New Zealand’s Danny Lee has received the golfing equivalent of a “hospital pass” and will play United States world No. 1 Jordan Spieth in the opening foursomes at the Presidents Cup in South Korea.
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The lead could easily have belonged to either team during a final hour at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea that featured clutch putts and big blunders. “I was apprehensive watching him”, said Lee.
The celebration when the putt dropped was raw emotion, a defining moment for Bae and the worldwide team in its bid to finally give the Americans a worthy fight.
Bae teamed with Lee for a 1-up fourballs victory over Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker, and the Internationals won their first team session in four years to pull within a point of the Americans.
“I think the US team after yesterday, they probably thought it was going to be a walk-off”, Grace said.
“We definitely had our opportunities”, Holmes said. “But it’s a good day for us”. “We’re just one point back, and you know, a lot can happen”.
It wasn’t Concessiongate, but given the status of a biennial event that has largely lacked any measure of buzz for a few time, the rules minutiae that likely cost Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson a half point Friday was a reason to sit up and take notice.
When the dust finally settled at the Presidents Cup, the rules snafu led to Mickelson and Johnson losing two holes in the span of a single frame (No. 7), and worldwide captain Nick Price’s suddenly energized team took care of the rest.
The 7th hole is a 560-yard par 5, so Mickelson switched golf balls from the one he was using the whole round.
What’s yet to be determined is why Mickelson had two different models of golf balls in his bag.
Mickelson was reluctant to cast blame on the rules officials and said the responsibility lay with himself. “I have a great trigger that I picked up … on those putts that I normally kind of push out to the right where I can really stay down through the ball; and just looking at the spot just in front of the ball allows me to get over the tension in my hand and make a nice, solid stroke over that point”. But there is a one-ball rule, and the penalty is a one-hole adjustment for the violation.
In effect, the United States lost the hole twice, but Russell admitted that Mickelson could have continued on the hole but was advised he was disqualified from it by the rules committee in discussion with the match referee Gary Young.
Although the Match Committee realized that it incorrectly advised Mickelson, under Decision 34-2/6 of the Rules of Golf, the committee is not allowed to have Mickelson go back and play in an attempt to correct the error.
Day wound up making birdie to win the hole, and the match was all square after six. Even so, the Americans appeared to have this won on the par-5 18th when Watson hit the green in two and Leishman’s third shot was 30 feet short.
The global team was on the cusp of getting blown out, but showed a resiliency that’s indicative of the man leading them this week, Jason Day. The global side won the hole and received a one-hole adjustment, going from all square to 2 up.
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Jason Day and fellow Queenslander Steve Bowditch engaged in the day’s longest and most entertaining battle, eventually succumbing 1-down to Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson. In 2011, Fred Couples led the U.S. Team to a 19-15 win over Greg Norman and the Internationals.
