2019 Presidents Cup – Day One – Results and Notes – December 12, 2019

Presidents Cup – Day one notes

Four-Ball Matches – International 4, United States 1

The International Team got off to a magnificent start on Day one of the 2019 Presidents Cup, dominating the USA team 4 matches to 1.

The last time the International Team held a lead after round one of the Presidents Cup was in 2005 with a 3.5 to 2.5 lead. The last time the International Team held a lead after any round was a 6.5 to 5.5 lead following the second round that year in 2005 (Note: current team member Joaquin Niemann was 6 years, 10 months and 16 days old on that day). The United States had led after the first day in nine of the last 12 playings of the Presidents Cup.

MATCH RESULTS:

Match 1- Tiger Woods/Justin Thomas (U.S.) def. Marc Leishman/Joaquin Niemann (INT), 4 and 3
Match 2 – Adam Hadwin/Sungjae Im (INT) def. Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay (U.S.), 1-up
Match 3 – Adam Scott/Byeong Hun An (INT) def. Bryson DeChambeau/Tony Finau (U.S.), 2 and 1
Match 4 – Hideki Matsuyama/C.T. Pan (INT) def. Webb Simpson/Patrick Reed (U.S.), 1-up
Match 5 – Abraham Ancer/Louis Oosthuizen (INT) def. Dustin Johnson/Gary Woodland (U.S.), 4 and 3

Prior to today’s 3-point lead, the largest first-round lead for the International Team came in their lone victory in 1998, also at Royal Melbourne, when they led 3.5 to 1.5 following opening day Foursomes.

Match 1 – Tiger Woods/Justin Thomas (U.S.) def. Marc Leishman/Joaquin Niemann (INT), 4 and 3

Woods and Thomas jumped out to an early 2-up lead as Woods birdied the first two holes. With the U.S. leading 2-up thru 13 holes, Woods birdied holes 14 and 15 to win the match.

The United States has now won nine of the 13 opening matches in the history of the Presidents Cup, and Thomas has now won his second consecutive opening match. He teamed with Rickie Fowler in 2017 to defeat Charl Schwartzel and Hideki Matsuyama in foursomes.

Woods ranks second in most matches won (25-15-1) and is now just one win behind Phil Mickelson (26-16-13). With his match on Thursday, Woods moved into solo second in most matches played with 41. Phil Mickelson ranks No. 1 with 55.

Leishman is now 0-5-0 in four-ball while Thomas is 3-0-0 in four-ball.

Thomas becomes the 11th playing partner in Woods’ Presidents Cup career.

Woods’ playing partners and record
Notah Begay            2-2-0
Fred Couples           1-2-0
Dustin Johnson        1-2-0
Jim Furyk                  3-1-1
Charles Howell III     3-2-0
John Huston              0-1-0
Matt Kuchar               3-1-0
Steve Stricker             4-1-0
Justin Thomas           1-0-0
David Toms                1-0-0
Justin Leonard           0-1-0

Thomas’ Presidents Cup record: 4-1-1
Thomas’ Four-ball record: 3-0-0
Woods’ Presidents Cup record: 25-15-1
Woods’ Four-ball record: 8-9-0
Leishman’s Presidents Cup record: 3-8-3
Leishman’s Four-ball record: 0-5-0
Niemann’s Presidents Cup record: 0-1-0
Niemann’s Four-ball record: 0-1-0

Match 2 – Adam Hadwin/Sungjae Im (INT) def.  Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay (U.S.), 1-up

Neither side held more than a 1-up lead through the entire match. Im chipped in for eagle on the first hole to put the International Team up 1. The U.S. came back to take the lead with a Cantlay birdie on the 6th hole and a birdie by Schauffele on the 7th.  The International Team won the 9th hole with a par and then took the lead for good with a par on the 16th hole.
This is the first match that Hadwin or Im have won in the Presidents Cup. Im is playing as a rookie and Hadwin was 0-2-1 in his first Presidents Cup appearance in 2017.

Schauffele’s Presidents Cup record: 0-1-0
Schauffele’s Four-ball record: 0-1-0
Cantlay’s Presidents Cup record: 0-1-0
Cantlay’s Four-ball record: 0-1-0
Hadwin’s Presidents Cup record: 1-2-1
Hadwin’s Four-ball record: 1-0-1
Im’s Presidents Cup record: 1-0-0
Im’s Four-ball record: 1-0-0

Match 3 – Adam Scott/Byeong Hun An (INT) def. Bryson DeChambeau/Tony Finau (U.S.), 2 and 1

Adam Scott finished No. 4 in the International Team standings and returned for his ninth Presidents Cup as one of three Australians on the team. Scott’s nine appearances is the most of any player on the International side in Presidents Cup history.

Scott played in his 40th match Thursday, putting him in a tie for third in most matches played in tournament history.
Phil Mickelson (55)
Tiger Woods (41)
Ernie Els (40)
Adam Scott (40)
Vijay Singh (40)

An is Scott’s 14th different playing partner in his Presidents Cup career.

An’s Presidents Cup record 1-0-0
An’s Four-ball record 1-0-0
Scott’s Presidents Cup record 15-20-5
Scott’s Four-ball record 4-9-3
Finau’s Presidents Cup record 0-1-0
Finau’s Four-ball record 0-1-0
DeChambeau’s Presidents Cup record 0-1-0
DeChambeau’s Four-ball record 0-1-0

Match 4 – Hideki Matsuyama/C.T. Pan (INT) def. Webb Simpson/Patrick Reed (U.S.), 1-up

After halves on the first two holes, Hideki Matsuyama birdied Nos. 3 and 4 to take a 2-up lead (along with C.T. Pan) over Patrick Reed and Webb Simpson. Birdies by Reed on the par-4 12th and 16th holes squared the match before Matsuyama’s birdie on the par-4 17th hole led to an eventual 1-up victory.

Pan’s Presidents Cup record 1-0-0
Pan’s Four-ball record 1-0-0
Matsuyama’s Presidents Cup record 5-6-3
Matsuyama’s Four-ball record 2-2-2
Reed’s Presidents Cup record 4-4-2
Reed’s Four-ball record 2-1-1
Simpson’s Presidents Cup record 5-4-2
Simpson’s Four-ball 2-2-1

Match 5 – Abraham Ancer/Louis Oosthuizen (INT) def. Dustin Johnson/Gary Woodland (U.S.), 4 and 3

Abraham Ancer, the first player from Mexico to qualify for the International Presidents Cup Team, and Louis Oosthuizen, playing in his fourth Presidents Cup, jumped out to an early 4-up lead in the first five holes en route to a victory over Gary Woodland and Dustin Johnson.

Oosthuizen birdied three of the first five holes, including two par 3s and the par-5 second hole, and Ancer birdied the 13th as Woodland and Johnson combined for three birdies on the day.

Oosthuizen’s Presidents Cup record 8-5-3
Oosthuizen’s Four-ball record 4-3-0
Ancer Presidents Cup record 1-0-0
Ancer’s Four-ball record 1-0-0
Woodland’s Presidents Cup record 0-1-0
Woodland’s Four-ball record 0-1-0
Johnson’s Presidents Cup record 8-5-2
Johnson’s Four-ball record 2-4-0