You wouldn’t know it from watching tape-delayed coverage on NBC, but the Sunday singles matches at the Presidents Cup are now getting to the back nine at Muirfield Village. The International side needs to win 10 of 12 matches to pull off a miraculous comeback and earn the requisite amount of points.
2013 Presidents Cup scores: Richard Sterne upsetting Tiger Woods, but USA still in control
The Internationals are trying to pull off a miracle on Sunday, and the current mix on the board won’t get it done.
There’s still a long way to go, and Muirfield is getting hammered with rain again, but the match board is currently a mix of red and green. That’s not going to get it done for the International side.
Hunter Mahan is likely going to lock up the first point of the day, and make the margin for the Internationals even slimmer. Mahan is 3 up through 13 holes against Hideki Matsuyama, the Japanese phenom who should be a fixture at this event for the next decade. He’s had a good week in Columbus, but it appears he’s run out of gas on Sunday.
In the second game, it appears the International side will match that Mahan point with one of their own. Jason Day is routing Brandt Snedeker, and should close that match out for the International team midway through the back nine. Day, an Aussie but Muirfield member and Columbus resident, has had a mixed week on a course he knows well. The Sunday win over Snedeker could be some consolation.
But much like those divergent first two matches, it’s a mix across the board. The most surprising match early on is Richard Sterne’s 1up lead over Tiger Woods. I’s about as big a mismatch as you can have in these competitions, whether it’s world ranking, career earnings, career wins, or profile. But after splitting the first six holes, Sterne took the lead on No. 7 with a birdie.
Here’s the Sunday singles match board on a another rainy day in Dublin:
| International | Match Progress | American |
| Hideki Matsuyama | USA 3up thru 13 | Hunter Mahan |
| Jason Day | INTL 4up thru 12 | Brandt Snedeker |
| Graham DeLaet | USA 1 up thru 12 | Jordan Spieth |
| Ernie Els | All Square thru 11 | Steve Stricker |
| Brendon de Jonge | USA 3up thru 10 | Jason Dufner |
| Adam Scott | INTL 2up thru 10 | Bill Haas |
| Branden Grace | USA 2up thru 9 | Zach Johnson |
| Marc Leishman | USA 1up thru 9 | Matt Kuchar |
| Richard Sterne | INTL 1up thru 8 | Tiger Woods |
| Charl Schwartzel | INTL 1up thru 7 | Keegan Bradley |
| Louis Oosthuizen | USA 1up thru 6 | Webb Simpson |
| Angel Cabrera | INTL 1up thru 6 | Phil Mickelson |
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