SPIETH'S CLUTCH PUTTING KEEPS AMERICANS IN LEAD AT PRESIDENTS CUP 

Jordan Spieth rolled in key putts at the last two holes Saturday morning at the Presidents Cup to win a key American point. ( Getty Images )

By Alex Miceli

Saturday, October 10, 2015

INCHEON, South Korea — World No. 1 Jordan Spieth made two clutch putts on the 17th and 18th holes to eke out a one-hole win and keep the United States one point ahead of the Internationals after a 2-2 tie in Saturday morning foursomes.
 The Americans lead 7.5 to 6.5 going into the afternoon four-ball in the Presidents Cup at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club, South Korea.

Early on it seemed that the Internationals would ride the coattails of their hottest team, Branden Grace and Louis Oosthuizen to another winning session on Saturday as the South African duo dispatched Rickie Fowler and Patrick Reed 3 and 2.

With the early win, the matches were tied at 5 1/2, but it would take a long while to determine the final point total from the morning session as the remaining three matches all went to the 18th.

When the smoke cleared on the final hole, Bubba Watson would miss a putt to win his match, Sangmoon Bae and Hideki Matsuyama’s short putt was conceded for a win and Spieth would drain a seven-footer to defeat Jason Day and Charl Schwartzel to come from 3 holes down to win.

“Your blood is running, it's running through your hands,” Spieth said right after draining the winning putt. “We could have made it a little easier from 90 yards out. I could have gotten us below the hole. But man, what a comeback we had there. That was a great fight. And it was a huge point in the Presidents Cup.”

Oosthuizen and Grace were never down in their match, leading in 14 of the 16 holes and moving their record to 3-0 in the Presidents Cup, the first time ever an Internationals pairing has won their first three matches.

“We played solid again,” Oosthuizen said in moving his individual record to 4-3-1. “There were a few holes where we made two bogeys around 5 and 6. I had a few poor iron shots, but I putted well on the holes that I didn't hit the greens. Branden's always going to cheer you up and is always keeping you nice and positive. It's been good. We've been really a good team this week.”

In the second match, Watson and J.B. Holmes took the lead on the seventh hole and held it for most of the remaining 11 holes, but when faced with a five-footer on the same line where Marc Leishman had just drained a eight-footer, the left-hander pushed his putt and turned a win into a halve.

“It was disappointing I guess the way it ended,” Holmes said of the halve with Adam Scott and Leishman. “We felt like we played well enough to win, but they played really well. And every time we got up a couple, they battled back and threw in a birdie. It was a great match.”

Like Leishman, Bill Haas needed to make a putt from the back of the green, but this one was from 20 feet. And unlike the Australian, Haas could not convert and the 1-up lead he and Matt Kuchar had going into the final hole disappeared with a halve to Bae and Matsuyama.

“I was thrilled, thrilled for both of us,” Matsuyama said. “Grateful for Moon for the good putt that he made, and especially carrying us on some of the other holes, just really happy.”

Due to inclement weather, the morning foursomes session was delayed an hour, pushing the start times for the afternoon four-fall later in the afternoon. This could potentially cause the afternoon matches to be suspended due to darkness and forced to be completed on Sunday morning before the 12 singles matches.

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Presidents Cup to return to Australia in 

2019, Royal Melbourne likely site

INCHEON, South Korea – The 2019 Presidents Cup is again going Down Under, returning to Australia it was announced at a Saturday press conference at the Presidents Cup, Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea.

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem made the announcement about the 13th edition of the biennial matches returning to Australia as well as the World Cup will also return to Australia for the fifth time in the 58-year history of the competition in 2016.

Sources have indicated that the Alistair MacKenzie designed Royal Melbourne Golf Club is the likely venue to host the Presidents Cup in 2019.