Presidents Cup is same old same old
U.S. dominates again in Canada; Unheralded Hidalgo beats Rahm in Spanish showdown
Collin Morikawa and Team USA did not let go of the Presidents Cup (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QUEBEC — Perhaps the most surprising aspect to another Presidents Cup rout is the fact that the International team actually swept an entire session and went into the weekend tied.
Yep, after getting whitewashed on Day 1, the International men in black fought back and returned the favor to the United States on Day 2, sweeping the five foursomes matches that had historically been the side’s worst.
It was a galvanizing day that put the players from around the world (excluding Europe) in a position to win for just the second time in 15 engagements over 31 years. It was 5-5 going into Saturday, and the Americans were in the position of seeing their nine-match winning streak end.
And then the momentum stopped.
Mike Weir, the International captain, decided to send the same eight players out for the marathon double session — leaving four OWGR top-50 players on the bench the entire day in four-balls and foursomes — and you wonder if that might have made the difference. Especially when the world team ran out of gas as daylight dwindled on Saturday.
The U.S. prevailed on Sunday 18½-11½ in another one-sided victory that saw the Americans win the 15th Presidents Cup for the 10th straight occasion.
Team USA led 11-7 after Saturday’s eight sessions. That’s really where the competition was won and lost.
The U.S. went 3-1 in the morning four-balls and 3-1 in the afternoon foursomes and it was all but over. Its unlikely to come back from four down by winning 8½ points in 12 singles matches.
And yet, had the International side managed to squeeze just a half point more out of each session or fared better over the closing 90 minutes on Saturday — when matches were lost with tired players — perhaps Sunday would have had more drama.
“It was an interesting week,” Weir said. “We’ve really been good in four-ball, and we just had a tough day Thursday and some really close matches we all talked about here. But the foursomes was dynamite, obviously, and something that we had struggled with.
“So we wanted to carry that momentum into Saturday. That’s why we went with the groups we went with and carried that momentum.
“Of course when you lose the Cup, as captain you look back and say ‘was that a good idea or not?’ You’ve got 12 great players here, and you’re trying to make the best decisions over the course of four days out there. Look, I’ll second guess it. You know what, we didn’t win. I think in my career anytime I’ve fallen short, I’ve taken a hard look. So that will be something I’ll do when I have time to process it.”
Who knows if it would have mattered or not?
Weir, a nice guy and a Canadian legend as the only golfer north of the border to win a major championship (2003 Masters), tried his best to build on the new attitude forged by recent Presidents Cup teams.
It didn’t help that the Canadian fans who might otherwise breathe fire at a hockey game were less than fired up during Thursday’s opening session, when the Americans jumped to a 5-0 lead. All of the matches were close, so a spark here or there might have changed the outcome.
Both Ernie Els and Trevor Immelman — past captains who were assistants this week — sought to build a different culture, one that Adam Scott, playing in his 11th Presidents Cup, fully embraced.
But the result was the same.
Keegan Bradley was clutch on Thursday and Sunday, clinching U.S. win (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
The U.S. needed just four-and-a-half points on Sunday to win and it was effectively over halfway through the 12 singles matches.
Keegan Bradley, snubbed a year ago for a spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team that got thumped in Rome, was ironically the player who sealed the victory with his 1-up win over Si Woo Kim, having let a 3-up lead with three to play reach the 18th where the match ended when Kim missed a chance to tie.
Bradley, 38, the oldest player on the U.S. team, was an at-large selection of captain Jim Furyk after playing his way in with a late victory in August’s BMW Championship.
There were still five matches being played on the course when Bradley clinched it. He finished with a 2-1 record for the week in his first team competition since the 2014 Ryder Cup. It was Bradley’s first singles victory in either the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup.
The U.S. team began the day with an 11-7 lead needed only 4½ out of 12 points in order to win the Cup. The International team needed to win 8 ½ points to win or 8 to tie.
“We talked about taking care of business today, and we all went out there and did it,” Bradley said. “I was just lucky enough to be in that spot in the day, but really a meaningful moment in my life. The last time I played in one of these I was the clinching point for the Europeans in the Ryder Cup. Fast forward 10 years later, and I got to do that today. Really something I’ll remember the rest of my life.”
