Mike Weir was being second-guessed Saturday afternoon at the Presidents Cup for sticking with his Canadian players.
One day after being lauded for leading his International team to a stunning comeback on Friday at Royal Montreal, captain Weir was raising a few eyebrows with his decision to stick with both Mackenzie Hughes and Taylor Pendrith after lacklustre Saturday morning performances by both Canadians in four-ball losses.
Weir opted to stick with the same eight players in the afternoon session, which meant four players, including Aussie stalwart Jason Day would sit out both Saturday sessions.
One option Weir had was to break up the duo of Adam Scott and Pendrith and instead pair Scott with fellow Aussie Day. Had Weir went that route, he then could then have chosen one of the struggling Pendrith or Hughes to play with Corey Conners in the afternoon and the other to sit out.
“I can’t believe that Mike Weir is doing this,” said analyst and former player Brad Faxon. “I just think it’s a show of no confidence for the four players who sat.”
Instead, Weir is sticking with the Canadians, and sticking with the pairings that sparked Friday’s stunning comeback. As with any coaching decisions, the afternoon results will determined how much Weir’s choices will be further discussed.
“He’s going with what worked yesterday,” said former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley.
Following nearly a two-hour fog delay, Day 3 play began at approximately 9 a.m. with teams locked in a 5-5 tie. Saturday morning’s drama couldn’t match the Friday frenzy of an International turnaround sweep. Both teams came out looking a little sleepy and birdies were hard to come by.
The only exception was the electric team of Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim, who made six birdies combined in the opening 10 holes, defeating Team U.S.A.’s Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark 4&3.
“It’s always fun to play with Tom,” Si Woo Kim said. “Luckily he’s my teammate. Yeah, we played as a unit, so I think that’s huge for us. He played so good.”
Unfortunately for Weir, that was the International team’s only win during Saturday morning’s four ball session, and the Americans headed to the afternoon with an 8-6 lead.
The first team to 15.5 points will win the Presidents Cup. There are 12 points available on Sunday when every player will play singles.
“We knew there was still a lot of golf to be played,” Tony Finau said after he and Xander Schauffele defeated Conners and Hughes 3&2. “Although they played great (on Friday), we like our chances with three sessions, and now after this win, with two more sessions to go.”
There are four points up for grabs in the afternoon foursomes, where players play the alternate-shot format that led to an International sweep on Friday.
SATURDAY MORNING RESULTS
Scheffler & Morikawa WIN 2&1 Scott & Pendrith
Schauffele & Finau WIN 3&2 Conners & Hughes
Bradley & Clark 4&3 S. Kim & T. Kim WIN
Cantlay & Burns WIN 2&1 Matsuyama & Im
SATURDAY AFTERNOON PAIRINGS
2:20 p.m. Harman & Homa vs. Pendrith & Scott
2:58 p.m. Morikawa & Burns vs. Conners & Hughes
3:12 p.m. Cantlay & Schauffele vs. S. Kim & T. Kim
3:26 p.m. Scheffler & Henley vs. Matsuyama & Im