INTERNATIONALS RALLY TO CUT U.S. LEAD TO ONE IN PRESIDENTS CUP

NEWS RELEASE

The United States lost the second session nearly as dramatically as it won the first, with the Internationals staging a Day 2 surge to reinvigorate the Presidents Cup. The Internationals won three and a half of the five points available Friday, leaving the United States hanging on to just a one-point lead at 5 ½ -4 ½. Here's where things stand through two sessions in South Korea, where the drama has heightened and a Phil Mickelson rules snafu looms large (matches posted in order of finish):

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Match 6: Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace def. Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson, 4 and 3

After winning 4 and 3 on Day 1, Spieth and Johnson found themselves walking off the 15^th green under different circumstances on Day 2. After those two took a 1-up lead through seven, Oosthuizen swung the match with a 72-foot putt for birdie on No. 8, and Grace followed up with two birdies to put the Internationals 2 up through 10. Spieth and Johnson never got back into the match, with Spieth showing frustration on the 14^th green after going 3 down, mocking his own poor putt. The match was over a hole later. Oosthuizen and Grace, who produced the only point for the Internationals on Day 1, moved to 2-0.

Score: 4-2, United States

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Match 7: Sangmoon Bae and Danny Lee def. Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker, 1 up

The Internationals never led in this match – until it was over. After trailing by two holes for the majority of the front nine, Bae halved the match with a birdie pitch-in at the par-4 10^th. The match remained all square, with Lee struggling and Walker and Fowler missing multiple putts to regain control of the match, until Bae, the native South Korean who will be stepping away from golf to fulfill his military conscription, jarred a 12-foot putt for birdie at the par-5 18^th to put the Internationals' second point of the session on the board.

Score: 4-3, United States

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Match 10: Charl Schwartzel and Thongchai Jaidee def. Chris Kirk and Bill Haas, 2 and 1

Three of the four players in this match sat out on Day 1, with Kirk and Haas healthy scratches and Schwartzel battling illness. The Internationals grabbed the lead on the third hole and never trailed. Schwartzel put the U.S. in an especially difficult spot with a 23-foot birdie at the par-3 13^th that gave his side a 3-up lead.  Though Kirk and Haas battled back to just 1 down with two holes to play, another Schwartzel birdie at the par-3 17^th sealed it, giving the Internationals their third full point of the day, tying the overall matches.

Score: 4-4

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Match 8: Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson halved Jason Day and Adam Scott, 18 holes

All square through six, Mickelson and Johnson went a seemingly impossible 2 down through seven when Mickelson violated the one-ball rule and was then given an improper ruling, resulting in the U.S. losing the same hole twice. The U.S. quickly rallied to win three of the next five holes and reclaimed the lead via a Mickelson hole-out for eagle from the bunker at No. 12. All square through 17, the match was finally halved with birdies on the par-5 18^th. Had Mickelson been allowed to finish the seventh hole and not improperly disqualified from doing so, this match could have turned out differently.

Score: 4 ½-4 ½

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Match 9: Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes def. Marc Leishman and Steven Bowditch, 2 up

This was the third match of the day and the second in which the Internationals did not lead while it was in progress. The Americans took an early advantage and led this match just 1 up for 14 of 18 holes played. With the Americans having just lost their sizable Day 1 lead, Watson and Holmes earned a concession on the closing hole to retake the lead at the end of a decidedly International session. In the process, Watson and Holmes improved to 2-0.

