Tiger, Kuchar charge to 5 and 4 victory in four-ball
Tiger Woods and Matt Kuchar secured the first point for the United States on Thursday on Day 1 of the 10th Presidents Cup against the International team at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
Woods and Kuchar rolled to a 5 and 4 victory against Angel Cabrera and Marc Leishman in four-ball (best-ball) competition, and the Americans emerged with a 3.5 to 2.5 advantage.
Tiger is now 21-14-1 overall and has recorded more points than any player on either team.
“I think we ham and egged it pretty good,” Woods said. “Kuch made a bunch of putts on the front nine and I got it rolling for a little bit. On the back nine, it was just him or me on each hole.”
Playing for the first time together as partners, each man made four birdies and they were a combined 8-under par during the match, which was suspended on the front nine for 90 minutes due to a dangerous weather situation. It failed to deter Woods and Kuchar, who led 2-up at the turn and lost only one hole all day.
Tiger fashioned three straight birdies at the fifth, sixth and seventh holes, and Kuchar birdied three of the last five holes to seal the win.
“We had some fun out there,” Kuchar said. “It’s awfully fun partnering up with the No. 1 player in the world.”
The U.S. has the lead after Day 1 at The Presidents Cup for the fourth straight competition, but the cushion wasn’t as big as it appeared it might be. At one point, the Americans were ahead in five matches and all-square in the other. However, the International team rallied on the back nine.
“We rock and rolled early,” U.S. captain Fred Couples said. “The guys came out firing. I think the rain delay obviously helped the International team, which is fine. They played their hearts out.”
Steve Stricker made a clutch up-and-down for par from a plugged lie in the left greenside bunker on the par-4 18th hole to win his match and helped the U.S. escape with the lead.
Here are the Day 1 results:
• Jason Day and Graham DeLaet (International) def. Hunter Mahan and Brandt Snedeker (U.S.), 1-up
• Bill Haas and Webb Simpson (U.S.) halved with Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama (International)
• Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel (International) def. Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley (U.S.), 2 and 1
• Steve Stricker and Jordan Spieth (U.S.) def. Ernie Els and Brendon de Jonge (International), 1-up
• Tiger Woods and Matt Kuchar (U.S.) def. Angel Cabrera and Marc Leishman (International), 5 and 4
• Zach Johnson and Jason Dufner (U.S.) def. Branden Grace and Richard Sterne (International), 5 and 3
On Friday, the format changes to foursomes (alternate shot). The first tee time is 1:10 p.m. ET. Here are the pairings:
• Match 1: Mickelson-Bradley (U.S.) vs. Day-DeLaet (International)
• Match 2: Haas-Mahan (U.S.) vs. Els-de Jonge (International)
• Match 3: Stricker-Spieth (U.S.) vs. Grace-Sterne (International)
• Match 4: Simpson-Snedeker (U.S.) vs. Cabrera-Leishman (International)
• Match 5: Woods-Kuchar (U.S.) vs. Oosthuizen-Schwartzel (International)
• Match 6: Dufner-Johnson (U.S.) vs. Scott-Matsuyama (International)
