Lahiri, the first Indian to play at the Presidents Cup, lipped out from just over two feet to hand Chris Kirk victory, just as the Internationals looked to be turning the corner. The Americans, after all, had won each of the last five matches by at least three points. Haas sought the opinion of the players who qualified, and it became an easy choice. On the final hole, Spieth hit a pitch to tap-in range for a birdie, and Leishman had to make a 7-foot putt to assure the win.
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Actually, Price – with the support of US captain Jay Haas – presented a list of 20 changes that he felt would improve the Presidents Cup to PGA Tour commissioner, Tim Finchem. The U.S. got the Cup yet again, posting a 15.5 to 14.5 victory.
When setting the lineups in these team match play competitions, the top guns are rarely put in the final match because all the points ahead of it often render it meaningless.
Bae needed another shot to reach the short grass, and later conceded the hole and the match to Haas. But even he teared up in a greenside interview with his father after clinching the winning point.
In the 21-year history of the event, the global team’s only win came in 1998. This time Haas and new partner Matt Kuchar played Sangmoon Bae and Hideki Matsuyama of the Internationals.
The Presidents Cup was tied, and with the status of other matches on the course, a point from Lahiri looked as though it would be the victor for the worldwide team. His dad noticed. And when it was over, both men were holding back their emotions. That’s how draining and intense this got on Sunday. I should have won this for this team. They had early leads in nine matches.
Two halves were just as critical. The final match. And it was deciding match.
Then for a brief moment on the 18th green in the least appealing match, it appeared the Internationals were about to take it outright. If there was another goat for the global Team it was Anriban Lahiri who went 0-3.
Watch how all the action unfolded below.
His putt caught the right edge of the cup and spun out, and he dropped his putter over his back in disbelief. The Haas clincher will get most of the publicity, but this enormous sequence was the biggest swing late in the session.
Phil Mickelson, United States, def. Charl Schwartzel, International, 5 and 4. But it’s the lesser names that so often bubble up in what are, unquestionably, the most pressurized spots in the game.
The Ryder Cup long ago proved to be a golf event far beyond inconsequential, and the Presidents Cup, for all its perceived flaws, proved over the weekend that the same is true. That’s what will go in the record books. ” … Jay kind of gave me the freedom to just be me and sometimes I say and do a few dumb stuff, and sometimes I can help a few guys lighten the tension because we all feel pressure”. It will be remembered as one of the better team events ever in a week that started with yawning apathy and questions about its future. You saw it in J.B.
Here’s the full match board from a week that delivered the United States of America the Cup as 15.5 to 14.5 victors. Johnson – US wins, 2-up 10:57 p.m. ET Weds – Lee/Leishman vs. Spieth/D.
“I don’t want any of you to be negative in any way toward Anirban and to Moon”, Price told reporters.
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Oosthuizen and Grace maintained their winning run as they beat Reed and Fowler 3&2 in the morning foursomes.
