It was a brutal start for the US team led by Tiger Woods as they struggled on the opening day of the Presidents Cup against a team of solid but unspectacular international golfers at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia.
Team captain Woods and playing partner Justin Thomas won their opening match against Marc Leishman of Australia and Joaquin Niemann of Chile by a robust 4 and 3 margin, but four other American teams got smacked down on the opening day of competition.
The US team is trailing by a 4-1 margin in the event it has dominated over the years. This is the first time the US has trailed against their international counterparts since 2005.
Woods was brilliant on his opening day, as he did most of the work in his match with six birdies. Thomas gave Woods credit for that win because he was so sharp in his driving, approach shots and putting.
“He played great,”Thomas said, per the New York Post. “It’s no coincidence why we won. He really carried me out there. It was a tough day out there, and to have as many birdie putts as he had on a couple holes was the reason we won the match.”
Woods also serves as the captain for the Americans, and his performance as a player far outstripped what he was able to do as a team leader.
His players suffered stinging defeat after stinging defeat.
Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay lost 1-up to Adam Hadwin and Sungjae Im; Byson DeChambeau and Tony Finau were defeated 2&1 by Adam Scott and Byeong Hun An; and Patrick Reed and Webb Simpson lost to Hideki Matsuyama and C.T. Pan, 1-up.
However, the most painful loss was the 4&3 beating that Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland suffered at the hands of Louis Oosthuizen and Abraham Ancer.
Johnson and Woodland are two of the biggest, strongest and longest-hitting players on the planet, while Oosthuizen and Ancer are both diminutive golfers who rely on their precise technique to survive among the game’s best golfers. Those two jumped out to a huge lead and never blinked against the two US behemoths.
Many consider Johnson to be the most physically gifted player on the tour, but he has won just one major tournament and is known as much for his disappointments as he is for his success.
Reed and Simpson rallied to tie Matsuyama and Pan on the 16th hole, but Matsuyama dropped a long birdie putt on No. 17 that allowed the International team to regain the lead. Desperate to square the match on the 18th hole, the Americans were unable to rally.
Reed comes into the Presidents Cup steeped in controversy, as he was involved in a cheating controversy last week when he improved his lie in the bunker at the Hero World Challenge. That is a clear violation of golf rules that all pros and even most amateurs know.
The Americans are in a deep hole as it heads into Friday’s Foursomes competition. There is no doubt that Woods, the player, can handle his responsibilities on the golf course. However, Woods, the captain, must find a way to rally his troops or the Presidents Cup could turn into a full-fledged disaster for the heavily favored Americans.
