2022 Presidents Cup scores, results: United States wins ninth straight trophy as Jordan Spieth stars

It was not as easy as the Americans expected, but the hosts nevertheless sailed to victory at Quail Hollow

Though it appeared as if it might be a close race a few times Sunday, the United States ultimately prevailed with relative ease at the 2022 Presidents Cup, beating the International side 17.5-12.5 to win a ninth straight trophy in the biannual event. The Americans' status was never truly in doubt despite the International side  pushing the hosts on Saturday and getting off to a hot start Sunday when the 12 singles matches were played to close out four days of action at Quail Hollow Golf Club.

After Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau got the first three full singles victories for the U.S. -- Sam Burns tossed in a half point by tying Hideki Matsuyama -- Xander Schauffele snagged the winning point by beating Corey Conners. The U.S. went on to add two more full points to move the final score to 17.5-12.5.

The five-point margin of victory was the Americans' second-largest in the most recent 30-point iteration of the event. The United States is now 10-0-1 in the last 12 Presidents Cups since 2000 and 12-1-1 all-time in the event dating back to its debut in 1994.

It's less surprising that the U.S. won than it is that it took the Americans so long to achieve victory. Early in the week, it looked as if U.S. captain Davis Love III's squad might have an opportunity to end the event Saturday before singles action even started like the hosts nearly did back in 2017; however, Trevor Immelman's International side went to work late on Day 3 and took some of the American horses the distance on Sunday to at least make the last 24 hours of play interesting.

The bounce-back effort from the International team also kept the U.S. from winning 20 points at the Presidents Cup for the first time since a total of 30 points became available in 2015. That potential looked possible -- perhaps even probable -- after the Americans held an 8-2 lead through the first two days. Love said after the matches that his players were desperate for a rout, too, and put a number goal out there that was much higher than the one needed simply to win the trophy (15.5).

This year's event -- the International side was decimated by several golfers who recently left for LIV Golf -- nonetheless produced some new stars (Tom Kim) and reminded us that some old ones (Spieth) have plenty left in the tank. The former dragged the International team to a competitive Sunday while the latter went 5-0-0 en route to the best Presidents Cup performance of his career (and the first singles win in any international team event).

As many players pointed out, this event also served as a bit of a throwback to a more pure game of golf. These team events always allow that purity to shine through, and while there's no shortage of money to be made on the Presidents Cup, players aren't playing golf for the $10 million or $20 million purses we see weekly in this profession.

There's a certain reprieve that comes with that. Sebastian Munoz of the International team summed it up nicely. "The bonding," he said. "The team. The camaraderie. It's still an awesome week. I'm kind of sad that it's almost finishing, but it's been an amazing week. Words can't describe the way I felt today, I felt this week, I felt playing for the shield. It's been an awesome week. Kind of speechless."

He wasn't the only player who echoed that sentiment as several on the U.S. side followed suit.

"I think Max [Homa] said it really well: 'You just can't put a price on it,'" recalled Spieth after his MVP-like performance. "There's really nothing that's more enjoyable."

The Presidents Cup will never be the Ryder Cup, and that's OK. It has now produced three compelling, mostly competitive events in its last four iterations and absolutely has a place in the landscape of professional golf. If not for LIV Golf robbing us of seeing Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann on the International side, we would likely be talking about this event with more optimism and hope than ever after another terrific, fun week. 

Perhaps, even with another solid U.S. showing, an International team with an uncertain LIV-related future -- and 19 straight years of trophies for the red, white and blue -- we still should. Team golf can't be great even if it's not competitive, but the International side is seemingly closing that gap bit by bit even up against an ever-improving American squad. And while the final was rarely up in the air throughout the week at Quail Hollow, the golf on both sides was good enough that the journey to get to the end was as much of a delight as ever.

