(Reuters) - The International Team breathed new life into the Presidents Cup as they rebounded from an opening-day sweep with a 5-0 foursomes rout in Montreal on Friday that kept the United States from running away with the competition. The Internationals, who faced an uphill battle in their bid to beat the U.S.
for the first time since 1998 and snap a nine-event losing streak, will now enter Saturday's two-session day of eight matches level at 5-5 in the biennial competition. It marked the first time in Presidents Cup, Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup history that there were sweeps in back-to-back sessions. "We just wanted to get ourselves back in this and the guys played unbelievable, they really responded incredibly," said International captain Mike Weir.
Unlike the U.S. points on Thursday, which were secured in matches that were tighter than the scoreboard indicated, the Internationals grabbed theirs in more convincing fashion with three of the matches finishing on the 12th, 13th and 14th holes.
After International players called out the crowd on Thursday for not doing enough to create a home advantage, the team were greeted to a boisterous environment upon their return to Royal Montreal Golf Club. The Internationals, who need to reach 15-1/2 points to win the biennial matchplay event, rode the lively crowd to an early spate of momentum and never looked back. In the day's opening match, Hideki Matsuyama and Im Sung-jae went up early and cruised to a 7&6 win over Xander Schauffel.
