2024 Presidents Cup analysis: What to know about the Americans' strong performance on day one

Despite some obvious hurdles the International Presidents Cup team faced on paper, there was reason for optimism ahead of Thursday's opening session at the Royal Montreal.

After all, the last two cups played on international turf went all the way, in South Korea in 2015 and at Royal Melbourne five years ago. The international team beat the United States 12-6 in four-ball in both of those cups and captained Mike Weir to open Thursday in that format. The crowd at the Canadian Open has been one of the loudest in the game in recent years, promising the black and gold a home advantage.

Within five games, hope turned to utter despair. Here are the key numbers and notes to know from Thursday's Presidents Cup.

1. The Americans won the session 5-0 and quickly built a potentially insurmountable lead. This is the third time in Presidents Cup history that a team has won the opening session. The Americans also did this in 1994 and 2000. They then won those two cups by a total of 19 points.

It is only the second time in Presidents Cup history that a team has won a session while playing on opposing soil. Notably, another case also occurred at the Royal Montreal. In Saturday morning foursomes in 2007, the United States turned a two-point lead into a seven-point lead, with only one of those five games reaching the 18th hole. Three games reached the final hole on Thursday.

2. Although the five games were mostly tight, the international team never had a consistent starting position. The Americans led after 61 holes on the first day. The Internationals led after 10. The United States was particularly strong immediately after the turnaround, taking control of play on holes 10 through 14. Over that stretch, the United States won seven holes and lost just one on Thursday.

The United States was much better on the four par-3 holes at Royal Montreal on Thursday, winning six of those holes and losing just one.

Pure passion from @Keegan_Bradley 🔥 pic.twitter.com/gkkxUIGP2y

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 26, 2024

3. All this, and we haven't even gotten to the format that the United States has dominated at this event in recent years. Since 2007, the Americans have had a lead of +33 points in the foursome that begins on Friday. In the same period (before Thursday), the international team was only one point ahead in four-ball.

With only four games being played in a two-a-side format on Saturday, this 5-0 result marks a four-ball victory for the USA this week. This is the first time in Presidents Cup history that the away team has outscored its opponent in four-ball. Prior to today, the home team had an all-time points advantage of 88-54 and a win-loss-draw record of 11-0-3.

4. Statistically speaking, the Presidents Cup is simply not a fair fight. Since 2019, 65 games have now been played at this event. In 64 of them, the United States was ahead in the world rankings. The only exception during this period was the individual in 2019, when Louis Oosthuizen (20th) was just ahead of Matt Kuchar (24th).

When comparing each squad's season averages earlier in the week, the United States had the edge in strokes gained off the tee, approach, around the green and putting. They also had the advantage near the hole from 50-125 yards, 100-125, 125-150, 150-175 and 175-200 yards. This week there are eight players with a world ranking of 26 or worse. All of them are on the international side.

Games, championships, matches and cups are not won in a spreadsheet. But sometimes the data is painfully meaningful.

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5. According to Data Golf, the United States had nine of the top 11 players on Thursday in terms of strokes gained from tee to green. The best was Patrick Cantlay, who gained 2.5 strokes through his approach game alone. It's another dismal development for Weir and Co.: Cantlay is ranked 97th on the PGA Tour this season, the worst of any player on the American side.

The international team entered this week with few statistical advantages, but had five of the top eight players in the field in strokes gained putting this season. That, too, turned on its head Thursday, as six of the top eight putters represented the American side.

6. World No. 2 Xander Schauffele put the finishing touches on the opening game, hitting back-to-back approaches to within 10 feet at 17 and 18 and converting both birdies. Schauffele has now won seven of his 10 career Presidents Cup games and is 2-3-0 in four-ball play. Schauffele and partner Tony Finau combined for nine birdies on Thursday, despite hitting negative putting strokes as a pair.

In Match 2, Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala defeated Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee by one, thanks to Theegala's only birdie of the day. In his Presidents Cup debut, Theegala hit his approach on the 18th 3 feet inside and rolled over the putt. Thursday marked the 50th Presidents Cup game of Adam Scott's career. He has now lost 26 of those games, eight more than any other player in the history of the tournament.

The US team is on the board 🙌
@XSchauffele | @PresidentsCup pic.twitter.com/WBZlaQkofE

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 26, 2024

7. While Tom Kim provided some electrifying moments throughout the day, he and his partner Sungjae Im trailed after every hole in their loss to Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley. The win was the first in a team event for Scheffler since the 2021 Ryder Cup, as he went winless in both Rome last year (0-2-2) and Quail Hollow in 2022 (0-3-1). Henley, meanwhile, gave the Americans the lead with a 15-foot birdie putt that they never wanted to relinquish, a brilliant start for the 35-year-old in his first-ever Presidents or Ryder Cup game.

8. Playing in the Presidents Cup for the first time in 11 years, Keegan Bradley was a strong force alongside partner Wyndham Clark in a 1v1 victory over Taylor Pendrith and Christiaan Bezuidenhout. In ShotLink-measured tournaments this season, Bradley has made 1.8 putts of 10 feet or longer per round. He scored six of them today, including a 19-footer at the end, giving the Americans the full point.

Bezuidenhout, a top-20 putter on the PGA Tour this season, wasn't nearly as successful on Thursday. With a deficit of 1-1, the South African put his team in an excellent position with approach shots from 16 and 17 meters away, each from 6 feet. He missed both – a troubling sight for a player who was in the top 40 from 4-8 feet this season. Pendrith has lost all five Presidents Cup games of his career.

9. Cantlay and Sam Burns defeated Hideki Matsuyama and Corey Conners 2&1 in the fifth game. The win improves Cantlay's Presidents Cup record to 6-2-1 overall and 2-0-1 in four-ball format. The American made five birdies with his own ball on Thursday, leading all players on the day in total strokes scored.

Like fellow Canadian Pendrith, Conners is now 0-5-0 in his Presidents Cup career. The likeable two-time PGA Tour winner didn't manage a birdie after the second hole today.

10. A team has been ahead after the opening session of the Presidents Cup in 13 of the previous 14 editions. Of those 13, 11 won or defended the trophy. When you combine the Presidents, Solheim and the modern era of the Ryder Cup, the team that leads after the first session wins 72 percent of the time.

However, a five-point lead is a huge mountain to climb. The largest deficit after the first session by a team that came back with a win is three points, which the Americans scored at Royal Melbourne in 2019.

If you're looking for an unprecedented goal for Day 2 International, the largest deficit overcome after two sessions is also three points, which the Americans had five years ago.

(Top photo by Keegan Bradley: Vaughn Ridley / Getty Images)