Americans restore lead in Presidents Cup delayed due to fog

MONTREAL (AP) — Scottie Scheffler secured an American victory with two birdie putts and Patrick Cantlay added another with two big birdies Saturday in the Presidents Cup as the United States, having just been shut out, tied for 8th -7 points came back. 6 lead.

On a day when the game at the Royal Montreal was delayed by dense fog, there were still four four-a-side games remaining in which the international team was determined not to lose any more ground.

International captain Mike Weir sent the same teams as in the four-ball, which meant four players – Jason Day, Min Woo Lee, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Byeong Hun An – were out for the whole of Saturday.

Tom Kim once again provided an emotional spark at the Internationals as he partnered Si Woo Kim to claim the morning's only fourballs victory. They made birdies on the first two holes and beat Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark 4 and 3.

Tony Finau and Xander Schauffele never trailed in a 3-2 win over Canadian duo Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes.

The U.S. lead came from the other two games, both with key moments.

Collin Morikawa, playing with Scheffler, made a 40-foot birdie on No. 2. Adam Scott responded with a 4-iron to 3 feet for birdie on No. 3. They halved the next eight holes until the Americans hit one Birdie took the lead on the par-5 12th.

They were looking to take the lead on the 14th until a surprising turnaround occurred. Taylor Pendrith drove into the water. Scott was 25 feet away after a bad wedge, while Morikawa put his shot in 5 feet. Scott made birdie, Morikawa missed and the game was tied.

Pendrith looked to give the Internationals their first lead by getting within 4 feet on the next hole. But he missed the birdie putt and Scheffler took over from there. The world's best player made an 8-foot birdie putt on the 16th for a 1-1 lead, and Scheffler finished the game with a 15-foot birdie putt just shy of the green.

In the anchor game, Sungjae Im birdied Cantlay and Sam Burns three times to prevent the game from getting out of hand. Cantlay chipped in the eagle chip in the 12th for a 2-0 lead. And then me and Hideki Matsuyama – mostly me – tried to collect ourselves.

I get hit at 6 feet on the 15th, but Cantlay makes it from 25 feet. It was close again on the 16th and Cantlay hit his putt from 18 feet. Instead of the game being completely even with two games remaining, the Americans slumbered and ended the game when Matsuyama missed an 8-foot birdie attempt.

It was already an unusual week, the first time in a professional cup – Ryder, Presidents or Solheim – that teams took turns pitching shutouts. The Americans opened 5-0 in foursomes, the Internationals countered with 5-0 in foursomes.

And then Saturday's morning session was interrupted for 90 minutes by fog, meaning dense players couldn't see the landing zone in the fairway. The sun finally broke through and the afternoon was a race against time to finish before the Sunday individual.

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AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf