With puns ranging from the “Precipitation Cup” to the seemingly frequent “rain DeLaet’s” swarming around the media tent, there’s no doubt this week’s Presidents Cup has had its share of bad luck.
During the event’s third day, golfers experienced their third dad of delays, as heavy rains sent the event into oblivion of when competition will conclude.
“It’s awkward,” Webb Simpson said of the frequent delays. “It’s tough. Today was already going to be a long day no matter what with two rounds. I think it helps in team competition, you’ve got a teammate to feed off of and kind of hang in there with you.”
Second round matches concluded Saturday morning from Friday, but matches split for the second round of matches between the Americans and the International teams, with the U.S. taking a 10.5 to 6.5 lead.
Matches started to take a turn in favor of the U.S. in the morning four-ball matches, when the U.S. took four of the five matches from the International team. For the most part, matches swayed between the teams on the front nine, but just after 12:45 p.m., heavy rains that flooded greens and fairways, and washed out various bunkers on the course, prevented players from resuming until 2:15 p.m.
The near two-hour delay seemed to be the kick starter for the U.S., as two International matches shifted in favor of the U.S. teams.
Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley trailed early against Brendon de Jonge and Ernie Els, but after a series of birdies on the eighth and nine holes, Mickelson and Bradley did not look back. They would finish with a two-and-one victory against the South Africans.
“Today we played so good,” Bradley said. “We were down two early, [but] it could have been a lot more. We hung in there and we battled and we pretty much birdied out from the fifth hole. It was tough to beat us today.”
Mickelson and Bradley birdied a combined nine times after the fifth hole.
A similar trend was apparent during the last of the four-ball matches, when U.S. golfers Tiger Woods and Matt Kuchar trailed or were all-square with their International opponents Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama until the 14th hole. Kuchar made birdie on the par four 14th hole and Woods then followed with an eagle on the par five 15th — a hole where he needed just a birdie to win.
“[Tiger Woods] played some incredible golf today,” Kuchar said. “I was along for the ride for most of it. [I] let him down a couple of times, missed a few putts, but that sure was a fun way to end it.” The match would end when Kuchar poured a birdie putt in on the 18th hole, preventing the International team from rebutting for a halved point.
Bill Haas and Webb Simpson continued to play well after the rain, advancing their lead to four-up over Angel Cabrera and Brandon Grace. A birdie for Haas on the 15th hole was enough to put away the Internationals.
On paper, Americans Brandt Snedeker and Hunter Mahan’s match up against Internationals Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel looked heavily U.S. dominated, as 16 of the 18 holes were American led. Yet, the match wasn’t decided until the 18th hole, where a failed birdie attempt by the Internationals was the decisive factor a U.S. win.
The U.S. failed to win a match between Americans Steve Stricker and Jordan Spieth and Internationals Jason Day and Graham DeLaet. The U.S. golfers took a one-up lead early with a Stricker birdie, but after recording par on the fourth hole, they were unable to take back the lead.
With a DeLaet birdie on the last hole, the Internationals did not look in the rearview for an American comeback.
Play continued for a series of five foursome matches at 3:52 p.m. The last tee time went off at 5:01 p.m. and was sidelined due to darkness. Rain continued to fall down on Muirfield Village after the delay and forecasts call for rain to continue into the night and throughout Sunday.
“This morning was hard,” Nick Price, captain of the International team, said. “I think the guys played really well. The U.S. team just played a little better. I’m surprised. I think everyone is a bit tired. They probably, obviously, have had enough of the rain.”
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@ColinHanner
