Ryan Fox has claimed his second straight Presidents Cup victory alongside Min Woo Lee as the International Team takes a 10½-7½ lead into the final-day singles at Medinah Country Club.
The Kiwi and his Australian partner overcame another early deficit to defeat Sam Burns and Wyndham Clark 3 and 2 in Saturday afternoon’s foursomes, continuing an impressive partnership at Fox’s Presidents Cup debut.
It was Fox and Lee’s second win together in as many days after their 1-up foursomes victory over Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark on Friday.
Their latest point helped the Internationals split the afternoon session after the United States had threatened to wipe away much of the advantage built by Geoff Ogilvy’s team.
The Americans had earlier edged the morning four-ball session, reducing the International lead to three points before launching another strong challenge in the afternoon.
At one stage, the US led every foursomes match by at least two holes. But once again, the Internationals fought their way back.
Fox and Lee were central to that response, moving ahead of Burns and Clark before closing out their match with two holes remaining.
Corey Conners and Nick Taylor produced another major comeback, overturning a three-hole deficit through 10 against Russell Henley and Jacob Bridgeman to secure a crucial International point.
“We had to sort of weather the storm early in both sessions, and it was amazing for the boys to get us out of the day relatively unscathed,” Ogilvy said.
The result leaves the Internationals leading 10½-7½, just 12 singles matches away from potentially ending a 28-year wait for another Presidents Cup triumph.
Their only victory came at Royal Melbourne in 1998, while the United States has won the past 10 editions.
Fox has already made a significant contribution in his first appearance. After losing alongside Adam Scott on Thursday, he has responded with consecutive foursomes victories alongside Lee.
The Internationals have also repeatedly shown their ability to recover from difficult positions at Medinah, something Ogilvy believes has been a major feature of their week.
“They showed a lot of passion and fight today,” he said.
The challenge now is completing the job in singles.
The Internationals have rarely entered the final day of a Presidents Cup in this position, and after three days of absorbing pressure from the home side, Fox and his teammates now have an opportunity to deliver one of the biggest victories in the competition’s history.
