Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark saw another promising Presidents Cup match slip away during Saturday four-ball. It added to a frustrating stretch for the U.S. team at Medinah Country Club. The Americans had taken an early advantage against Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim, but the International pair fought back to secure a 2-and-1 victory. The defeat came one day after Morikawa and Clark suffered a narrow 1-up loss to Ryan Fox and Min Woo Lee. That match was part of a brutal Friday for the Americans, who were swept 5-0 in foursomes and fell behind 7-3 overall.
Saturday initially offered a chance to change the momentum. Morikawa and Clark built an early two-hole lead against the Korean duo. However, Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim gradually turned the match around. Amid this changing momentum, Collin Morikawa lost his cool and slammed his driver into the turf.
It is not yet clear which hole he did this on, but several X posts report the incident.
“This is by far worse than yesterday. We got dominated across the board yesterday. Start to finish. Today. We choked & continue to show major flaws. I love Collin & Wyndham, but we can’t be slamming and throwing clubs. It’s contagious. I get you’re frustrated but come on,” a user wrote in an X post, replying to a post by No Laying Up Podcast that said that today could be worse than Friday’s foursomes.
Another fan said, “Wyndham just told Collin to knock it off after he slammed his driver into the turf.”
These posts confirm Collin Morikawa’s frustration.
The reaction also came against the backdrop of Morikawa and Clark’s recent struggles in the competition. They had opened the Presidents Cup on Thursday with a 3-and-2 four-ball victory over Adam Scott and Ryan Fox, giving the U.S. an early 3-2 lead.
Since then, the momentum has shifted sharply. Their Friday defeat was especially close, with Fox and Lee rallying after Morikawa and Clark had taken the lead. Fox produced consecutive birdies on Nos. 15 and 16, and Morikawa missed an opportunity on No. 17 before the International pair closed out the match 1-up.
For Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark, Saturday’s loss therefore represented another missed opportunity during the U.S. team’s attempt to recover from Friday’s sweep. Today, they started with a 1-up lead on the par-4 second hole, thanks to Morikawa’s birdie. But Tom Kim was quick to take the point back for the International team on the next hole.
After that, the American team went 2 up by winning the fifth and seventh holes. The International team responded by winning the ninth and eleventh. Both teams were tied until the 15th hole, but the South Korean duo made a late surge. On the par-three 16th, Si Woo Kim scored a birdie to take the lead. He then followed it with another birdie on the 17th. The American duo couldn’t keep pace and lost the match without playing the final hole.
Whether because of this poor performance or some other reason, Collin Morikawa, along with a few other elites, had to sit down for Saturday foursomes.
Brandt Snedeker benches Collin Morikawa and other elites
After Saturday’s morning foursomes, Snedeker made some harsh decisions to improve foursome outcomes. Among those decisions was benching Collin Morikawa. His partner, Wyndham Clark, was paired with Sam Burns. Neither Snedeker nor Morikawa has yet discussed the decision or strategy behind it.
Besides Morikawa, Snedeker also benched Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas. Scheffler and Burns had won the Saturday foursomes, but Scheffler’s foursomes record is very bad. However, this might not necessarily be the reason he was asked to sit out this afternoon. The World No. 1 said he was okay with the decision and that it would be fun to rest.
Thomas didn’t lose Saturday’s four-ball match, but he did let a point slip away. He and Jackson Koivun had a 2-up lead through 14 holes. But they allowed the International team to make a late comeback by winning the 15th and 16th holes. This resulted in a tie at the end.
Snedeker’s decision to leave Collin Morikawa out of Saturday afternoon’s foursomes adds another layer to an already frustrating day for the American star. After the reported outburst and another narrow defeat, Morikawa will now have to watch from the sidelines as the U.S. team looks to close the gap.