The second day of matches at the Presidents Cup were anything but routine.
U.S. captain Jay Haas wanted his team to “keep the pedal down.”
That didn’t happen.
“I hope they will fight back,” was International captain Nick Price’s wish.
He got it.
On top of all that, Phil Mickelson broke a rule and to make it worse, an official gave him a bad ruling in regards to that broken rule.
At the end of the day, the Americans, who won four of the five opening alternate shot matches, saw the Internationals win three of the five best ball matches on day two.
The score is now 5 1/2 to 4 1/2 in favor the the United States with two rounds of matches — alternate shot and best-ball scheduled for Saturday (Friday night in U.S.).
The day started with the Americans getting out quickly and leading in three of the five matches but the Internationals got momentum when the undefeated South African team of Louie Oosthuizen and Branden Grace took down Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson in the first match out — 4-and-3.
That set the table for the International rally.
The only U.S. full point came from Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes. They won 2-up over Marc Leishman and Steven Bowditch, the weakest International pair on paper.
The big controversy of the day came on the seventh hole in the match between Mickelson and partner Zach Johnson going against Jason Day and Adam Scott, considered the strongest International four-ball pairing.
Mickelson switched to a different ball, a “firmer” ball according to Mickelson. By switching, he broke the “one ball” rule. The rules official told Mickelson to pick up, disqualifying him from further play on the hole. Johnson lost the hole to put the team one-down. With the penalty for the violation, they went to two-down.
The problem was, Mickelson should have been allowed to continue pay on the par five. Had he tied the hole, the U.S. team would only be one-down vs. two. The match would end in a tie, thus the incorrect ruling had an effect.
Mickelson admitted he should have known the rule but also pointed out it was the official’s responsibility to know the rule as well.
“Phil made a huge mental error,” said team captain Haas. “And then they (the rules officials) compounded it a little bit.”
Friday’s Four-Ball (Best-Ball) Results:
Louie Oosthuizen/Branden Grace 4-and-3 over Dustin Johnson/Jordan Spieth
Danny Lee/Sang Moon Bae 1-up over Rickie Fowler/Jimmy Walker
Phil Mickelson/Zach Johnson halved Jason Day/Adam Scott
J.B. Holmes/Bubba Watson 2-up over Marc Leishman/Steven Bowditch
Thongchai Jaidee/Charl Schwartzel 2-and-1 over Bill Hass/Chris Kirk
Saturday’s Foursomes (Alternate Shot) Matches:
Patrick Reed/Rickie Fowler vs. Louis Oosthuizen/Brandon Grace
Bubba Watson/J.B. Holmes vs. Adam Scott/Marc Leishman
Bill Haas/Matt Kuchar vs. Sang Moon Bae/Hideki Matsuyama
Dustin Johnson/Jordan Spieth vs. Jason Day/Charl Schwartzel
