Ryan Fox has delivered two of the biggest putts of the Presidents Cup so far as the International Team swept Friday’s foursomes at Medinah to surge into a 7-3 lead over the United States.
Fox combined with Australian Min Woo Lee for a tense 1-up victory over Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark, helping Geoff Ogilvy’s side win all five matches and completely transform the contest heading into the weekend.
After losing his opening four-ball match alongside Adam Scott, Fox responded brilliantly in the alternate-shot format.
The Kiwi and Lee trailed after the Americans took their first lead at the 12th, but Fox produced a superb late charge.
He rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt at the par-four 15th to square the match, then followed it with another birdie from around 20 feet at the par-three 16th to put the International pair 1-up.
The final two holes were halved, with Fox calmly converting a four-footer for par at the 18th to secure his first Presidents Cup point.
“It was great to get it done today,” Fox said.
“I was on the receiving end of a few putts yesterday so it was nice to see a couple go my way today.”
Fox admitted he and Lee were well aware of what was happening around them as the other International pairings piled up victories.
“We were definitely watching everyone else’s results and we knew at one point we were the only team down, so we needed to pull finger out,” Fox said.
They did exactly that.
Corey Conners and Nick Taylor also won a thriller, beating world No 1 Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns 1-up after Taylor produced a brilliant approach at the 18th.
Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im defeated Russell Henley and Jacob Bridgeman 3 and 2, while Adam Scott and Christiaan Bezuidenhout beat Justin Thomas and Cameron Young by the same margin.
Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim completed the clean sweep with a commanding 4 and 3 victory over Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.
The five-point haul turned a 3-2 overnight deficit into a four-point advantage.
It is the second consecutive Presidents Cup in which the Internationals have swept a Friday foursomes session, but this time the result has put them firmly in front rather than simply dragging them back into the contest.
Their 7-3 advantage is the International Team’s largest lead through two sessions since Royal Melbourne in 1998, when they recorded their only Presidents Cup victory.
The challenge now is maintaining that momentum.
Saturday in Chicago — Sunday NZT — features eight matches across morning four-ball and afternoon foursomes, with 20 points still available across the final two days.
For Fox, however, Friday provided a memorable first Presidents Cup victory and another example of his ability to deliver under pressure.
