Team captain Mike Weir has opted to bench his two young energy starters – Min Woo Lee and Tom Kim – for Friday’s foursomes matches following the dire start to the event for the Internationals.

Kim sparked the Presidents Cup to life with his fiery clashes with world number one Scottie Scheffler in their Thursday match – which the Americans won 3&2 – while Lee only mustered one birdie in his debut match alongside fellow Australian Adam Scott.

Weir insisted that the surprise decision was pre-determined.

“Well, that was part of the plan. It was not a change after or anything,” he said.

“We have a plan for four-ball, and we have a plan for foursomes. Tom wasn’t in the plans for today but doesn’t mean he might not be down the road. We’re sticking with the plan.”

The move was heavily criticised by the ‘Live from the Presidents Cup’ panel with each commentator in agreeance that the Internationals need their young stars who provide a “spark” on course as much as possible.

“I just don’t know how you don’t play Tom Kim,” Brandel Chamblee said.

“He’s young, he’s lit up and he seems to be thriving in these environments.”

Fellow panellist Johnson Wagner agreed.

“He is the spark,” he said.

“Tom Kim is the emotional leader of this team right now and he is a good fit for foursomes. Instead, you put Sungjae out – who was his partner today – who didn’t make a single birdie.”

SECOND DAY FOURSOMES TEE TIMES

3.05am AEST – Hideki Matsuyama & Sungjae Im versus Patrick Cantlay & Xander Schauffele

3.19am AEST – Adam Scott & Taylor Pendrith versus Sahith Theegala & Collin Morikawa

3.33am AEST – Jason Day & Christian Bezuidenhout versus Max Homa & Brian Harmon

3.47am AEST – Corey Conners & Mackenzie Hughes versus Wyndham Clark & Tony Finau

4.01am AEST – Si Woo Kim & Byeong Hun An versus Scottie Scheffler & Russell Henley

DAY ONE TALKING POINTS

IS IT ALL OVER ALREADY?

Three matches went to the 18th green which will give the Internationals hope but it was the first time either team had won every match in a session since the US did in the third day foursomes in 2007.

It is also the third time the Americans have swept the opening session – they also did so in 1994 and 2000 and on both of those occasions it led to dominate victories.

It is no secret that the Internationals record in the Presidents Cup is poor having lost the last nine and only winning once – at Royal Melbourne in 1998 – and the panel on ‘Live from the Presidents Cup’ believe the weight of history means there is no coming back for the Internationals.

“It was a phenomenal day of golf. The USA by my count for 36-under par and the Internationals were 28-under par,” Brandel Chamblee said.

“It doesn’t sound that bleak when you put it like that. The results were an absolute nightmare for the International team.

“You’re talking about their best format and over the course of the Presidents Cups when the USA has been on foreign soil – the nod goes to the International side in four-balls.

“You can’t help but feel this one is insurmountable given the history.”

IS IT A CANADIAN PROBLEM?

Golf podcaster Andy Johnson posed on X that the International teams’ problems may be a Canada’s problems?

“Canadian players record in the last Presidents Cup was 0-8,” he said.

“International Team’s record in this year’s Presidents Cup in Canada is going to be 0-5.

“It begs the question, is Canada the problem?”

The crowd at Royal Montreal was a talking point all day with former professional Johnson Wagner saying on ‘Live from the Presidents Cup’ that “the crowd was never an issue today and that’s a problem for the International team”.

Wagner’s observations were backed up by Canadian Taylor Pendrith and Tom Kim.

“To feel the love of the home crowd being in Canada was really neat. We need to get louder, I think, the next few days here and really feel the home support,” Pendrith said.

“But it was really cool to shake Wayne Gretzky’s hand on the 1st tee and then hit my tee shot on home soil in front of the home crowd. It was a very cool experience.”

Kim went further with calling out the need for the crowd to create a more hostile atmosphere.

“Definitely when the crowds are with us, it definitely helps when you can kind of get loud. Like Taylor said, 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.”

SCOTT AND MIN WOO UNABLE TO PULL OFF DREAM DEBUT

Australian pairing Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee took Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala to the 18th green but they let slip the slender advantage they held during the middle of the match.

A Morikawa birdie on the first hole handed the American pair the early lead but the Australians fought back with Lee making birdie at the par-5 sixth to put them one-up.

Morikawa responded immediately with another birdie but Scott hit right back in a topsy-turvy battle to once again grab the lead.

They were in front after 11 holes but Morikawa lifted his game with birdies at 12 and 14 as Scott and Lee missed makeable putts throughout the back nine before Theegala put the final nail in the coffin with a birdie at the last – his first of the day.

“Yeah, I’m disappointed. I think Min Woo and I could have won that match today,” Scott said.

“It’s disappointing that we didn’t do just a little bit better. I have a feeling the matches were closer than what the score indicates.

“Our guys are just going to have to lift a little bit. We’re going to have to find another gear to beat a tough American team.

“Like I said before, the best news is there’s tomorrow for us. It’s not over. We’re going to have to come out, fight really hard, find that gear, win a session and get going in the right direction.”

FIERY SCHEFFLER BREAKS HOODOO

Scottie Scheffler’s winless record at last year’s Ryder Cup and the 2022 Presidents Cup was the elephant in the room for the US team this week.

But – just as he by winning the FedEx Cup playoffs last month where he also he a poor record previously – Scheffler proved there was little need to read into two poor weeks.

He and Russell Henley produced the most dominant victory of the opening day with a 3&2 triumph against Tom Kim and Sungjae Im.