The first day of the Presidents Cup played out nearly as expected as all but one match went to the Americans and only two made it to the 18th hole. The big shocker was certainly the loss by Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, who seemed to be in control of their match before a birdie putt by Si Woo Kim on the par-5 16th turned the tide. His partner, Cam Davis, would follow it up on the 17th with another birdie to take the lead. Kim and Davis then closed out the American pair that combined for seven wins last season and scored the only points of the day for the Internationals.
It’s a 4-1 advantage for the United States heading into the new format of Four Ball for Day 2. We will see a full shake up of teams on the International side, while three of the American teams will hold steady with Kevin Kisner and Billy Horschel sliding in for Collin Morikawa and Tony Finau on Friday.
There were certainly individuals who played better than others on Thursday and I’ll look to dial in on some of that as we head to Day 2. These guys will get the chance to play their own ball, but it’s hard to say if that does much to help the Internationals as they look to cut into the lead.