USA defeats International to retain title, results, scores, highlights, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Min Woo Lee #adessonews

The USA ran away with the Presidents Cup in the Sunday singles to defeat the International team for a tenth straight time.

The star-studded American team proved to be too powerful at Royal Montreal Golf Club despite world number one Scottie Scheffler being defeated by a fellow Masters champion.

It was next year’s US Ryder Cup captain who almost poetically secured the triumph, while a young Australian star showed that he deserved more opportunities on debut for the Internationals.

Watch every round of the PGA Tour LIVE & Exclusive on Fox Sports, available on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today >

RYDER CUP CAPTAIN SEALS VICTORY

It was fitting for the US team that Keegan Bradley secured the point which guaranteed the Presidents Cup.

Bradley was due to be a captain’s assistant this week but relinquished those duties in favour of playing because he finished in the top 12 of the US qualifying rankings and captain Jim Furyk opted to avoid any controversial picks by stick with the leading dozen.

Instead of studying the captain’s duties ahead of taking the reins at next year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, Bradley used the week as an opportunity to show the American players that their future leader can deliver in the pressure moments.

He did just that by defeating a fast-finishing Si Woo Kim – who had been one of the International team’s most influential players this week – one-up.

“Wow, that was incredible. I was saying all week I didn’t know if I’d ever get to do this again. To just play in this tournament and then to win the point, my goodness, the last time I played, I was the point to lose the Ryder Cup,” Bradley said.

“If this is my last round as a player, maybe it is, I’m happy with that.”

Bradley has often been the heartbreak story of US team selections and only made his way onto this team courtesy of a barnstorming finish to the PGA Tour season which included winning the BMW Championship last month.

“I’m still trying to figure out how all this happened. A month ago I wasn’t even in the BMW, and then we were here and then the Presidents Cup point. I’m just proud of everybody,” he said.

“It’s a fairy-tale. It’s a movie almost. I just can’t believe it. You just have to work as hard as I can, and good things happen.”

As for next year’s Ryder Cup, the US captain has found himself a blueprint for victory.

“We’re going to copy a lot of what Jim Furyk did this week,” Bradley said.

“He set a culture here for us, and we’re going to carry that over into Bethpage, and I hope a lot of these 12 are on that team.”

SCHEFFLER BEATEN

World number one Scottie Scheffler was defeated by fellow Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama in one of the most pleasing results of the day for the Internationals.

The Japanese star birdied three of the last five holes to come from one-down to win the match one-up.

Scheffler holed out from the bunker on the first hole, but it did not set the tone for the match as Matsuyama hung tough and made eight birdies throughout the match.

“The last putt right there I was super nervous. My hands were shaking a lot. I’m really happy I was able to win this match,’ Matsuyama said of his roughly three-foot par putt which sealed the match on the 18th green.

“This win means a lot for us. I think it’ll bring a lot more momentum to the team. Really happy with the result today.

“This is my second win for the week. The other three, it was a mistake from me, so I was really happy that I was able to win today.”

FIRESTARTS HALVE MATCH

One of the most intriguing matches of the day was Tom Kim taking on Sam Burns.

Burns – who remained undefeated for the week – had encouraged the crowd to boo him on Saturday as he fed off the energy, while Kim was front and centre in many controversial moments including, he and Scottie Scheffler getting in each other’s face, showing his displeasure for not being given a ‘gimme’ and calling out the Americans for “cursing” at the Internationals.

The Korean charged back late in the match to halve the contest after he had been two-down through 12 holes, and he was proud of his efforts throughout the event.

“Yeah, started really slow. Couldn’t get anything going. I fought really hard my last six holes. I was 2-down and then got it back to all square,” he said.

“I had a chance at 16, but it was just so hard with the shadow from the grandstand. If I make that, I would have won the match. But played great this week. Fought really hard.

“Fought with my heart out. It was special. I really wanted to play well, and I felt like I was one of those players who needed to perform, and the Canadian fans were unbelievable. They’ve supported us all week.”

MIN WOO SHOWS HE DESERVED MORE OPPORTUNITY

Min Woo Lee sat on the sidelines for three straight sessions on Friday and Saturday, but the debutant showcased his talent in the Sunday singles with a clutch finish to halve his match with Wyndham Clark.

The 26-year-old Australian hit a stunning approach shot into the 18th green to guarantee a birdie – Clark gave him the putt as the ball finished in tap-in range – and secure half a point.

Lee was two-up after nine holes but had to come from behind in the end as Clark made four back nine birdies.

“Of course you want to contribute as much as — I wanted to, of course. I wanted to play every day,” Lee said.

“But full trust in the team, and yeah, the boys were playing really good. People have said they would have loved me out there, but I would have loved to, too, but I had a good rest and then came out, tried to win my match today.

“Just like anyone would. You can get a little upset about it, but again, you’re a team. The boys played amazing on Friday. They came back with a 5-0 sweep to a reverse.

“They were playing great golf, and fair enough; why wouldn’t you play those guys in the morning, and obviously they did well in the foursomes in the afternoon.

“All credit to them. Yeah, next time. Play a little bit better and then I’ll be there.”

DAY BLOWN AWAY

Jason Day was given the formidable task of taking on this year’s PGA Championship and The Open winner Xander Schauffele in the first match of the day, and the American blew away the Australian veteran 4&3.

Schauffele remarkably birdied seven of the 15 holes the match lasted for, which included birdies at the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth holes as he reached the turn was a near-unassailable five-up lead.

Day did not play poorly by any means – he made three birdies of his own and produced one of the shots of the tournament when he holed out from a greenside bunker to make an eagle at the 12th hole.

Schauffele was simply too good.

“Yeah, I had a really nice stretch of holes there. J Day had a couple slight misses and I was able to take advantage of that,” he said.

“Yeah, he birdied the first two and came out, and I just felt like I had to keep pressing, and I was able to — some days when you press it goes your way, and some days it doesn’t, and today it definitely went my way.”