The International team continued to defy expectations on Saturday, when it expanded its Presidents Cup lead to four points in the morning four-ball session at Royal Melbourne.
Again led by Presidents Cup rookie Abraham Ancer of Mexico and Australia’s Adam Scott, the Internationals won the session, 2½-1½, and took a 9-5 lead into the afternoon foursomes.
Ancer and his partner Sungjae Im defeated Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, 3 and 2. Ancer is 3-0 in these matches.
Scott and his partner Byeong Hun An tied Tony Finau and Matt Kuchar when Finau birdied the 18th hole. Scott is 2-0-1 in these matches.
Meanwhile, U.S. captain Tiger Woods again sent the team of Patrick Reed and Webb Simpson out together, and again they failed to deliver, losing to C.T. Pan and Hideki Matsuyama, 5 and 3. Reed and Simpson are 0-3.
Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler were the lone winners for the U.S., defeating Marc Leishman and Haotong Li, 3 and 2. Thomas, who was playing with someone other than Woods for the first time, ran his record to 3-0. He is 10-2-1 overall in Ryder and Presidents Cups.
Woods, 2-0 in these matches, chose not to play in either session on Saturday.
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