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JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Day 1 of the Presidents Cup featured something we’re not used to seeing in three former U.S. Presidents gathered to watch a golf tournament. But it also produced something golf fans have gotten very used to at the biennial event: The U.S. leading. After grabbing a 3.5-1.5 advantage at the end of Thursday’s foursomes, the Americans have now led for 27 consecutive sessions, a streak that goes all the way back to 2005. Can the International Team rally on Friday? Keep checking back here for the latest scores, news and highlights from Liberty National.
11:35 a.m.: Day 2 gets underway with perfect tee shots by Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed and Adam Hadwin. Guess that opening drive is a lot easier when three former U.S. Presidents aren’t watching. Although, Hideki Matsuyama, going last, sailed one way right into a hazard. Not a good start for the World No. 3, who is coming off a disappointing FedEx Cup Playoffs.
10:35 a.m.: We are one hour away from the start of Friday’s four-ball session. Here’s a look at the pairings for the five matches:
11:35 — Patrick Reed/Jordan Spieth vs. Hideki Matsuyama/Adam Hadwin
11:50 — Justin Thomas/Rickie Fowler vs. Branden Grace/Louis Oosthuizen
12:05 — Kevin Kisner/Phil Mickelson vs. Jason Day/Marc Leishman
12:20 — Charley Hoffman/Kevin Chappell vs. Anirban Lahiri/Charl Schwartzel
12:35 — Brooks Koepka/Dustin Johnson vs. Jhonattan Vegas/Adam Scott
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6:03 p.m.: Phil and Kisner didn’t make a birdie on the back nine, and that costed them after a three-hole lead at one point in their match against Jason Day and Marc Leishman. Phil had a 7-footer for par to win the match at the 18th, but couldn’t convert, meaning the U.S. will lead by two shots after Day 1 at Liberty National.
That’s not a bad start for the U.S., but it could’ve been an even bigger lead for Team USA after Day 1. As much as it’s disappointing for the Aussies not to take the full point, they’ll probably consider themselves lucky for Phil not to seal the deal with the putt there on the par-3 18th.
5:54 p.m.: Phil Mickelson and Jason Day both miss the green at the finishing par-3 18th hole — both in not-so-great spots. Day came up short in the thick rough, Phil’s ball hit the green and rolled off to the right.
Kevin Kisner and Marc Leishman will have their work cut out for them to scramble for par for the match.
5:50 p.m.: An errant tee shot by Marc Leishman put the International squad in a bad spot on the 17th hole, and that led to a bogey — which means we’re all-square heading to the 18th hole.
Day couldn’t make a 20-footer for par, so par wins it for Phil and Kisner.
Let’s see who can make some fireworks happen at the par-3 18th hole (usually the fourth at Liberty National).
5:35 p.m.: That lights-out match between Phil/Kisner and Day/Leishman is nearing the end as two pars at the 16th hole will bring the match to the 17th hole with the International duo 1-up.
The way this has gone so far — don’t expect this to be closed out with a couple of pars.
5:27 p.m.: Anddd the Internationals are on the board! Branden Grace and Louis Oosthuizen earn the win over Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger, 3 and 1, to put the Internationals on the board.
The most exciting match of the day now will determine how Day 1 ends. Leishman and Day are 1-up on Phil and Kisner with three holes to go…
5:22 p.m.: A close match between Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar vs. Jhonattan Vegas and Adam Scott went down to the last hole, but a halve on 18 gave DJ and Kuch a 1-up win over the Internationals.
That’s a 3-0 lead thus far for Team USA — but the Internationals hold the lead in the final two matches. They need to hold both of those leads to avoid going down back after the first session.
5:07 p.m.: The South African duo of Louis Oosthuizen and Brendan Grace went 4-0 at the last Presidents Cup, and they’re off to a hot start here at Liberty National. They’re now 2-up with three to play over the former Florida State tandem of Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger.
4:56 p.m.: This Mickelson/Kisner vs. Day/Leishman match has been electric over the past hour. A Phil/Kiz win at the 13th hole (usually the 17th hole at Liberty National) puts the match back to All Square.
That’s the sixth straight hole that either side has won a hole without any pushes. They’re all knotted up with five holes to play — expect some fireworks down the stretch.
