Early in the four-ball session on Thursday at the Presidents Cup Team USA was leading in every match.
International team captain Nick Price had requested a change to the four-ball format being the first competition in the 2013 Presidents Cup and his wish had been granted. It appeared for most of the afternoon that the Internationals would be completely blitzed and would lose the opening session 0-6.
Lightning and thunder rolled though the Columbus area and play was halted at 2:38 PM with the International team losing every match. Evidently the break was all that was needed for Price’s gang.
In the first match the International team of Graham DeLaet/Jason Day was two-down through seven holes. A win at the par-3 eighth hole got them back to one-down. Birdies late in the round at Nos. 15 and 16 put the Internationals one up over Hunter Mahan/Brandt Snedeker.
Mahan/Snedeker fought back with a birdie No. 17 to win the hole and draw back even. Day, a member of Muirfield Village, made birdie at the last to win the hole and garner the first full point for the International team.
In the second match out, Adam Scott/Hideki Matsuyama were two down through 14 holes to the American team of Bill Haas/Webb Simpson. Scott won No. 15 with a birdie and Matsuyama birdied the par-3 No. 16 to be all-square with the Americans.
The Americans regained a one-up lead when Haas made birdie at No. 17, but 21-year-old Matsuyama rolled in another birdie at the last to halve the match.
Four former major championship winners faced each other in the third match of the day. Louis Oosthuizen, who missed much of the 2013 season to injury, was teamed with his good buddy Charl Schwartzel versus the formidable team of Phil Mickelson/Keegan Bradley.
Mickelson/Bradley took the early lead with a birdie at No. 1. Schwartzel answered with his own birdie at the next hole to get the match back to even. Mickelson’s birdie at No. 4 and an eagle at the par-5 seventh by Bradley put the American team two-up.
A birdie at the par-3 eighth from Oosthuizen made the match all square once more and another birdie from him at No. 11 put the Internationals one-up. Schwartzel closed out the match with birdie at the last hole to give the Internationals the two-up win.
Before the rain delay the International team was losing every match. At the end of the first three matches the International team was leading 2.5-.5.
The American team finally put a full point on the board with a win from Matt Kuchar/Tiger Woods, who beat Angel Cabrera/Marc Leishman 5 &4.
Zach Johnson/Jason Dufner beat Branden Grace/Richard Sterne for the second American point.
Through the first five matches the session was tied 2.5-2.5. Just gaining these points after the slow start for the International team could be seen as a very positive sign for Captain Price.
In the last match on the course super rookie Jordan Spieth was teamed with Mr. Consistent, Steve Stricker versus Ernie Els/Brendon DeJonge.
The Americans had led the match since Stricker had made birdie at the short par-4 third hole. Spieth contributed to the effort with birdies of his own at Nos. 6,10,12 and 14.
Even though the International team was down to the Americans throughout the entire match they combined for eight birdies. De Jonge posted four consecutive birdies on Nos. 10-13, but could not gain ground on Stricker/Spieth.
Els made a clutch birdie at No. 17 to bring the International team to one-down with one hole to go. An International win at the last would earn a ½ point and leave the Presidents Cup tied at 3-3 after the first day’s matches.
Spieth hit his drive too far left, found the creek and was out of the hole. Stricker split the fairway, but plugged his second into a very difficult buried lie under the lip of the bunker that guards the front of the 18th green. Els also found a greenside bunker. De Jonge put his second safely on the green, advantage Internationals.
With both teams gathered around the final match on the course, Stricker made a miraculous bunker shot to within a few feet of the hole. De Jonge was not able to convert his long birdie putt. Stricker calmly rolled in his par save to maintain the one-up win and point to Team USA.
It was classic four-ball match play with both teams playing excellent golf and pushing the match to the last hole.
Spieth put on a great performance for a rookie under the intense pressure of a Presidents Cup and Stricker provided the steady hand.
De Jonge provided the fireworks for the International duo, but Els also helped keep the match competitive. This is exactly the type of competitive grind-it-out effort that Captain Price is looking for from his team.
Early on it appeared this Presidents Cup would be yet another American romp, but by the end of the day the International team proved they would be a force to be reckoned with.