Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns had been waiting and waiting. But on Saturday morning at Medinah Country Club, their time — and Team USA’s — seemed to be running out at the Presidents Cup.
After getting swept by the Internationals in Friday’s foursomes, the Americans entered Saturday’s morning session trailing 7-3. They got out to a hot start and led all four matches on the front nine, but then the momentum started to turn. Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim roared back against Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa to win the match 2&1. Justin Thomas and Jackson Koivun lost a 2-up lead and halved their match with Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im.
Scheffler and Burns led Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Histatsune 1-up at the turn, but the Japanese tandem won the 10th and 13th holes to go 1-up with five to play as the World Nos. 1 and 8 struggled to find success on the greens. Already facing a five-point deficit, the Americans could ill-afford to take another loss, especially one that would have the Internationals knock off Scheffler and Burns for the second consecutive session.
With the Americans reeling, the Internationals had a chance to deliver a blow that would wobble Team USA. But then Scottie Scheffler changed everything.
After Burns missed a short birdie putt on 15, Scheffler looked over a 15-foot birdie look of his own. With Hisatsune a bit closer and on the same line, Scheffler knew he and his team were running out of chances to flip this crucial match and cut into the deficit. Scheffler calmly took his putter back and rolled it into the heart of the cup, unleashing a mighty fist pump as the ball disappeared. After Hisatsune missed, the match was all square, but the Americans had all the momentum.
Scheffler’s lightning bolt gave the Americans needed momentum and then Burns took it from there, stuffing iron shots close on 16 and 17 for birdies to win both holes and the match. With Chris Gotterup and Cameron Young closing out Corey Conners and Nick Taylor 2&1, Team USA won the session 2.5-1.5 and will head into Sunday’s afternoon foursomes session down only three at 8.5-5.5, thanks in large part to the World No. 1’s match-flipping birdie.
“Just waiting for a putt to go in,” Scheffler told NBC’s Cara Banks after the match of his birdie on 15. “The hole felt small for a while, but it opened up there on 15, and it was an important one there because Ryo was on basically the same line as me. So it was nice to be able to hole that one and put some pressure on them. And then Sam, pretty good iron shots there on the last couple of holes.”
While Scheffler’s long birdie stabilized the Americans in the morning, captain Brandt Snedeker elected to sit Scheffler for the afternoon session, instead choosing to pair Burns with Wyndham Clark.
“We’re always prepared for anything,” Scheffler said of sitting in the afternoon. “I’ve played a lot of golf this year. I’ll just sit there and cheer the boys on. Looking forward to watching Sam, he’s one of my favorite people to watch. And get some rest and get ready for tomorrow. I think one of the great things about our team is you can pair guys with anybody. It’s important to get guys out on the course and guys that are playing well, and looking forward to going out and supporting the guys this afternoon.”
The Americans haven’t lost a Presidents Cup since 1998. The Internationals had a chance to land a haymaker on Saturday morning, but Scheffler delivered one of his own, and now the Americans have a chance to claw their way back and avoid a historic upset.
