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Even with different captains, teams and golf courses, the scene was familiar. Those in red, white and blue hugged, cheered and lit cigars, while those in black and gold hung their heads in disappointment. After four days of fierce competition at the Royal Montreal Golf Club, Team USA was once again the winner of the President’s Cup.
“We put a lot of heart and soul into it,” said US captain Jim Furyk. “It was a really good group of 12, an easy group. I had great leadership at the top. They made the captain’s job very easy and these guys played with heart this week.”
Keegan Bradley, who a year ago suffered heartbreak in his form Ryder Cup snap, found redemption at Royal Montreal as he secured the winning point for the Americans. The point from his singles win over Si Woo Kim pushed Team USA past the 15.5-point threshold, but at the end of the day, the margin was even wider as the Americans sealed their 18.5-11.5 win.
“That was unbelievable,” Bradley said. “I’ve been saying all week that I don’t know if I’ll ever do this again. Just to play in this tournament and then win the point, my lord.”
Bradley was named earlier this year as the U.S. captain for next fall’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. And although he is eligible to captain the game, he has stated that he will only do so if he automatically qualifies for the team.
“If this is my last round as a player, it probably is, I’m happy with that,” Bradley said.
The win is the 10th in a row for Team USA and pushes their all-time Presidents Cup record to 13-1-1. It has now been 26 years since the international team won their only victory at the event and 21 years since Team USA did not come away as outright winners.
of The 15th edition of the Presidents Cup started in familiar fashion as Team USA jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the opening session. However, internationals flipped the script the next day, as they won a sweep of their own to tie the score at 5. From that point on, Team USA asserted its dominance.
Over the last three sessions, the Americans outscored their counterparts 13.5-6.5. Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele led the way with four points each for the Americans, while Corey Conners, Si Woo Kim, Hideki Matsuyma, Taylor Pendrith, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Adam Scott each scored two points for the Internationals.
“We talked about being a dog all week, being the tougher team,” Furyk said. “That back nine if you look at how many holes they won and lost, I have to feel like we owned the back nine this week, and that was the difference.”