2015 Presidents Cup results: Team USA wins dramatic cup on last hole of last match

The week at the Presidents Cup started with International captain Nick Price saying the future viability of the event hinged on his team finally making this competitive. It ended Sunday, in the middle of the night back in the United States, with an incredible see-saw singles session that came down to the final hole of the final match.

And the two players in that final match? Sangmoon Bae, the only Korean on the International team, playing in front of the home crowd in what will be his final event before two years of mandatory military service. And Bill Haas, the son of U.S. captain Jay Haas. The USA got the Cup yet again, posting a 15.5 to 14.5 victory.

This event, however got the kind of competitiveness and juice that Price said was so vital some 30 points and matches prior. In the final 90 minutes of singles, the outlook swung from a sure USA win to a probable tie to a likely International win before resting with a third straight halved session and the USA one-point win.

When setting the lineups in these team match play competitions, the top guns are rarely put in the final match because all the points ahead of it often render it meaningless. Bae and Haas aren’t two of the biggest names in golf or in this competition, but given the backstory and the setting, it was the perfect finish to a Sunday singles session that would give any Ryder Cup a run.

It takes some courage to put your own son in the anchor match, but Haas came through for his dad. He got Bae dormie on the 18th tee, meaning the best the Internationals could do was tie. That would feel like a win for a team that’s 1-8-1 in the 20-year history of this event. Bae, however, chunked a chip shot just off the 18th green that delivered an outright USA win.

Given that this was probably Bae’s last competitive hole for two years, it was heartbreaking to watch. That kind of emotion, tenseness, and pressure are what make these team competitions the best in golf and the fact that we had them here at the final hole on Sunday means there’s hope for the Presidents Cup yet.

On the opposite side of the emotional spectrum was Haas, who may be the least emotional player on the team. But even he teared up in a greenside interview with his father after clinching the winning point. That’s how draining and intense this got on Sunday.

While the USA started the day with only a 1-point lead, failing to win the Cup would have been another major gag for this American team. They started the singles session quick, holding a lead in eight of the 12 matches at one point. This looked like another laugher and runaway U.S. win -- it was just coming later in the matches instead of during the two-man sessions.

The Internationals, however, were unrelenting, showing the kind of fight that brought them back from a disastrous 4-1 opening session back on Thursday that portended another blowout. They got a little help from the Americans, such as Bubba Watson, who blasted a little putt past the cup to blow his match on the 18th green.

That looked like a critical half point loss early in the session, as the Internationals turned match after match and kept pushing things to the 18th green. In the final hour, the matches seemed to be headed for a 15-15 split.

Then for a brief moment on the 18th green in the least appealing match, it appeared the Internationals were about to take it outright. That’s where Chris Kirk, who was 0-2 before Sunday, hit an awful chip shot, giving Anirban Lahiri, who was inside five feet, a huge advantage to steal yet another point on the final green. The circumstances were dire for the USA and it got downright depressing after Kirk rocketed a chip past the cup. Then he hit the biggest putt of his life.

The U.S. team erupted as soon as it went down -- if that didn’t go in, it looked like the Cup was going to the Internationals for just the second time ever. Pat Reed and Phil Mickelson’s reactions, along with the typically deadpan Kirk’s, are another reason these team events are so rewarding to watch.

Moments later, Lahiri blew his bunny putt and in a span of five minutes, the entire Cup outlook shifted yet again. The Haas clincher will get most of the publicity, but this enormous sequence was the biggest swing late in the session. Like Bae in the final match some half hour later, you had to feel for Lahiri after the miss.

There were highlights throughout the singles session from plenty of bigger names, such as Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, and Jordan Spieth. But it’s the lesser names that so often bubble up in what are, unquestionably, the most pressurized spots in the game.

The USA won the Presidents Cup. That’s what will go in the record books. But, and I know this sounds corny as hell, the overall event was the big winner in this Sunday singles. This was finally a game again. It will be remembered as one of the better team events ever in a week that started with yawning apathy and questions about its future. See you in 2017.

