The U.S. golf team took their fifth straight win in the Presidents Cup after winning 18.5-15.5 against the rest of the world at Murifield Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. The event started Thursday, Oct. 3 and lasted for four days, ending Sunday, Oct. 6.
The golf teams are broken down into 12 players each and one non-playable team captain, typically an older and popular golfer. The U.S. team captain was Fred Couples and the rest of the world, which was called the International team, was led by Nick Price.
The International team consists of players from countries all around the world including South Africa, Japan, Argentina and Australia. Only players born in the United States were allowed to be on the U.S. team.
“The Presidents Cup is competitive but still fun to watch because you can actually go for one team,” said Sae Hee Bae, a sophomore golfer at Athens Drive.
The Presidents Cup is played and scored in a different way than most golf tournaments are. The format is called match play, which is played across four days. Instead of trying to obtain the lowest score, the team with the highest number of points at the end of the tournament win.
The opening day of the tournament is played with six fourball matches. Fourball matches
are played with two players from each team that complete 18 holes. The players’ scores on the same team are added together and whichever pair wins gets one point for their team. If the scores at the end of the 18 holes are tied, then both the U.S. team and the International team are rewarded half a point.
Day two consists of six alternate shot matches which involves two players from both teams to play 18 holes. The two players on the same team share a ball and alternate between shots; one player tees off, the other player takes the second shot and so on until the ball is put into the hole. The score is the same as fourball matches; whichever pair wins more holes wins a point for their team. If each team wins the same number of holes, then a half point is awarded.
All 12 players from both teams play in the first two days of the tournament. In the third day, there are five fourball matches played and five alternate shot matches played.
On the final day of the tournament, 12 singles matches are played. One player from each team go head-to-head in an 18 hole course. The scoring is the same as fourballs and alternate shot matches.
The tournament was close until the U.S. team started gaining a lead in the singles matches. The score was 17-13 with the U.S. team on top with only four more singles matches left.
Tiger Woods, from the U.S. team, and Richard Sterne, from the International team, played the next singles match. Woods won the clinching point for the U.S. team after beating Sterne in the 18 holes. Woods made the score 18-13 with only three singles matches left, securing the U.S. team victory.
The final score was 18.5-15.5 as the International team wins two of the last three matches and ties the other match.
