Home stars Adam Scott and Marc Leishman have helped the Internationals extend their commanding Presidents Cup lead to 6-1 over the USA at Royal Melbourne.
Scott teamed with South African Louis Oosthuizen to thump Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar three and two in Friday’s opening foursomes match before Leishman and Abraham Ancer beat Webb Simpson and Patrick Reed by the same dominant scoreline.
The star-studded US team were expected to respond to their first-day 4-1 drubbing but the Internationals remained in control midway through what has traditionally been their least productive format.
Scott is lining up for his ninth Presidents Cup, with the Internationals looking to secure their first victory in 25 years.
He and Oosthuizen trailed by two after seven holes but went on a back-nine blitz to secure an emphatic victory as Johnson and Kuchar lamented their work on the greens.
“I felt like we played well. We had two three-putts there, not hitting bad putts. We lipped-out quite a few putts,” Johnson said.
“I felt like we played well, played solid. Obviously they played very well, too.
It was a tough match and we hung in there. We did get off to a nice start but this golf course is difficult, and especially it’s really difficult in alternate-shot.”
Scott and the in-form Oosthuizen kicked off their birdie run on the par-4 11th with the Australian finding the hole from two metres.
They followed that up with birdies on the 13th and 14th, with Oosthuizen taking the final honour on that hole to clinch the point.
Leishman and his Mexican partner Ancer also dominated Simpson and Reed, who came in for plenty more taunts from the bulging galleries at Royal Melbourne.
The crowd took their cue from Leishman and fellow Australian Cameron Smith, who have been openly critical of the American after he was penalised for illegally improving his lie in a bunker at Tiger Woods’ tournament last week in the Bahamas.
Reed gave as good as he got when he sank a birdie putt on the 11th and then put his hand to his ear as if to ask the crowd where his cheers were before motioning shovelling.
The Americans, however, had little answer to Leishman and in particular Ancer, who was lethal with the putter, as the Internationals closed out victory on the 16th.
Smith also enjoyed early second-day spoils.
Making his Presidents Cup debut, he chipped in on the first and then drained another birdie, also from off the green, to snare an early lead for he and Korean partner Sungjae Im over Gary Woodland and Rickie Fowler.
They were two up with four holes remaining.
Playing captain Woods and his partner Justin Thomas were the only American pair to take the day-one points from the Internationals in the fourballs.
Woods and Thomas again linked up to take on Korean Byeong An and Japanese veteran Hideki Matsuyama and were all square through 15 holes.
Canadian Adam Hadwin and Chilean Joaquin Niemann were tied with Xander Shauffele and Patrick Cantlay heading to the last tee.
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