Mike Weir's curious decision to run out the same group for all 36 holes on Saturday drew ire from golf fans. Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images MONTREAL — It was quiet for a moment on the 16th green at Royal Montreal early Saturday afternoon. Minutes earlier, Xander Schauffele and Tony Finau had dispatched the Internationals in a four-ball match 10 yards to the right, on the 16th.
Minutes later, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns would close out the Internationals 15 yards to the left, on the 17th. But in this moment, the only conversation that filled the 16th bleachers surrounded the entirely unathletic events happening a few football fields away, where captains Jim Furyk and Mike Weir selected this Presidents Cup’s final four alternate shot pairings . One by one, the pair ticked through the afternoon’s matchups, which were quickly posted to the video boards inside the tournament gates.
But once the news began to circulate, a confused quiet fell over the crowd. “Wait,” one fan asked. “Is that right?” Indeed, it was right — and it was the strategic decision of the tournament.
The Americans had thrown a fastball from their four-ball to their alternate shot pairings, flipping out Tony Finau, Wyndham Clark and Keegan Bradley for Brian Harman, Max Homa and Russell Henley. But the Internationals had thrown ..
. a replay? Weir had selected the exact same pairings for the afternoon’s alternate shot as he had for the morning’s four-ball. Just as they had in the morning, Hideki .
