Team USA needs more than Tiger and Thomas to win the Presidents Cup

The Americans face a three-point deficit against the Internationals heading into the third session of the Presidents Cup, but it could’ve been a lot worse

It’s the stuff dreams are made of. A 26-year-old golfer, already a major champion and 11-time PGA Tour winner, partners up with the player he grew up idolizing, his country’s fate in their hands. And then coming through with one of the biggest putts of his life.

That description perfectly fits Justin Thomas, whose 17-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole during the second session of the 13th Presidents Cup on Friday (Thursday night in the U.S.) salvaged a split for the Americans and saved them from a deep deficit against the Internationals.

The International team—winners of just one tournament in the event’s history—shocked the heavily-favored American team in the first session by winning four of five matches. The only point the Americans could put on the board came from the team of Thomas and captain Tiger Woods. They looked like they would suffer a similar fate the next day, as the Internationals were poised to take an almost-insurmountable lead at Royal Melbourne and repeat what the 1998 team did.

The group of Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen had already defeated Matt Kuchar and Dustin Johnson in the first match and the Internationals led in the other four on the back-nine. But then Patrick Cantlay, one-down with Xander Schauffele to Joaquin Niemann and Adam Hadwin playing the 15th, holed a 13-footer on the 18th green to steal the match one-up. Rickie Fowler and Gary Woodland, two-down through 15, won the last two holes against Cameron Smith and Sungjae Im to tie.

And then there was Thomas and Woods, rescuing their country again. All square against Hideki Matsuyama and Byeong Hun An playing the 18th, Thomas faced a breaking right-to-left putt for birdie to win the match. When he rolled it in Woods rushed into his arms as Thomas began channeling his inner Terrell Owens.

Thomas had found a video of the former NFL wide receiver shouting out “I love me some me” and showed it to his teammates for motivation before the session began. When he made the putt to split the session at 2.5 points apiece, he decided it would be a good time to bring it out.

“I said if I made a big putt today I’m yelling it, and that was about the biggest putt that I could make so I figured it was a pretty appropriate time to yell it,” Thomas said at his press conference following the session.

The Americans were looking at potentially an 8-2 deficit heading to the third session on Saturday morning in Melbourne, and even after the split still face a 6.5-3.5 International lead. It’s the biggest International lead at this stage of the event since 1998. The Internationals hadn’t led the event at all after two sessions since 2005.

Not everything has gone the way of the Americans. Johnson is now 0-2. The group of “Captain America” Patrick Reed and Webb Simpson have led for all of one hole through two matches; Reed is now 0-4 in foursomes dating back to last year’s Ryder Cup debacle.

Only Woods and Thomas have secured two points for the Americans, but Woods, in his first stint as captain, realizes he needs more from the other members of his team. He won’t play in the third session, instead sending Thomas out first with Fowler in an attempt to gain early momentum for his team.

Momentum was key in the second session, as one putt may have saved the Americans odds of winning the Presidents Cup for the eighth straight time. But for how much Thomas’ putt changed the tournament, he and the Americans recognize they still have their work cut out for them.

“It was huge. Sitting here looking at the scoreboard I think all of us—you know, Gary and Rick bringing their match back, Patrick making the putt on 18, myself making the putt on 18—we had such great finishes but at the end of the day we’ve got to get over that,” he said. “We’re still three down. But I know one thing, if we don’t make those putts this is a pretty deep deficit…it was a big momentum shift and hopefully it continues into tomorrow.”

Saturday in Melbourne will determine whether the American team, the strongest ever assembled with 10 of the top-20 players in the world, return home as conquering heroes or make the long trip back across the Pacific with questions about where it all went wrong.