4:45 p.m.: That’s two wins for the American squad from their young guns. Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed make the U.S. lead 2-0 over the International side with a decisive win.
How about this: Rickie Fowler is the oldest out of those four victorious U.S. squad members thus far. At age 28 — this team is loaded with some young talent … in case you never heard that before.
Of course, Spieth and Reed have been favorites on social media since their success together in U.S. team competitions going back to the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in 2014. So cue up the memes after their W.
4:40 p.m.: The comeback continued for the Aussie super team of Jason Day and Marc Leishman, actually grabbing the lead after back-to-back wins at 10 and 11, but Mickelson and Kisner got one back at 12 to put the match at AS.
Then we were graced with this moment at the 13th hole with Kisner looking for a hero shot. This was amazing:
4:14 p.m.: The FedEx Cup champion and PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas remains the hottest golfer on the planet, teaming with Rickie Fowler to rout Hideki Matsuyama and Charl Schwartzel, 6 and 4, to lead the matches.
The Internationals, though, are mounting a pretty strong comeback. The Mickelson/Kisner 3-up lead against Day/Leishman is now gone after another birdie from the Aussie duo after 11 holes. That’s quite the reversal — and it all happened quickly.
There are now three matches at AS, with Spieth and Reed still 4-up.
What looked like a rout by the Americans in three matches have been reversed quite a bit with holes to go in four matches on Thursday.
3:55 p.m.: How about this comeback that Marc Leishman and Jason Day are mounting? They’ve gotten the match back to 1-down after this amazing shot from Leishman — and an even more amazing celebration by the Aussie … with a Canadian, fan? So cool.
Leishman’s one of the most down-to-earth guys you’ll meet on the PGA Tour. And the fact he just celebrated with a Canadian fan after holing that chip just confirms that fact. Amazing from the winner of the BMW Championship earlier this month. That squad is playing well in trying to reverse one of those big-time outcomes.
3:38 p.m.: This is not an ideal spot to be … Jhonattan Vegas can surely smell the sweet smell of the Hudson River playing this recovery shot.
That didn’t go so well — but to be fair, Adam Scott put him in that spot on the par-3 10th hole.
Scott and Vegas were the only International team leading in their match but not any longer. Matt Kuchar and Dustin Johnson are now AS heading to 11.
3:27 p.m.: Those two 4-up leads for the U.S. are down to 3-up leads, as Matsuyama and Schwartzel trimmed their match with JT and Rickie; and Grillo and Si-Woo Kim are no three bcak Spieth and Reed
But there are now three 3-up leads, as Phil Mickelson and Kevin Kisner have increased their margin over Jason Day and Marc Leishman. The Internationals are going to have to do some work to level one of those matches, or risk facing a big-time deficit before Day 2.
3:12 p.m.: It’s getting dark early in the match of Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas vs. Charl Schwartzel and Hideki Matsuyama. Rickie and JT are now 4-up through 9 … and that’s not the only match that’s 4-up for the Americans right now.
The dynamic duo of Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed are also 4-up (through 7 holes) after winning four consecutive holes against Si-Woo Kim and Emiliano Grillo. Ouch.
3:00 p.m.: Spieth and Reed have now won three consecutive holes to take a 3-up lead on Presidents Cup rookies Si Woo Kim and Emiliano Grillo.
2:52 p.m.: Leishman and Day win their first hole of the match with a birdie at the par-5 fourth and cut Mickelson and Kisner’s lead to 1-down.
At the par-4 fifth, the South African pair of Oosthuizen and Grace get second blue flag on the board with a par. They lead 1-up over Berger and Koepka.
Fowler and Thomas halve the eighth with Matsuyama and Schwartzel. They still lead 3-up.
At the par-3 seventh, Dustin Johnson holes out from the bunker for birdie, getting he and Kuchar’s match back to all square.
2:43 p.m.: All Fowler and Thomas needed was a par at the par-3 sixth to win the hole after watching Charl Schwartzel’s tee shot find the water hazard. They now lead 3-up through seven holes. Spieth and Reed also extend their lead to 2-up through five after making a par to win the par-4 fifth hole.
2:34 p.m. Finally, the Internationals get a blue flag on the board thanks to the Vegas-Scott duo, who just took a 1-up lead with a :birdie at the par-4 fifth. USA now leads three matches, trails in one and are all square in the other.
