MONTREAL — Well, that was a fun Presidents Cup. Good times. See ya Montreal.

Wait. You say there are three more days and 25 points still on the table? On paper, sure. But in the 15th year of a competition in which the Internationals have won exactly once, they head into Friday’s alternate-shot foursomes after getting skunked 5-0 in the opening fourball. And the U.S. has never lost after leading following the first day.

Three of the five Day 1 matches at Royal Montreal were pushed to the 18th, so that must give the Internationals some hope for a turnaround. One dropped putt here or there certainly could have made a difference. But this is now a huge ditch to escape, and the Americans opened so sharply that they only trailed for 10 of the 87 holes they played on Thursday.

If there happened to be similar results on Day 2, the Americans could be looking to engineer their most lopsided victory since 2017 at Liberty National (19-11), or even farther back to consecutive 11-point routs in 1998 and 2000.

With those ominous prospects in mind, here’s our look at the first-day superlatives and stumbles.

Best match

Xander Schauffele and Tony Finau trade fist bumps on the 16th hole.

Harry How

Of the three that went to the 18th, Match 1 was the tightest, with Xander Schauffele and Tony Finau coughing up a 2-up lead with four to play. The Americans never trailed, but when Jason Day and Ben An responded by making birdie on 15, and the U.S. pair missed shortish putts at 16, they were all tied. But that’s where Schauffele took over, making an 8-foot birdie at the par-3 17th to put the U.S. back up and stuffing his approach to 2½ feet on 18 to match An’s stellar birdie from 4 feet. And the first U.S. point was on the board.

Best shot (Internationals)

Tom Kim seemed like the only player having much fun for the Internationals­—so much so that he got on Scottie Scheffler’s nerves a little bit early on. He also made one of the day’s longest putts for either side by dropping in a 24-foot bomb for birdie at No. 8 to cut the U.S. lead to 1-up. Alas, the match would end up being the shortest, with Scheffler and Russell Henley winning 3 and 2.

Tom Kim is fired up 🔥@JoohyungKim0621 cuts the lead to 1UP thru 8 @PresidentsCup. pic.twitter.com/aR51mYO7TG

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 26, 2024

Best shot (U.S.)

There were obviously plenty of good ones, but Tony Finau’s chip-in from deep rough, 30 feet away, at 14 wins the prize. The birdie ended up matching one by Day and kept the U.S. 2-up before they lost the next two holes.

A big chip from Big Tone 💪
@TonyFinauGolf | @PresidentsCup pic.twitter.com/Br3VsrCSMA

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 26, 2024

Best team play

A tie between Scheffler-Henley and Sam Burns-Patrick Cantlay. Both duos shot seven under, with the first one doing it in 16 holes and the latter in 17. Cantlay was arguably the sharpest player on the day with a team-high five birdies.

Toughest loss

Beyond Day-An falling after tying it up at 16, Internationals Taylor Pendrith and Christiaan Bezuidenhut combined to make seven birdies against Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark. But they were doomed in a one-hole loss because they lost two holes with bogeys when only seven bogeys were recorded overall on the day.

Hero of the day

That would be Bradley, the 2025 Ryder Cup captain and captain’s pick for this event. In his first team start in 10 years, the New Englander did not disappoint, making five birdies, including one at the last from 19 feet to put an exclamation point on the Americans’ big day.

WHAT A PUTT!

A dominant 5-0 session for the U.S. Team is capped off by @Keegan_Bradley‘s emphatic walk-off winner. pic.twitter.com/0OtyMS49Ui

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 26, 2024

Biggest disappointment

Vaughn Ridley

The mostly Canadian gallery, which brought new meaning to the phrase “golf claps” by barely putting their hands together for anything but the opening tee shots. The apathy produced scorn from some International wives and Tom Kim noted it afterward. “I think it was a little too quiet today being on home soil,” he said. “I don’t think the fans were really … I wish they would have helped us out a bit more, especially being in Canada. I know how much they love golf. I’m definitely expecting more crowds to be louder and for them to be on our side.”

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com