Weir's Canadian crew can't hold off U.S. onslaught as Americans win 10th straight Presidents Cup
CBC
The International team just didn't have a second historic comeback in them at the Presidents Cup.
South Korea's Si Woo Kim missed a birdie putt on No. 18 to lose to Keegan Bradley in the tournament-winning match and the United States went on to beat the Internationals 18 1/2 to 12 1/2 on Sunday in the final round of the Presidents Cup. The International team trailed by four points entering the final day of play, two days after they had responded to a 5-0 first-round shutout with a 5-0 clean sheet in the second round.
"We're all competitors and the result stinks, but man, the memories that we made," said Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., who was playing in the elite biennial men's golf tournament for the first time.
"The feelings we had on the golf course Friday will be something I think about for a long time."
Bradley's victory gave the Americans the 15 1/2 points required to win the tournament with five matches still on the course at Royal Montreal Golf Club. It was the U.S.'s 10th consecutive win at the elite biennial tournament.
WATCH: Conners Canada's only bright spot Sunday :
The Americans held an 11-7 lead heading into Sunday's final round, meaning the Internationals needed to take at least eight matches and earn one tie out of the 12 pairings to win.
"The results don't do justice for how close these matches were," said Hughes. "If we played the last couple holes better in a few matches, this thing could swing the other way."
The largest final-round comeback in Presidents Cup history was when the Americans rallied from a two-point deficit at Australia's Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 2019.
"I just love these guys. I love their fight and what I saw out there today, all week, from the get-go, they battled right to the end," said Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., the first Canadian to ever captain the International team. "That's all you can ask from the captain is what I asked them to do, and they responded and did that."
The Presidents Cup sees 12 Americans play 12 golfers from around the world, excluding Europe. The Ryder Cup, when the U.S. plays Europe's top players, is held on opposite years.
Medinah Country Club outside Chicago will host the next Presidents Cup in 2026.
Showmanship was an integral part of the Internationals' strategy throughout the tournament. They had repeatedly said they were trying to make the most of their home-field advantage at Royal Montreal to try and overcome a stacked American roster that featured five of the top 10 players in the world.
South Korea's Tom Kim said on Saturday that his American opponents had sworn at him and fellow South Korean Si Woo Kim during their fourth-round match. However, he apologized to Xander Schauffele and American captain Jim Furyk after the tournament concluded.