Wednesday-Thursday
Session 1 -- Five Foursomes Matches -- USA wins session, leads Cup 4-1
10:05 p.m. ET Weds -- Matsuyama/Scott vs. Holmes/Watson -- USA wins, 3&2
10:18 p.m. ET Weds -- Oosthuizen/Grace vs. Kuchar/Reed -- Intl wins, 3&2
10:31 p.m. ET Weds -- Jaidee/Lahiri vs. Fowler/Walker -- USA wins, 5&4
10:44 p.m. ET Weds -- Day/Bowditch vs. Mickleson/Z. Johnson -- USA wins, 2-up
10:57 p.m. ET Weds -- Lee/Leishman vs. Spieth/D. Johnson -- USA wins, 4&3

Thursday-Friday -- Golf Channel -- 8:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. ET
Session 2 -- Five Four-ball Matches -- INTL wins session, USA leads Cup 5.5 to 4.5
8:35 p.m. ET Thursday -- Spieth/D. Johnson vs. Oosthuizen/Grace -- Intl wins, 4&3
8:50 p.m. ET Thursday -- Fowler/Walker vs. Lee/Bae -- Intl wins, 1-up
9:05 p.m. ET Thursday -- Mickelson/ Z. Johnson vs. Scott/Day -- Halved
9:20 p.m. ET Thursday -- Watson/Holmes vs. Leishman/Bowditch -- USA wins, 2-up
9:35 p.m. ET Thursday -- Haas/Kirk vs. Schwartzel/Thongchai Jaidee -- Intl wins, 2&1

Friday-Saturday -- Golf Channel -- 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. ET
Session 3 -- Four foursome matches, Session halved, USA leads Cup 7.5 to 6.5
7:05 p.m. ET Fri. - Fowler / Reed vs. Oosthuizen / Grace -- Intl wins, 3&2
7:16 p.m. ET Fri. -- Watson / Holmes vs. Scott / Leishman -- Halved
7:27 p.m. ET Fri. -- Haas / Kuchar vs. Bae / Matsuyama -- Halved
7:38 p.m. ET Fri. -- Spieth / D. Johnson vs. Day / Schwartzel -- USA wins, 1-up
Session 4 -- Four four-ball matches, Session halved, USA leads Cup 9.5 to 8.5
12:05 a.m. ET Sat -- Watson / Holmes vs. Oosthuizen / Grace -- INTL wins, 1-up
12:19 a.m. ET Sat -- Mickelson / Z. Johnson vs. Lahiri / Scott -- USA wins, 3&2
12:33 a.m. ET Sat -- Kirk / Walker vs. Bae / Matsuyama -- INTL wins, 6&5
12:47 a.m. ET Sat -- Spieth / Reed vs. Day / Schwartzel -- USA wins, 3&2

Sunday -- Golf Channel -- 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. ET
Session 5 -- 12 Singles matches, Session halved, USA wins Cup 15.5 to 14.5
8:15 p.m. ET Sat / 9:15 a.m. local Sun -- Reed vs. Oosthuizen, Halved
8:27 p.m. ET Sat / 9:27 a.m. local Sun -- Fowler vs. Scott, INTL wins, 6&5
8:39 p.m. ET Sat / 9:39 a.m. local Sun -- Johnson vs. Lee, USA wins 2&1
8:51 p.m. ET Sat / 9:51 a.m. local Sun -- Holmes vs. Matsuyama, INTL wins, 1-up
9:03 p.m. ET Sat / 10:03 a.m. local Sun -- Watson vs. Jaidee, Halved
9:15 p.m. ET Sat / 10:15 a.m. local Sun -- Walker vs. Bowditch, INTL wins, 2-up
9:27 p.m. ET Sat / 10:27 a.m. local Sun -- Mickelson vs. Schwartzel, USA wins, 5&4
9:39 p.m. ET Sat / 10:39 a.m. local Sun -- Kirk vs. Lahiri, USA wins, 1-up
9:51 p.m. ET Sat / 10:51 a.m. local Sun -- Spieth vs. Leishman, INTL wins, 1-up
10:03 p.m. ET Sat / 11:03 a.m. local Sun -- Johnson vs. Day, USA wins, 3&2
10:15 p.m. ET Sat / 11:15 a.m. local Sun -- Kuchar vs. Grace, INTL wins, 2&1
10:27 p.m. ET Sat / 11:27 a.m. local Sun -- Haas vs. Bae, USA wins, 2-up

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