Score: 5 ½ -4 ½, United States

Marc Warren in the mix at British Masters

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

Young Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick birdied the last two holes for a brilliant seven under par 64 as the British Masters supported by Sky Sports made its long-awaited return to The European Tour. With six birdies alongside an eagle on the seventh hole, against a solitary bogey on the second, the 21 year old eased into the first round lead at Woburn Golf Club, one stroke clear of Dane Søren Kjeldsen, Swede Robert Karlsson, Englishman Lee Slattery and Marc Warren of Scotland. Fitzpatrick has finished in the top three in three of his last seven appearances, and he gave the sell-out crowd of nearly 15,000 plenty to cheer as the £3million returned to The Race to Dubai for the first time since 2008. Tournament host Ian Poulter made a strong start with an opening 68, while Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, the men who will take on the role in the coming years, opened with rounds of 67 and 69 respectively. Key Player quotes Matt Fitzpatrick – 64 (-7) “It was a great day. I hit it really nicely and scrambled when I needed to. It was a great start to the week. It’s pretty tough if you don't hit it in the fairway. The rough is deep, and it's quite wet so it clings to the face. And it's difficult to get the normal distance with your irons. So it's a test all round really, but especially from tee to green. “I missed quite a few cuts in the row at the start of the year, even though I felt like I was playing alright. But now I've been playing decent and getting the right results that I've been looking for. I’ve gained so much experience, I really have, just week to week, learning more about myself, about tournaments. “It doesn't get better than that out there today. This is the first day and the crowd has been absolutely fantastic. They are really happy and have been great all day.” Robert Karlsson – 65 (-6) “Everything about my game is really good and I hit most of the fairways – you have to do that to make a score here. It’s a great atmosphere. It's great to play in England and it's a really great event. I’m putting together good rounds here and there, but it’s not been quite enough and it’s a pity I’m running out of events. I’m not in the season finale in Dubai yet, so I need a good one here or next week. Søren Kjeldsen – 65 (-6) “I think I only probably missed about two greens today. There wasn't a whole lot of scrambling involved. I hit it nicely off the tee and hit a lot of solid iron shots and gave myself a lot of chances. Golf is not always stress free, but it was pretty stress free today.” Marc Warren – 65 (-6) “I think the fact that I didn't drop a shot was very pleasing. I have new drivers and new irons and a new golf ball this week, so I am changing quite a bit. It was nice to see them perform well. To be bogey free shows that every part of your game is probably good on a golf course as tough as this. To make six birdies and any round bogey-free is always a bonus. “It's great to have those tournaments back in the schedule. I remember growing up and watching it on TV. It’s nice to play it a couple of times as well. Great to be back. Obviously a great venue makes it even more special.” Lee Slattery – 65 (-6) “I played the course yesterday and it was difficult. It was playing really long. I think the difference today was the sun came out, so it played a little bit shorter. Three-irons turned into six-irons, I think that was the difference. It just gave me a bit more confidence. I always feel like the strength of my game is my mid-irons, so it helped me a lot.” Ian Poulter – 68 (-3) “I got a nice tingle (on the first tee), shall we say. It hasn't been there for a long time on a Thursday in a regular tournament. To have that was really nice. It's unusual when you get that feeling, but it was a good one and it’s obviously nice to get off to a decent start. “I'm very proud. There's a lot of work gone on behind the scenes. I did a tiny bit in the summer. From that moment on obviously Sky Sports and European Tour took over and turned this into an incredible facility. The green staff, that golf course took quite a bit of water over the last few days. John Clark and his team have done an incredible job. Ninety guys have got this place looking first class. “You have got 15,000 guys out there that all want you to play well. Friends and family have been out there, faces I haven't seen for a while. We had great support and hopefully we're going to get that on Friday, Saturday and Sunday as well.” Complete first round scores (par 71) 64 M Fitzpatrick  (Eng) ,  65 S Kjeldsen (Den) , M Warren (Sco) , R Karlsson (Swe) , L Slattery (Eng) ,  66 S Lowry  (Irl) , P Harrington (Irl) , M Fraser (Aus) , B Dredge (Wal) , R Wattel  (Fra) , M Lundberg (Swe) ,  67 A Sullivan (Eng) , L Donald  (Eng) , J Singh (Ind) , R Bland (Eng) , K Aphibarnrat (Tha) , A Levy (Fra) ,  68 F Zanotti (Par), O Fisher  (Eng), R Karlberg  (Swe) , A Wall (Eng) , I Poulter (Eng) , R Fisher (Eng) , W Ormsby (Aus) , J Van Zyl (RSA) , J Luiten (Ned) ,  69 D Willett  (Eng) , S Hutsby  (Eng) , L Westwood (Eng) , J Donaldson (Wal) , N Colsaerts  (Bel) , C Wood  (Eng) , M Hoey  (Nir) , A Chesters  (Eng) , R Finch  (Eng) , N Kearney (Irl) , M Crespi  (Ita) , D Brooks (Eng) , A Cañizares  (Esp) , D Horsey (Eng) , M Carlsson  (Swe) ,  70 N Fasth (Swe) , A Hansen (Den) , N Dougherty  (Eng) , M Lorenzo-Vera  (Fra) , A Johnston (Eng) , S Kapur (Ind) , G Mulroy (RSA) , J Quesne  (Fra) , L Bjerregaard  (Den) , G McDowell  (Nir) , O Farr (Wal) , G Havret  (Fra) , J Edfors (Swe) , P Hanson (Swe) ,  71 R Green (Aus) , E Espana (Fra) , J Campillo (Esp) , P Dunne (Irl) , F Molinari (Ita) , M Nixon (Eng) , S Hend (Aus) , Y Yang (SKor) , T Hatton (Eng) , R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) , S Lewton (Eng) , D Howell (Eng) , O Wilson (Eng) , G Bourdy (Fra) , P Larrazábal (Esp) , K Broberg (Swe) ,  72 C Lee (Sco) , D Drysdale (Sco) , T Lewis (Eng) , H Otto (RSA) , D McGrane (Irl) , M Foster (Eng) , M Tullo (Chi) , J Garcia Pinto (Esp) , D Lipsky (USA) , R Rock (Eng) , G Storm  (Eng) , G Stal  (Fra) , M Jiménez (Esp) , E Pepperell (Eng) , J Parry (Eng) , T Olesen (Den) , T Pieters  (Bel) , B An (Kor) , T Fleetwood  (Eng) ,  73 P Baker (Eng) , M Manassero (Ita) , M Madsen  (Den) , B Hebert  (Fra) , T Aiken (RSA) , M Ilonen  (Fin) , T Fisher Jnr (RSA) , D Fichardt (RSA) ,  74 J Morrison  (Eng) , M Kieffer (Ger) , J Carlsson (Swe) , J Kruger (RSA) , P Edberg (Swe) , D Clarke (Nir) , M Lampert (Ger) , S Benson (Eng) , F Fritsch  (Ger) ,  75 S Gallacher (Sco), T Bjørn (Den), S Hansen (Den) , T Levet (Fra) , F Aguilar (Chi) ,  76 R Jacquelin (Fra) , A Quiros  (Esp) , R Kakko  (Fin) , S Jamieson  (Sco) ,  77 J Levermore (Eng) , M Siem  (Ger) ,  78 C Doak (Sco) ,

