Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson won the only match that reached the 18th hole Thursday, the final touch on another dominant day for the Americans in the Presidents Cup.
The rest of the foursomes matches were not much of a contest as the Americans built a 4-1 lead. It was the fifth straight time they have taken the lead in the opening round of this one-sided contest, and the three-point lead was their largest margin since they had a four-point lead in 2007 in Canada.
The Americans are going for their sixth straight victory and, after one day at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, there was a familiar feel to the event.
The South African duo of Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace won the only match for the International side, beating Matt Kuchar and Patrick Reed 3 and 2.
Even so, this was another strong display by the U.S., which never trailed in the other four matches and has lost only one time in the Presidents Cup since it began in 1994.
Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker topped India’s Anirban Lahiri and Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee 5 and 4.
Jordan Spieth, the No. 1 player in the world, and Dustin Johnson proved as formidable as advertised in a 4-and-3 win over New Zealand’s Danny Lee and Australia’s Marc Leishman.Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes, two of the longest hitters in golf, beat Australia’s Adam Scott and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama 3 and 2.
Jason Day and Australian compatriot Steven Bowditch were 2 down to Mickelson and Zach Johnson with two holes to play when Day poured in a 40-foot birdie putt to send the match to the 18th. Bowditch hit a long iron to about 18 feet for an eagle chance, though Mickelson pounded his tee shot so far that Johnson was able to stick his approach to 10 feet. Day narrowly missed the eagle putt, and conceded the eagle to the Americans for a 2-up win. Mickelson, who has never missed a Presidents Cup, tied a tournament record with his 11th foursomes victory. Tiger Woods also has 11 foursomes wins.
There are five fourballs matches Friday.
