CHARLOTTE, NC — The matchups felt a little closer at the Presidents Cup Friday. And then Max Homa made two big shots that gave the Americans the same result.
In his third straight four-putt match, Homa hit a 12-foot birdie on the 17th hole to go up 1-up. After Taylor Penderitt gave the international team hope with a birdie on the 18th hole, Homa connected with another 12-foot birdie for the win.
That gave the Americans another 4-1 lead in the period, extending their lead to 8-2 heading into the weekend at Quill Hollow and another American victory in this one-sided affair seemed inevitable.
For the second time on home soil, the powerful American team heads into Saturday’s doubleheader with a mathematical chance of winning the title.
“It’s crazy,” he said after he and Billy Horschel outlasted the Canadian duo of Penderith and Corey Connors. “What a day, man, to come down to the 18th in a row. Billy made some amazing putts. I just wanted to help him.”
Former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were on hand at the Quill Hollow Club, and while the international team looked for a moment like it might make the game, the deficit at the end of the day was as severe as ever.
The only points for the international team came in two matches.
Scotty Scheffler had a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th, and he and Sam Burns kept only a few blades of grass from falling as they halved the match against Sungjae Im and Sebastian Munoz.
Cameron Young hit a 25-footer for the final. He and Kevin Kisner were separated by half a point in the only match leading the international team against Mito Pereira and Christian Bezuidenhout.
Team USA’s strength comes from a pair of dynamic partnerships. Patrick Cantley and Xander Schauffele were 5-up at the turn and easily won 3-and-2 over Hideki Matsuyama and Tom Kim.
Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas improved to 6-2 in Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup matches, winning 2-1 from the fourth hole over Australia’s Adam Scott and Cameron Davis.
As usual, Spieth and Thomas were far from dull.
They were 2 up through five holes when Thomas hit a 6-iron to 2 feet on the par-3 14th over water for a thick back pin. And just when it looked like the international side might be on the way, Spieth kept up the trick.
His approach on the 15th — the 18th hole when Quail Hollow hosts the Wells Fargo Championship — headed for the stream when he hit the rocks and dropped the green into the rough. He nailed it to 15 feet, and then halved the par hole.
The teams of Spieth-Thomas and Cantlay-Schaufele are 2-0 this week and will be tough to beat no matter what the World Series throws at them.
The feeling comes from the Presidents Cup starters.
Homa’s goal all year was to make the team, and he was one of six captain picks selected by Davis Love III. Homa, who won twice last season, began the new season at the Fortinet Championship with an unlikely Silverado title defense when he birdied the final hole and Danny Willett three-putted from 4 feet.
He flew across the country from California, especially with another point on the board for the Americans at the end of the day. It was the second straight day that Homa was in the finals, meaning the entire American team was in attendance to watch.
“When the best golfers I’ve ever seen in my life look at you, 10 is a real thing and you have to help them,” Homa said. “It’s heavy weight. But it’s also a lot of fun.”
It hasn’t been much fun for captain Trevor Immelman and his international team for two weeks after more players – British Open champions Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann among them – defected to Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
Saturday is crucial in every Presidents Cup, and could be the international team’s last chance to get back into action with four matches in the morning and four balls in the afternoon.
The Americans will be forced to win seven and halve the other to clinch the title, which seems unlikely except for who and how they are playing. In the year They came within one match of doing so at Liberty National in 2017.
