Victory in Montreal a template for Bradley at Bethpage
MONTREAL—The United States continued its historical dominance of the Presidents Cup after beating the International team, 18 1/2 to 11 1/2 at Royal Montreal Golf Club on Sunday for its 10th consecutive victory.
Needing to pick up only 4 1/2 points from the 12 singles matches on the final day, the US won six and halved three others as Xander Schauffele posted an emphatic 4-and-3 victory over Australian Jason Day in the opening contest to get things started for the Americans.
“My goal was just to set the tone, get [American] red up on that board as early as possible and I was able to do that,” Schauffele said after ending the week with a 4-1-0 record in a continuation of a stellar year in which he won two major championships.
Patrick Cantlay and Collin Morikawa also went 4-1-0 for the US, while South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout (2-1-0) was the only International with a winning record.
The US has now won 13 times in the 15 editions of the Cup since its inception in 1994. The lone International victory came in Australia in 1998, while the 2003 event in South Africa was tied.
Keegan Bradley made US victory mathematically certain when he outlasted South Korean Si Woo Kim, 1-up, in the sixth match.
“I’m so proud of the team and proud of being here,” said Bradley, who will captain the US team against Europe in next year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.
“We’re going to copy a lot of what (captain) Jim Furyk did this week. He set a culture here for us, and we’re going to carry that over into Bethpage, and I hope a lot of these 12 are on that team.”
Furyk was delighted at the poise his players showed late in matches.
“These players were amazing,” Furyk said. “I had great leadership at the top. They made the captain’s job really easy, and these guys played their hearts out this week.
“We talked about being a dog all week, being the tougher team. Those back nine holes, if you look at how many holes won and lost, I’ve got to feel we owned the back nine this week and that was the difference.”
Meanwhile, a 10th consecutive loss by the Internationals has the global golf squad hoping to pull off another “Miracle at Medinah” in 2026.
The Internationals will renew their quest for a first victory since 1998 in two years at Medinah, where Europe made an epic last-day fightback to win the 2012 Ryder Cup.
“I feel like there has been an evolution,” said Australian Adam Scott, who hasn’t won in 11 Cup starts.
“The result, unfortunately, is the same. Hopefully this competition inspires all of us sitting up here to play really hard, go on with our careers the next two years, win big events and come back better prepared and ready to win in Chicago.”
