Xander Schauffele shakes hands with Jason Day after winning their Presidents Cup singles match. (AP PHOTO)
Xander Schauffele ran off four straight birdies as he beat Jason Day in the opening singles match and the Americans made the outcome as inevitable as it usually is, winning the Presidents Cup for the 10th straight time.
Sam Burns completed an unbeaten week, Russell Henley capped off his impressive debut in the Presidents Cup and Keegan Bradley – the US Ryder Cup captain next year – delivered the clinching point when Si Woo Kim missed a 10-foot putt putt on the 18th hole.
With five of the 12 final-day singles matches still on the course, the Americans had the 15 1/2 points required to win the Cup in Canada on Sunday.
The Internationals needed everything to go right at Royal Montreal. All they could manage was a good fight, more tight matches, but no cup.
Their only victory since these matches for players from everywhere but Europe came in 1998 at Royal Melbourne, so long ago that Tiger Woods was making his Presidents Cup debut. The US winning streak dates to a tie in South Africa in 2003.
The Americans made a winner out of captain Jim Furyk, who was at the helm in France five years ago when they lost to Europe in the Ryder Cup.
He sent out Schauffele in the opening match against Australia’s former world No.1 Day, and the cool Californian made five birdies in eight holes to seize control early. It ended on the 15th hole.
The Internationals picked up a point in the battle of Masters champions when Hideki Matsuyama took down Scottie Scheffler, and Corey Conners delivered an easy win over Tony Finau.
But they were trailing 11-7 going into the 12 singles. It was never going to be enough.
Unused for the previous two days, Australia’s Min Woo Lee was sent out in the eighth singles match and tied with Wyndham Clark.
Fellow Australian Adam Scott too was still on the course when the match was decided, trailing against Collin Morikawa.