COLUMBUS — United States dominance of the International team was washed out by headlines of uncooperative weather and delayed play throughout the weekend, as rain affected almost all four days of competition at the Presidents Cup at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
The U.S. won the Presidents Cup when Tiger Woods secured par on the final hole of play over Richard Sterne, ending a grueling week of undesirable conditions.
“It feels good,” Woods said of the U.S. win. “It was a team effort this whole week. We played really well and gave ourselves a really nice lead going into the singles, and it was a tough day, tough conditions, (with the) rain and wind. It was tough all around.”
The U.S. led 10.5 to 6.5 heading into Sunday, but it extended that lead before the day’s singles matches began with a 14 to 8 lead. To clinch the Presidents Cup, the Americans needed to win four of the 12 matches and did just that.
The International team seemed to resurge in a morning filled with drizzling conditions, especially with a six-and-four victory secured by Jason Day.
Yet the U.S. refused to back down from a challenging International team, as American golfer Hunter Mahan fired back 30 minutes later with a victory against Hideki Matsuyama.
Australian Adam Scott, who closed out Bill Haas on the 17th hole with a victory, saw this week not only as a struggle for himself, but for the International team as a whole.
“Everything has been tough this week, conditions have been frustrating and made the course tough to play, and (the) greens are so soft, and we are playing a tough American team,” Scott said. “I mean, what a lineup they have — it’s awesome.”
After a Mahan victory, Jason Dufner won against Brendon de Jonge, and U.S. golfer Zach Johnson was close to follow his partner for most of the week with a four-and-two victory against South African Branden Grace.
With a routine two-putt for par by Woods on the 18th hole, the U.S. found its way into the winner’s circle yet again.
This Americans’ win improves their record to 8-1-1 in Presidents Cup play and is their fifth consecutive Presidents Cup victory.
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@ColinHanner
