You can understand if American team captain Jay Haas has a restless night before the finale of the 2015 Presidents Cup on Sunday.
You can understand because his team leads the Internationals by a single point, 9 1/2 to 8 1/2 going into the 12 singles matches.
It hasn’t been this close in 10 years.
It is now a real contest, the possibility of an International victory looms large and a lot of credit goes to Louis Oosthuizen and partner Branden Grace. The South Africans were a perfect 4-0 in the team matches. They are the first duo to do that since Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker did it back in 2009.
“We need to win, this is huge for us,” Oosthuizen emphasized after he and Grace took down the tough U.S. duo of Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes, 1 up. It was the most hotly contested match as evening set over the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea and it set the stage for a free-for-all in the singles matches.
The final day of team matches was basically a wash. In the morning alternate shot, each team won a match and halved two. In the evening best-ball, the South Africans got their win and the team of Sang Moon Bae and Hideki Matsuyama absolutely pulverized Jimmy Walker and Chris Kirk.
Bae and Matsuyama strung together a six-hole birdie run and were nine-under par through 11 holes. They were six-up and after the 12th hole, the Americans thought it was over and were ready to shake hands before they were told that they were six-down with six to go. It ended right after that as the U.S. duo had a look of resignation and defeat after the turn.
“One of the best matches I’ve ever played,” said Bae, who delighted the hometown fans with his solid play.
The singles matches will test of the mettle of the U.S. team, they are now under pressure. On the other side, the Internationals have momentum on their side. As solid underdogs, they also have nothing to lose.
Sunday Singles Pairings:
Patrick Reed vs. Louis Oosthuizen
Rickie Fowler vs. Adam Scott
Dustin Johnson vs. Danny Lee
J.B. Holmes vs. Hideki Matsuyama
Bubba Watson vs. Thongchai Jaidee
Jimmy Walker vs. Steve Bowditch
Phil Mickelson vs. Charl Schwartzel
Chris Kirk vs. Anhirban Lahiri
Jordan Spieth vs. Marc Leishman
Zach Johnson vs. Jason Day
Matt Kuchar vs. Branden Grace
Bill Haas vs. Sang Moon Bae
Saturday’s Foursomes (Alternate Shot) Results:
Louis Oosthuizen/Branden Grace 3-and-2 over Patrick Reed/Rickie Fowler
Bubba Watson/J.B. Holmes halved Adam Scott/Marc Leishman
Bill Hass/Matt Kuchar halved Sang Moon Bae/Hideki Matsuyama
Dustin Johnson/Jordan Spieth 1-up over Jason Day/Charl Schwartzel
Saturday’s Four-Ball (Best-Ball) Results:
Phil Mickelson/Zach Johnson 3-and-2 over Adam Scott/Anhirban Lahiri
Jordan Spieth/Patrick Reed 3-and-2 over Jason Day/Charl Schwartzel
Louis Oosthuizen/Branden Grace 1-up over J.B. Holmes/Bubba Watson
Sang Moon Bae/Hideki Matsuyama 6-and-5 over Jimmy Walker/Chris Kirk
