Presidents Cup golf scores, results, highlights as Tiger Woods leads USA rally to win

Tom Gatto

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Presidents Cup golf scores, results, highlights as Tiger Woods leads USA rally to win image

The U.S. trailed for most of the first three days of the 2019 Presidents Cup. The International squad took control of the competition on Day 1 at Royal Melbourne in Australia after playing captain Tiger Woods and partner Justin Thomas gave the Americans an early lead.

Woods' squad was down two points entering singles play on the final day, Sunday in Melbourne. It erased that deficit quickly and ended the day still holding the Cup.

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Once again, Woods gave the U.S. an early boost as he led off the one-on-one matchups with a victory. When Matt Kuchar halved his match vs. Louis Oosthuizen, the Americans had reached the needed 15.5 points for the victory. The Americans closed out a 16-14 victory soon after. They outscored the Internationals 8-4 in singles.

President Donald Trump offered congratulations shortly after the U.S. clinched:

The Internationals last won the Presidents Cup in 1998. Captain Ernie Els' side was well-positioned to end that drought Down Under, but the Americans refused to let the Cup go.

Presidents Cup 2019 live scores, updates, highlights

Team USA trailed the international squad 10-8 through three days of competition. Twelve points were up for grabs during singles play Sunday (Australia time) to decide the tournament. The U.S. needed to finish with 15.5 points to retain. Follow along below.

Tiger Woods def. Abraham Ancer 3 and 2

Woods not only gives his team momentum but also breaks a tie with Phil Mickelson for most Presidents Cup wins. Tiger now has 27.

Woods, wearing his customary Sunday red, avoids going down a hole on the first when Ancer misses a makeable birdie putt short. Tiger missed his birdie putt to the high side. He takes the lead at No. 2 when Ancer misses a longer putt. He gives back the lead with a bogey on the par-3 third. Tiger goes 1 up after six thanks to a birdie on the sixth.

Fast-forward to the 12th, where Woods halved the hole to remain 2 up.  In between, he was sticking approaches like this one:

Tiger finishes the job on 16 with a long, curling birdie putt.

Woods' record-setting victory cuts the gap to 10-9.

Tony Finau, Hideki Matsuyama tie

Matsuyama takes the early lead with a birdie on the par-5 second. He stretches the lead to two with another birdie on No. 3. The advantage is 4 up through 10. Finau, however, roars back to tie the match after 14 holes. He wins 11 through 14, going birdie-par-birdie-birdie. The match stays tied to the end, giving the Internationals a needed half-point.

Patrick Reed def. C.T. Pan 4 and 2

Reed has been in the news for a lot of bad reasons this weekend, capped by his caddie pushing a heckler on Saturday. Reed takes the lead on No. 1 on Sunday with a birdie, then makes it 2 up with a birdie on the second. He's well in control at the turn, 4 up through nine. Pan has the better of during the back nine, halving his deficit to 2 down after 14. Reed, though, wins 15 and 16 and takes the match.

Dustin Johnson def. Haotong Li 4 and 3

DJ wins Holes 3-5 and then takes the seventh en route to a 4-up lead through nine. He's 3 up through 14 and then wraps up the victory one hole later.

Bryson DeChambeau, Adam Hadwin tie

DeChambeau's birdies on 3 and 5 are the difference as the match heads toward the back nine. Hadwin responds later on the front and the match is all square after 13. DeChambeau regains control by winning 16, but Hadwin knots it at 17. They're on 18 green . . . and DeChambeau just misses from distance. Hadwin can win it with a birdie . . . and he, too, misses, leaving a tester back. DeChambeau does not concede, and Hadwin sinks the par putt for the halve.

Sungjae Im def. Gary Woodland 4 and 3

Woodland wins the fifth and sixth holes to erase an early deficit and go 1 up. Im grabs the lead on the 11th and halves the 12th. From there, Im surges with wins on 13, 14 and 15.