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

SCHMITZ’S ACE PAVES WAY TO 2015 U.S. MID-AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

VERO BEACH, Florida – Bolstered by a hole-in-one on the par-4 33rd hole, Sammy Schmitz, of Farmington, Minnesota, defeated Marc Dull, of Lakeland, Florida 3 and 2, in the Final to win the 2015 U.S. Mid-Amateur on the 6,855-yard, par-72 West Course at John’s Island Club.

Schmitz, a 35-year-old father of two who works in healthcare services, was angry when he walked to the tee of the uphill, 260-yard par 4 with a driver in his hands.

He had just lost the par-5 32nd hole with a bogey that resulted from plugging a short wedge shot into a greenside bunker. His lead stood at 2 up with four holes to play.

“That wedge shot got me fired up, missing the green from 110 [yards] and plugging it and giving the hole away,” said Schmitz, a 2003 NCAA Division III All-America player at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota.

After Dull hit his tee shot on the West Course’s 15th hole, Schmitz rifled his driver, which landed on the green 17 feet to the left of the hole, caught the slope behind the hole and rolled back in for an ace. 

It is believed to be only the second hole-in-one on a par-4 in USGA amateur competition.

“I can’t believe it,” said Schmitz, who advanced to match play in both of his previous Mid-Amateurs, losing in the Round of 64 in 2011 and the Round of 32 in 2012. “I’ve been hitting driver (on the hole) the entire tournament. I think I’ve hit the green four times. I just had a good feeling. I can’t believe it went in. It’s very surreal.”

Schmitz had one previous hole-in-one, an ace on a par 3 in a nine-hole scramble competition.

“I win [No.] 14 and I’m thinking maybe we can get back in this,” said Dull, who works at Streamsong (Fla.) Resort. “I didn’t hit a good tee shot, and when a guy jars it on a par 4, what are you going to do? You just shake his hand and laugh it off. It was an amazing shot that he hit.”

With a 3-hole lead, Schmitz calmly reached the green on the downhill, 233-yard, par-3 34th hole with a 3-iron. Dull, who has caddied at Streamsong for two years, followed with a tee shot which landed in the right greenside bunker. He blasted to 10 feet.

When Schmitz, a recreational hockey player, two-putted from the front of the green for a par, Dull was closed out and Schmitz was a USGA champion, with a likely invitation to the 2016 Masters Tournament in the offing.

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Both finalists are exempt into the 2016 U.S. Amateur at Oakland Hills Country Club, in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and are exempt into 2016 U.S. Open sectional qualifying. The champion also receives a likely invitation to the 2016 Masters.