Having been hammered in foursomes play in recent Presidents Cups, the Internationals kept pace with the USA in the format on Friday at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
Just two of the six matches were completed thanks to a huge rainstorm delaying play for over two and a half hours with both teams claiming a win apiece and each team sharing the lead in two others.
The USA leads 4.5 to 3.5 in the quest for 17.5 points with the four unfinished matches set to restart early on Saturday.
Since their lone outright win in 1998 the Internationals have been obliterated overall in alternate shot, earning just 19.5 points compared to the USA’s 47.5, so squaring the matches will be seen as a mini victory.
“I think if you consider what’s happened in the past in alternate shot, we are certainly very happy to be in that situation,” International captain Nick Price said.
“I’m not ruling out the chances that we may get another half or a full point somewhere so if we can tie this thing up at the end of tomorrow morning’s play, that would be absolutely perfect for us.”
Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley turned in a stunning front nine of alternate shot golf against Australia’s Jason Day and Canadian Graham DeLaet and continued the onslaught after the rain delay to claim a 4&3 victory.
The American pair were six-under in the opening nine holes with four birdies and an eagle, a blistering pace in the format, leaving the International pair floundering despite three birdies of their own.
“Jason and Graham came up against probably some of the finest golf I’ve ever seen in alternate shot,” Price said.
But in the match behind, Ernie Els and Brendon de Jonge stepped on the throats of Bill Haas and Hunter Mahan on the way to an impressive 4&3 win of their own.
World No.2 Australian Adam Scott and his rookie Japanese teammate Hideki Matsuyama hold an impressive 4-up lead through 11 holes over Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson.
Rookie Australian Marc Leishman and Argentine Angel Cabrera are in the middle of the closest and most critical match left, just 1-up through 13 holes against Webb Simpson and Brandt Snedeker.
Steve Stricker and Jordan Spieth are seemingly headed for victory at 3-up on South African pair Branden Grace and Richard Sterne through 14 holes while Tiger Woods and Matt Kuchar hold the same advantage over the other South African pairing of Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel through 12 holes.
After finishing the incomplete matches another two sessions are slated on Saturday with five fourball matches in the morning followed by five foursomes battles in the afternoon.
“It makes for such long days, and tomorrow, I hope we don’t have any weather delays, because everyone is sort of getting tired now,” Price said.
“It doesn’t matter how fit these guys are. It’s just the mental impact.”
The Americans have won seven and drawn one of the nine previous Presidents Cups and never lost on home soil.
