Day three of the Presidents Cup from Melbourne, Australia, saw one of the greatest comebacks in tournament history. Marc Leishman of Australia and Abraham Ancer of Mexico might have only generated half a point for the International Team in their foursome match against the American duo of Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas, but in many cases it seemed like an International victory.
In this amazing match, Fowler and Thomas dominated the front nine, as they had four birdies and an eagle on the first seven holes. Over the next three holes, each team had a par, but Thomas and Fowler were well in command as they were still five up.
However, Ancer and Leishman showed a remarkable skill of resiliency. Over the final eight holes (11 through 18), Ancer and Leishman combined for five birdies, while Fowler and Thomas could only score a par on each hole. When Ancer had a seven-foot birdie on the 18th hole, the unexpected comeback made the game all square, but more importantly, helped the International Team maintain a two-point lead of 10-8 heading into Sunday’s singles action.
The United States would still seem to have the upper hand with a rested Tiger Woods (who surprisingly did not play on Saturday) and with loads of talent. Of the 12 American golfers on the team who will play singles on Sunday, six have won a major title. Woods has 15 majors, while Gary Woodland, Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson, Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed each have one. The international team have only two major champions in Australia’s Adam Scott and South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen.
However one must realize over the last six Presidents Cups, the United States has only generated more points than the International Team once during singles play. That was back in 2009 at Harding Park Golf Club in San Francisco when the Americans won seven of 12 matches en route to a 19 1/2 to 14 1/2 win.
