2024 Presidents Cup Day 2 recap: International Team fires back and sweeps foursomes
The International Team made 2024 Presidents Cup history by coming back from 5-0 down to level the scores. To do so, Mike Weir's side swept the second day's foursomes.
It was a brilliant day for the International Team, who had not won a foursomes session at the Presidents Cup since 2005. The Americans won just seven of the 75 holes played on Friday, compared to 27 for their opponents.
Presidents Cup round 2 recap
Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im led the way, beating Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. Matsuyama and Im controlled their match so overwhelmingly that they finished 7&6 in just 12 holes. The Americans failed to win a single hole.
Adam Scott and Taylor Pendrith's victory over Sahith Theegala and Collin Morikawa was also emphatic. The Internationals took the match 5&4 in just 14 holes, with the Americans winning just one hole.
The third match between Max Homa/Brian Harman and Christiaan Bezuidenhout/Jason Day was more evenly matched. The International Team was always ahead, but the Americans fought to the end and even had a chance to level on the 18th hole. In the end, they lost 1 up.
It was a different story in the fourth match, which was another debacle for the American duo. Wyndham Clark and Tony Finau could only win one hole against the Canadians Corey Conners and Mackenzie Huges, who needed just 13 holes to win 6&5.
The only match on day two of the Presidents Cup in which the Americans led at any point was the fifth. It pitted Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley against Byeong Hun An and Si Woo Kim, with the former taking an early lead after winning the 2nd hole.
However, their lead was short-lived as the Koreans took the 6th after three consecutive ties. From there, the match went back and forth for another six holes before the Internationals won the 13th to take the lead.
Scheffler and Henley failed to win any of the remaining five holes. An and Kim won the match 1 up to take the fifth point and the day.
The incredible performance of the International Team
The last time the Americans came out of a Presidents Cup session without a win was in 2003, when the event ended in a tie. It is also the first time in history that a team has responded to the previous day's sweep with a sweep of its own.
The International Team had only won four matches by scores of 5&4 or better between 1994 and 2022. Nevertheless, it won three more matches in that fashion on Friday.
Finally, the five-point lead that the International Team overcame is the largest ever at the event. The previous record was three points in 2003.