pereira and Christiaan Bezuidenhout of the International squad. It’s worth noting that Pereira and Bezuidenhout stood strong on one of the most difficult parts of the golf course — notching back-to-back wins on 9 and 10 — before their lead was erased with a Cameron Young birdie on 14.
Friday extended the margin between the two teams further. But International team captain Trevor Immelman delivered an impassioned response to the elephant-in-the-room question: “What do you do from here?”
“The score line may make you think differently, but these guys are hungry and motivated, man,” Immelman said. “They want to be here. They want to compete. Not much needs to be said.
“Inside our locker room is a great place to be. It’s a great place to be. We have got an incredible group here, and I’m talking about not just players. I’m talking about our spouses and partners. I’m talking about the caddies. I’m talking about our back room staff. We have an incredible group here, and we have had a blast from the minute we touched down in this great city.
“Would we like the score to be a little closer right now? Absolutely. But there are two days left, and we’ll be playing as hard as you can play. Promise.”
Full results from Quail Hollow
The US team leads the International team heading into Saturday, 8-2. The first team to 15 1/2 points claims the Presidents Cup.
— Match 6: Jordan Spieth-Justin Thomas (US) defeats Adam Scott-Cam Davis (Int’l) (2 up with 1 hole to go)
— Match 7: Scottie Scheffler-Sam Burns (US) ties Sungjae IM-Sabastian Munoz (Int’l)
— Match 8: Kevin Kisner-Cameron Young (US) ties Mito Pereira-Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Int’l)
— Match 9: Patrick Cantlay-Xander Schauffele (US) defeats Hideki Matsuyama-Tom Kim (Int’l) (3 up with 2 holes to go)
— Match 10: Billy Horschel-Max Homa (US) defeats Corey Conners-Taylor Pendrith (Int’l) (1 up through 18)
