Signature Scroll: Have Internationals found Foursomes formula?

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They say two is a coincidence and three is a trend …

Brooms out

MEDINAH, Ill. – There are two conflicting histories coming to a head at the Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club.

The Internationals are historically poor in the Foursomes, by far their worst of the three match-play formats. Want to know why they’ve won just one time in the event’s history? Foursomes is the place to start.

The U.S., conversely, has lost its ability to play it. Between the last few Presidents Cups and Ryder Cups, the Americans have lost 24 of a possible 30 points in Foursomes.

Who bucks their trend will likely win the Presidents Cup.

So far: Advantage Internationals.

The Internationals swept Friday’s Foursomes session for the second time in as many Cups, blanking the Americans to take a 7-3 lead, their biggest advantage through two sessions since 1998. That also happens to be the only year the Internationals won the Presidents Cup.

Will history repeat itself? It was an incredible day for the away team, who quieted the Chicago crowds and left no doubt. This wasn’t a wild swing to the Internationals at the end. They controlled the session throughout. The Americans would have done well just to squeeze out one point.

That’s quite the concerning trend for the U.S., who were ultimately able to survive the Internationals' Foursomes sweep in 2024. That year, though, the score was tied 5-5.

Why have the Americans struggled as of late? U.S. Captain Brandt Snedeker isn’t sure. It’s an open debate whether that’s concerning or relieving.

“It's the million-dollar question, right?” Snedeker said. “I don't know. I know our guys are committed to it. Our guys practice it hard leading up to this. I feel like we had the right matchups, we felt like, and some days the ball just doesn't want to go in. I can't put my finger on it.”

Snedeker is right. Sometimes the putts drop, and sometimes they don’t. Yet the U.S. no longer has time to wait for the performances to normalize. The results need to materialize.

“There's a helluva lot of golf in front of us, and I'm telling you, these guys are going to come out firing tomorrow,” Snedeker said.

Friday’s pairings showed they were trying to find a remedy. The Scottie Scheffler/Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele pairings are familiar in Foursomes, but the three other teams that Snedeker trotted out had never played the format before. They were supposed to be solutions. Only one of those teams reached the 17th hole.

Now the U.S. is left to find answers and isn’t sure where to search. It begins with repeating a session win in Four-ball. But that will only get the Americans so far before Foursomes returns in the afternoon.

The U.S. may win despite the Foursomes deficiency, but for the first time in a long time, we have a legitimate fight on our hands at the Presidents Cup.

Playing through

• 📺 Catch up with Friday Foursomes highlights …
• 🤯 Scottie Scheffler dropped to 1-8 in Foursomes. I tried to figure out what’s going on …
• 🟡 We got the Golden Wave. My colleague Lisa Antonucci laid it all out …

Match previews

Only four Four-ball matches to preview. We won’t know the Saturday afternoon Foursomes matches until the morning matches end.

Match 11 (8:02 a.m. ET): Min Woo Lee/Sungjae Im (International) vs. Justin Thomas/Jackson Koivun (U.S.)

The Internationals are rolling with the same game plan as Thursday, starting their session with the Lee/Im pairing. They couldn’t convert, ultimately losing on the 18th hole to Scheffler and Burns. But these are different opponents on the other side. Thomas is coming off a poor Friday, and Koivun will face increased pressure going out first. Can they respond?

• Advantage: International

Match 12 (8:20 a.m. ET): Collin Morikawa/Wyndham Clark (U.S.) vs. Si Woo Kim/Tom Kim (International)

A change is in order for the Internationals here, pushing their anchor pairing up to second. Is Ogilvy looking to send an early message? If so, the Kim duo is the way to do that. Morikawa and Clark were the U.S. Team’s best Four-ball duo, so this has the makings of a marquee match.

• Advantage: International

Match 13 (8:38 a.m. ET): Nick Taylor/Corey Conners (International) vs. Chris Gotterup/Cameron Young (U.S.)

Two new Four-ball pairings here. Ogilvy sends out the Canadians, who won in Foursomes and Snedeker matches with two of his top birdie-makers. Young and Gotterup are 0-3 combined.

• Advantage: U.S.

Match 14 (8:56 a.m. ET): Scottie Scheffler/Sam Burns (U.S.) vs. Hideki Matsuyama/Ryo Hisatsune (International)

The Scheffler-Burns pairing remains intact , at least in Four-ball. They will go up against the Japanese duo of Matsuyama-Hisatsune. Both pairings won their respective Four-ball matches on Thursday, so something has to give.

• Advantage: U.S.

Paul’s picks: 2-2 in Four-ball, 9-5 International lead overall

Parting shots

• ⛓️‍💥 Justin Thomas lost his first match ever in a team format at the Presidents Cup. He was 11-0-2 between Four-ball and Foursomes at this event until losing 3 and 2 alongside Cameron Young. After Thomas was the best statistical performer on Thursday, he was the worst in the field on Friday.
• 🤔 Snedeker admitted that the Justin Thomas-Cameron Young Foursomes pairing was a result of both playing well on Thursday. He didn’t feel he could keep them off the course, so he put them together. Snedeker said the two had prepped for the possibility, but intimated it was an adjustment they made after Thursday’s session.
• 👏 I was standing on the 18th fairway when Taylor hit that approach stone dead. It was a remarkable moment and an incredible shot. From where Taylor was standing, it seemed like he had no shot to hold the green on that line. The only way Taylor knew it was good was from the wives of the International players screaming for joy.
• 📈 Adam Scott moved above .500 in the Foursomes format (11-10-2) with his win. It’s his best winning percentage and feels earned. He’s endured a ton of tough Presidents Cups. It’s nice to see some green, at least in one format.
• 🇿🇦 It hasn’t always been pretty, but man has Bezuidenhout carved out an impressive record. He’s now 4-1-1 in his Presidents Cup career.
• ❌The internal out-of-bounds continues to mess with the competitors. Burns pumped one out of bounds at the third, and Bezuidenhout tugged his approach over the fence at the second. Both teams lost those holes. It’s a great feature for any golf course, in my opinion, and it is particularly brutal in match play.