Siwoo Kim "I Saved Face"... Defeated World No.1 Scheffler

Siwoo Kim and Davis Defeat Scheffler and Burns in Presidents Cup First Day Foursomes
Seongjae Im, Juhyung Kim, Kyunghoon Lee Face 'Bitter Taste'... International Team Struggles with 1 Win and 4 Losses

Kim Si-woo is cheering after making a birdie on the 16th hole of the foursome on the first day of the 2022 Presidents Cup. Charlotte (USA) = AP·Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] There was no upset. At least Kim Si-woo (27) saved the face of the International Team.

On the 22nd (local time), Kim Si-woo teamed up with Cameron Davis (Australia) in the first day of the 2022 Presidents Cup held at Quail Hollow Club (par 71, 7,521 yards) in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, and defeated the US team of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns by 2 holes. The Presidents Cup is an intercontinental golf competition where the ‘US team’ faces the ‘International Team’ excluding Europe.

In the ‘foursome’ format, where two players alternate playing one ball, Kim Si-woo and Davis struggled, trailing Scheffler and Burns by 3 holes up to the 7th hole. However, they caught up with birdies on the 8th and 12th holes, then won consecutively on the 15th and 16th holes to even the match. Kim Si-woo and Davis also won the 17th and 18th holes, securing a 2-hole comeback victory.

However, despite the victory of Kim Si-woo and Davis, the International Team lost all the other four matches, falling behind 1 win and 4 losses on the first day.

In the first match, Adam Scott (Australia) and Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) were overwhelmingly defeated by Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, surrendering at the 13th hole with a 6-hole deficit. Scott participated in the Presidents Cup for the 10th consecutive time but could not make a mark against the dominant US team.

In the second match, Im Sung-jae (24) also failed to overcome the US team. Partnered with Corey Conners (Canada), Im fought hard against the ‘match play specialists’ Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas but lost by 2 holes. Spieth’s victory brought his Presidents Cup record to 9 wins (1 draw, 5 losses).

The ‘Korean duo’ Kim Joo-hyung (20) and Lee Kyoung-hoon (31), who raised expectations in the third match, also lost by 2 holes to Collin Morikawa and Cameron Young.

In the fifth match, Taylor Pendrith (Canada) and Mito Pereira (Peru) performed well against Tony Finau and Max Homa but faltered with a bogey on the final 18th hole, losing by 1 hole.

The International Team is at an absolute disadvantage in the all-time Presidents Cup record against the US team, with 1 win, 1 draw, and 11 losses. In the previous tournament in 2019, the International Team lost 14-16 to the US team led by ‘Golf Emperor’ Tiger Woods, marking their eighth consecutive defeat.

The second day of the Presidents Cup will be played in the ‘four-ball’ format, where two players each play their own ball and the better score is counted. On the third day, there will be four four-ball matches in the morning and four foursome matches in the afternoon, and on the final day, 12 singles matches will decide the ultimate winner. A win earns 1 point, and a draw earns 0.5 points.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.