A four-point hole
The United States goes into the weekend at Medinah Country Club trailing the International Team 7-3, after Geoff Ogilvy's side swept all five Friday foursomes matches. It was the second time in as many Presidents Cups that the Internationals have won an entire alternate-shot session.
The Americans had opened with a 3-2 lead after Thursday's fourballs, so the sweep turned the contest around in a single afternoon. Canadian pair Nick Taylor and Corey Conners beat Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns on the final hole to set the tone for the day.
Eight points on Saturday
Saturday is the longest day of the event. Four fourball matches go out in the morning, followed by four foursomes matches in the afternoon, with eight points available before Sunday's 12 singles matches.
The US pairings for the morning included Justin Thomas with rookie Jackson Koivun against Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im, and Scheffler with Burns against Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune. Early on, the Americans led in the second and third matches, with the opener back to all square — the fast start captain Brandt Snedeker said his team needed.
Analysts put the minimum requirement for the session at 3-1 to the US, because the Internationals have held the edge in alternate-shot play all week.
What it takes to win
The International Team needs eight more points to reach 15, the mark required to take the cup. The US has won ten straight Presidents Cups and leads the series 13-1-1, but it has never had to come back from this far behind at Medinah's rebuilt Course No. 3.
Sunday singles decide the outcome if the score stays close. Snedeker said after Friday's loss that there were still 20 points on the table and "a lot of golf left to play." Ogilvy's players, meanwhile, need only to keep splitting sessions.