Bradley was referring to the Ryder Cup in 2014 at Gleneagles, where Jamie Donaldson beat him to secure the Cup for Europe.
That night, Phil Mickelson blasted U.S. captain Tom Watson, and the U.S. course of the Ryder Cup changed. Now it’s come full circle, with Bradley the unlikely choice to captain the team next year.
To make his own team on merit (not self-selection) will be a daunting task.
“I don’t care about my personal gains of playing in the tournament, I only care about winning the Ryder Cup,” Bradley said. “I think the best way to do that is to let these boys play and let them do what they do. We’ll see. I don’t see it happening, but we’ll see.
“If this is my last round as a player, I’m happy with that.”
The U.S. got victories on Sunday from Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Patrick Cantlay, Bradley, Collin Morikawa and Max Homa. They won without Scottie Scheffler, who fell to Hideki Matsuyama but still went 3-2 for the week.
Sam Burns — the only player on either team with an unblemished 3-0-1 record — Wyndham Clark and Sahith Theegala all earned halves in singles. The only player who didn’t earn a point all week for the U.S. was Brian Harman, who went 0-3 including 0-2 with Homa in foursomes matches that reached the 18 hole.
It hardly mattered. As usual, the U.S. was too strong at the top and too deep.
Also as usual that won’t seem to matter when a good number of these players are part of Bradley’s Ryder Cup team at Bethpage Black.
Ángel Hidalgo (middle) got the best of Jon Rahm and David Puig (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Hidalgo thwarts Rahm in Spanish playoff
It was a Spanish block party all day in the Open de España. LIV heavyweights on co-Olympians Jon Rahm and David Puig were locked in an all-Spanish three-way in the final pairing on Sunday at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.
Then there was the third wheel in the Spanish trio — a slight-of-stature DP World Tour regular still searching for his maiden victory, Ángel Hidalgo.
Who are you betting on?
Rahm went birdie-birdie on 17 and 18 to forge a tie and force a playoff with Hidalgo. On paper, it’s a mismatch — the former world No. 1 and three-time Spanish Open champion against the guy who stood in the gallery only a couple of years ago to watch his hero, Rahm, win.
The second time through the drivable par-4 18th, it was Rahm who made a messy par and Hidalgo who birdied to win. He immediately buried his face in his hands in shocked relief and happiness.
“Two or three years ago, I was in the first tee, in the trees, supporting Jon — without playing, I just come here to Madrid to see the tournament,” Hidalgo said. “To be here and win the tournament is unreal. Oh, my gosh, it’s amazing.”
It was the first all-Spanish final group at Spain’s national Open since 2019, when Rahm won comfortably ahead of Rafa Cabrero Bello and Samuel Del Val.
Hidalgo’s two-shot 54-hole lead was wiped out at the first hole when he missed a 3-foot putt and made bogey while Rahm (also champion in 2018 and 2022) made birdie and Puig did as well to pull a shot behind.
Puig’s hot start continued as he opened up a three-shot lead through seven holes. Puig, however, fell out with five bogeys in the next 10 holes and missed the playoff by four shots.
Rahm's 19-foot birdie putt on 17 cut Hidalgo’s margin to one. Another birdie at the short 18th was good enough for a playoff when Hidalgo missed a 4-footer to win.
He didn’t miss in the playoff, making birdie twice including his 2-footer to win.
“I was pretty relaxed all day, even the first tee, I don’t know why,” Hidalgo said. “Even when I missed the short putt (at the first) — or this one, hole 72 — I was not discouraged.
”On the eighth tee, I thought David Puig is going to win the tournament by eight because he was hitting amazing, and Jon and myself made a few mistakes.”
Rahm praised Hidalgo’s victory and what the day meant for Spanish golf.
“May he enjoy it,” Rahm said. “Winning at home, winning a Spanish Open with all the support that there has been. You could tell how much he felt it and how important it was for him.
“What happened today helps. Having a final like this, no matter who wins, helps those kids who were watching here or on TV to want to try playing golf to experience moments like today’s.”