None of the four South Korean players have managed a victory in the singles in Canada, as their International Team fell to the United States for the 10th straight time at the Presidents Cup.
Tom Kim and An Byeong-hun each earned a half point for tying their matches at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal on Sunday (local time), while Im Sung-jae and Kim Si-woo each lost theirs in an 18.5-11.5 victory by the favored U.S. side.
The biennial Presidents Cup pits the U.S. against a team of non-European international players in match play. After three days of fourball and foursome matches, the 12 players from each team went head to head in the singles on the final day. The U.S. led 11-7 entering Sunday and needed 15.5 points to win the cup. The clinching point came when Kim Si-woo missed an 8-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole that sealed the win for Keegan Bradley in the sixth singles match.
The U.S. has now won 13 out of the 15 Presidents Cups so far, with one loss in 1998 and a tie in 2003.
Tom Kim, the youn
gest player on either side at 22, tied Sam Burns in the second match of the day. He was trailing by two holes through 12 before winning the 13th hole with a par and then the 15th hole with a birdie.
Kim and Burns traded birdies on the 17th, and Burns got up and down for par on the 18th, while Kim missed on his 15-foot birdie try. Kim finished his second Presidents Cup at 1-2-1 (wins-losses-ties).
Kim said it took him a while to find his rhythm after going down early against Burns.
“From my last Presidents Cup experience, it was the same thing. I just got really flat and couldn’t come back, and I made sure that I learned from that,” Kim said. “I wanted to figure out a way to get at least half a point in this match and once I got a good hole on that par-3 on 13, I felt like I had momentum and I kept riding it. I had a really good birdie on 15. I fought hard and this week I played with everything I can and I’m proud of myself.”
Im never led against Russell Henley, who prevailed 3 and 2. Im won just one hol
e, the par-4 third, and Henley closed out the match on the 15th hole with a par after Im missed a 6-foot par putt. Im went 1-4-0 in his third Presidents Cup.
Kim Si-woo led Bradley 1 up through the front nine before the American veteran won four of the next five holes to grab a 3-up lead.
Kim then won the next two holes and had a chance to salvage a tie on the 18th green, but his birdie attempt missed on the left side. Kim ended his third Presidents Cup at 2-2-0.
An, who did not play Saturday, built a 2-up lead over Sahith Theegala at the turn. The American responded by winning the 10th, 11th and 13th holes with birdies to take a 1-up lead.
An made a 15-foot birdie putt from just off the green on the 14th to tie the match. The two players all made pars on the final hour holes to take a half point each. An had a 1-1-1 record at his second Presidents Cup.
Source: Yonhap News Agency