2:30 p.m.: Oosthuizen and Branden Grace earn their first win of the day at the par-4 third with a par. Their match is now back to all square against Koepka and Berger.
Right behind them, Phil Mickelson nearly holes his approach, setting up a kick in birdie for Kevin Kisner. Unless Leishman and Day can match, they’ll likely be 2-down after three holes.
At the par-5 fourth, Patrick Reed ropes a 308-yard 3-wood on the green, leading to a two-putt birdie. Si Woo Kim’s short birdie putt just slid by and now they trail 1-down.
2:21 p.m.: Marc Leishman holes a big birdie butt for a halve at the par-5 second. He and Jason Day are 2-down to Mickelson and Kisner.
After going 1-down through two, Fowler and Thomas have won three consecutive holes to take a 2-up lead on Matsuyama and Schwartzel through five holes.
2:15 p.m.: Kuchar rolls in a birdie putt at the par-5 fourth and now he and Dustin Johnson are all square with Adam Scott and Jhonattan Vegas. Team USA now leads in three matches and are all square in the other two.
1:58 p.m.: The last match is off the tee — and it has left Jason Day with a start he couldn’t have expected when he was envisioning playing this opening hole. Marc Leishman’s tee shot found the water at the club’s usual fifth hole — so J-Day was hitting a third shot after dropping from the water hazard.
Phil Mickelson and Kevin Kisner are looking good to pick one up on the opening hole.
Phil was also looking good — well, his camera work wasn’t — in an amazing selfie he took with the presidents before his match kicked off. This is a legendary one.
https://twitter.com/goodwalkspoiled/status/913450996688408576
1:46 p.m.: Rickie just provided the (early, yes very early) highlight of the day so far at Liberty National. And his reaction might’ve been even better than the hole-out.
This just evened the match with him and JT vs. Matusyama and Schwartzel. Classy stuff.
You gotta love Rickie waving to JT after the hole-out. Yep, that was pretty decent, Rickie … well-done. That came at a clutch time to put the match back to AS.
1:42 p.m.: The dynamic duo of Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth are back! But it wasn’t exactly the start they had in mind. Reed’s first tee shot (at the club’s normal fifth hole) went way left — thankfully coming to rest in a spot where Spieth could play from. Spieth did well to reach the green to scramble for a par and avoid dropping a shot after one hole.
Unfortunately, for the rest of the matches, it hasn’t gone that way so far.
Thomas and Fowler went down one early to Schwartzel and Matsuyama after the Internationals won the second hole, and Vegas jarred another birdie putt to put his team 2-up on DJ and Kuchar after two.
1:28 p.m.: The Internationals draw first blood — Jhonattan Vegas drained a long birdie putt to give him and Adam Scott and early 1-up lead against Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar.
Vegas, a rookie in the competition, is showing no signs of Presidents Cup jitters thus far — as he hit the opening tee shot and drained the first birdie putt for the International squad.
1:05 p.m.: The alternate-shot match is underway with Rickie Fowler striping his driver down the middle of the fairway at the tough opening hole. Charl Schwartzel, who hit the first ball, saw his driver go way right.
But Hideki Matsuyama found the back portion of the green, and Justin Thomas and Rickie couldn’t convert for birdie, so the first match is AS after one.
12:50 p.m. First-tee ceremonies are officially underway! This is the first time three past presidents have attended the Presidents Cup at the first tee. Really a special moment with Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama overseeing the opening tee shots at Liberty National.
Country-music singer Darius Rucker sang the national anthem at Liberty National. One of the big storylines coming into the week was whether there would be any sort of protest by the U.S. or International players, as we saw in the NFL last weekend, during the national anthem. U.S. captain Steve Stricker said his team would stand, and that they did.
Here are the opening pairings for Day 1’s foursomes. The first match-up might be the most intriguing, with strong teams from both squads: Hideki Matsuyama and Charl Schwartzel against Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler.
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Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed vs. Si Woo Kim and Emiliano Grillo
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Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar vs. Adam Scott and Jhonattan Vegas
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Brooks Kopeka and Daniel Berger vs. Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace
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Phil Mickelson and Kevin Kisner vs. Jason Day and Marc Leishman
RELATED: Presidents Cup 2017: The breakdown of Day 1’s opening matchups
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