Patrick Cantlay def. Joaquin Nieman 3 and 2

This has been a back-and-forth match, with Cantlay winning three holes and Nieman winning two in the first seven. Nieman wins 9 and 10, Cantlay 11, and Nieman is 1 up after 11. Cantlay then takes control of the match with wins at 12, 13 and 14 and wins it on 16. The Americans are 5-2 on the day and ahead 13-12 overall after Cantlay's victory.

Xander Schauffele def. Adam Scott 2 and 1

This match has been all Schauffele through the first six. The American is 3 up. He stretches the margin to 4 up at the turn before Scott wins the 10th hole. Schauffele stretches the lead to 4 up at 11, and now he's poised to give the U.S. another point on 15. Scott, though, stays alive on 15 with a long eagle and on 16 after Schauffele bogeys. Schauffele recovers to halve 17 and take the match. Make is 6-2 on Sunday and 14-12 overall. The U.S. still needs 1.5 points to complete the rally.

Webb Simpson def. Byeong Hun An 2 and 1

An's bogey on 5 is the difference in the early stages. Simpson follows with a win at 6 and remains 2 up after 10. He makes it 3 up by winning 13. The lead is 2 up as they play 17. Simpson two-putts for the win on 17, and the Americans, up 15-12, are now just a half-point away, although the Internationals are in each of the final three matches.

Cameron Smith def. Justin Thomas 2 and 1 

Thomas continues his strong play with a fast start against Smith. He wins three of the first four holes to take a 3-up lead. Smith responds and cuts the margin to 1 up after nine. He's now 1 up after 12. The lead grows to 2 up before Thomas wins 15 to get back into striking distance. He sticks a huge approach on 17 but misses the putt. Smith makes his from the same distance for a huge International victory. It's 15-13 with two to go.

Matt Kuchar, Louis Oosthuizen tie

Conversely, Oosthuizen has dominated his match early, winning the first three holes and carrying that 3-up lead into the 10th. He's 2 up after 12. Kuchar, though, rallies to knot the match through 15. It stays tied through 16. Kuchar takes the lead on 17 with a birdie. It's down to 18. It's halved, the match is halved, and the U.S. retains the Cup by getting to 15.5 points.

Rickie Fowler, Marc Leishman tie

The final match to tee off, and Leishman gets the jump on Fowler by winning the second hole. Leishman gets it to 2 up after four before Fowler wins the sixth. It's all square after 10. Leishman gets a nose in front at 14 and is 1 up with four to play. Fowler knots it at 15 and the match stays tied after 16. Fowler noses ahead on 17, but 18 will be a formality. Leishman wins the hole to halve the match and make the final 16-14, USA.

Presidents Cup Day 4 singles results

Match time/result Pairings
6:02 p.m. ET Tiger Woods (USA) def. Abraham Ancer (INT) 3 and 2
6:13 p.m. ET Tony Finau (USA), Hideki Matsuyama (INT) tie
6:24 p.m. ET Patrick Reed (USA) def. C.T. Pan (INT) 4 and 2
6:35 p.m. ET Dustin Johnson (USA) def. Haotong Li (INT) 4 and 3
6:46 p.m. ET Bryson DeChambeau (USA), Adam Hadwin (INT) tie
6:57 p.m. ET Sungjae Im (INT) def. Gary Woodland (USA) 4 and 3
7:08 p.m. ET Patrick Cantlay (USA) def. Joaquin Nieman (INT) 3 and 2
7:19 p.m. ET Xander Schauffele (USA) def. Adam Scott (INT) 2 and 1
7:30 p.m. ET Webb Simpson (USA) def. Byeong Hun An (INT) 2 and 1
7:41 p.m. ET Cameron Smith (INT) def. Justin Thomas (USA) 2 and 1
7:52 p.m. ET Matt Kuchar (USA), Louis Oosthuizen (INT) tie
8:03 p.m. ET Rickie Fowler (USA), Marc Leishman (INT) tie

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.