The U.S. team has ground to make up on the final day of the Presidents Cup.
With singles matches set for Sunday, some of its most accomplished golfers will be part of the early pairings in the competition vs. the International team.
Cameron Young (vs. Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune), Wyndham Clark (vs. South Korea’s Tom Kim), Justin Thomas (vs. Canada’s Corey Conners) and Scottie Scheffler (vs. Colombia’s Nico Echavarria) will be in the first four matches at Medinah Country Club’s No. 3 course outside Chicago.
“We’ve got some studs up there at the top of the lineup that are going to go out there and hopefully put a bunch of red on the board, get this crowd behind us,” U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker said. “We’ve got some studs throughout the whole lineup. We’ve got some guys in there to do what they’re meant to do.”
The International team had a strong finish to Saturday’s long day of competition, holding a 10 1/2-7 1/2 lead going into Sunday.
“Stay the course,” Snedeker said. “This golf course is difficult. It’s going to be a long, hard day (Sunday). I’ve got the right guys in that team room. They’re going to compete.”
Snedeker has been hard on himself based on the results from Friday and Saturday after the U.S. team had a strong start Thursday.
“I feel like a team reflects their captain, and to this point, I haven’t held up my end of the bargain,” he said. “We’ve got to get our heads down (Saturday night) and come out and work hard (Sunday).”
Echavarria will face Scheffler, the World No. 1. He hasn’t been pressed in pressure situations since Thursday.
“He’s a guy who seems to love the big moments,” Ogilvy said of Echavarria. “He was pretty motivated when he found out he wasn’t playing (Saturday). He’s excited to go out (Sunday). He didn’t know this was going to happen, so he’s learned this now in the team room.
“We hope he’s really excited. It’s a big opportunity for him to play the best player in the world, and we feel like he’s ready for it.”
There will be 12 total matches. The U.S. needs eight points out of the possible 12 to reach the 15 1/2 points required to win. Should the U.S. pick up early points, the final result could come down to younger players.
Rookie Jackson Koivun is in the fourth-to-last match vs. South Korea’s Si Woo Kim, while Jacob Bridgeman is next vs. Australia’s Min Woo Lee.
Russell Henley will face Canada’s Nick Taylor in the second-to-last match. The final pairing pits Xander Schauffele against New Zealand’s Ryan Fox, who was this year’s Open Championship winner.
If nothing else, Snedeker is trying to spread confidence among the U.S. golfers.
“So proud of how they’ve kind of hung in there this week despite all of my mistakes,” he said. “They’re doing great. I’m so proud of them. Can’t wait to see them go out there (Sunday) and compete.”
President Donald Trump is expected to be on hand for Sunday’s competition.
