
Presidents Cup 2015 Leaderboard: Friday Scores, Top Pairings, Twitter Reaction
The International team made a strong comeback in Day 2 of the Presidents Cup, and that team appears to be in a good position to challenge the U.S. team throughout the remainder of the four-day competition.
The Internationals won three of Friday's five matches outright and halved another, while the U.S. team won just once. The U.S. lead has been narrowed to 5.5-4.5. The U.S. held a 4-1 lead after Day 1 in the international competition at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon City, South Korea.
"Rally, rally! ICYMI: Internationals steal the show on Day 2, cut U.S. lead to just one: http://t.co/3lrLVuF36F pic.twitter.com/Xe8PPheA0I
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) October 9, 2015"
Friday's four-ball format proved to be quite troublesome, as the U.S. actually gave away a half-point in the match that Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson played against Jason Day and Adam Scott. That match was all square through six holes, but by the end of the seventh hole the American team was two down.
| Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson | Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace | International | 4 and 3 |
| Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker | Sangmoon Bae and Danny Lee | International | 1 up |
| Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson | Jason Day and Adam Scott | Halved | All square |
| Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes | Marc Leishman and Steven Bowditch | U.S. | 2 up |
| Bill Haas and Chris Kirk | Charl Schwartzel and Thongchai Jaidee | International | 2 and 1 |
On that hole, Mickelson violated the one-ball rule and then was given the wrong ruling by the official governing the match. Mickelson used a different ball on the seventh tee than he had on his previous holes, and he was told that maneuver disqualified him from the hole. Consequently, he picked up his ball.
Johnson lost the hole to Day and Scott for a minus-one, but it didn't end there. Despite what the rules official told Mickelson, he should have continued to play and finish the hole. Since he didn't, the U.S. team lost another point on the hole.
"Sit up and take notice. Phil’s blunder on Day 2 generates excitement, writes @RexHoggardGC: http://t.co/Xa05ObdHge pic.twitter.com/bA3Ob8RtIQ
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) October 9, 2015"
Eventually, Mickelson and Johnson halved the match, but if that rules violation and misinterpretation had not occurred, the U.S. could have won the match.
Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes gave the U.S. its only outright victory of the day as they beat Marc Leishman and Steven Bowditch 2 up. This was an interesting match in that Watson and Holmes secured an early lead but could not extend it. They were 1 up through 14 of the 18 holes and finally pushed the advantage to two holes on the 18th when Leishman and Bowditch conceded the final hole.
Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace scored an impressive 4-and-3 victory over the U.S. power team of Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson. Spieth and Johnson had won by that same score on Day 1, and they held a 1-up lead through seven holes. However, Oosthuizen rolled in a 60-foot birdie putt on the eighth hole, and then Grace followed with two birdies.
"This 60-footer from Louis Oosthuizen squares the match with Spieth-Dustin. #QuickHits http://t.co/6Da9KRLA9d
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 9, 2015"
That allowed the Internationals to build a 2-up lead through 10 holes, and the U.S. team could never recover. Spieth angrily mocked himself after missing a putt on the 14th green, and the match was over one hole later.
Sangmoon Bae and Danny Lee took down Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker by a 1-up margin. The Internationals didn't lead in this match until the final hole, as this match was all square from the 10th through the 17th hole. Bae secured the victory for the Internationals when he nailed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole.
"Tiger-like. Sangmoon Bae's fist pump in his homeland capped an International rally. http://t.co/7Jg2Wi8HYh pic.twitter.com/zggCwiDfus
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 9, 2015"
Charl Schwartzel and Thongchai Jaidee defeated Americans Bill Haas and Chris Kirk 2 and 1. The International team took the lead on the third hole and never trailed in the match. Schwartzel and Jaidee built a 3-up lead on the back nine, and while Haas and Kirk were able to battle back, the Internationals closed out the match when Schwartzel birdied the 17th hole.
The U.S. will try to hold onto its lead on Saturday during the foursome matches.
"Here's Saturday morning's Foursome draw. 4 more Fourball matches to be played in the aftenrnoon. @PresidentsCup pic.twitter.com/8IlgHQcy5Y
— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) October 9, 2015"

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