2022 Presidents Cup scores, results

Final score: United States 17.5, Internationals 12.5

Day 4 -- Singles: United States 6.5, Internationals 5.5

Match	United States	Score	Internationals
1	Justin Thomas	1 UP	Si Woo Kim
2	Jordan Spieth	4&3	Cam Davis
3	Sam Burns	TIED	Hideki Matsuyama
4	Patrick Cantlay	3&2	Adam Scott
5	Scottie Scheffler	2&1	Sebastian Munoz
6	Tony Finau	3&1	Taylor Pendrith
7	Xander Schauffele	1 UP	Corey Conners
8	Cameron Young	1 UP	Sungjae Im
9	Billy Horschel	3&1	K.H. Lee
10	Max Homa	1 UP	Tom Kim
11	Collin Morikawa	3&2	Mito Pereira
12	Kevin Kisner	2&1	Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Rick Gehman is joined by Kyle Porter and Greg DuCharme to recap Sunday's action at Quail Hollow. Follow & listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Match 1 -- Kim 1 UP over Thomas: There was some bad blood in this match as short putts were not conceded, and celebrations ran rampant. JT gained control early with two birdies in his first four holes and eventually made the turn with a 2 UP lead. Kim continued to pester as he made a pair of birdies of his own on Nos. 10-11 to tie the match. The two exchanged the lead and fist pumps throughout the back nine and came to the 18th all square. A classic first-in wins situation, Kim converted his birdie look from 10 feet to steal the first match.

Match 2 -- Spieth 4&3 over Davis: After making bogey on his first two holes, Spieth righted the ship. Making five birdies in his final 12 holes, the Texan was able to coast by the Australian. Davis played his worst match of the week, failing to make a single birdie and taking himself out of numerous holes. When you do that against Spieth, you don't stand much of a chance. With the win, Spieth became the sixth player in Presidents Cup history to go 5-0-0.

Match 3 -- Burns TIED Matsuyama: Matsuyama was steady in the early stages and held a 2 UP lead halfway through. Burns quickly regained control with three straight birdies on Nos. 10-12. A double bogey on the 15th allowed Matsuyama to draw even. The two exchanged birdies on the 16th and pars on the final two holes to each put a half point on the board. Matsuyama hit a marshal's leg and the flagstick for what was nearly the birdie of the Presidents Cup.

Match 4 -- Cantlay 3&2 over Scott: This was a comfortable win for Cantlay as he went 3 UP through the first four holes. Scott cut the lead to 2 UP on a couple occasions, but ultimately could not make enough putts to give Cantlay a scare.

Match 5 -- Munoz 2&1 over Scheffler: The Colombian was simply terrific this week. Garnering a 2-0-1 record, Munoz "threw everything" at the world No. 1. After falling 2 down, Munoz won Nos. 8-10 to command a 1 UP lead and didn't look back. Scheffler made a late charge, but it wasn't enough as the international man carded a total of six par breakers (five birdies and an eagle).

Match 6 -- Finau 3&1 over Pendrith: The big Canadian's Presidents Cup debut ended in pain as he went 0-4-0. Finau won five of the final nine holes to overcome a 2 down deficit. The most pivotal moment of the match came on the 15th when Finau was able to tie the hole despite hitting his tee shot into the water. In total, the American made eight birdies to put the U.S. within one point of the Presidents Cup.

Match 7 -- Schauffele 1 UP over Conners: The Olympic gold medalist captured the clinching point with a savvy par save on No. 18. Schauffele did not need to do anything too special in this match as Conners' dreadful week leaked into Sunday singles. Like Pendrith, Conners was unable to put a point on the board for the internationals as he carded five bogeys and a double on Day 4. Schauffele never trailed in the match and despite a 1 UP win, a victory never felt in doubt.

Match 8 -- Im 1 UP over Young: Young opened the match with three straight bogeys and saw Im possess a 3 UP lead. He tried his best to battle back and birdies on the par-3 fourth and par-5 seventh led him to squaring the match by the time they reach the ninth. However, that is as close as Young would get he never took a lead over Im. The two came to 17 deadlocked before Im lasered an iron to tap-in range. He connected from distance on the following hole to secure a respectable 2-2-1 record on the week.

Match 9 -- Lee 3&1 over Horschel: It was a bit of a slugfest as neither player had their A-game. Lee led for the entirety of this match after going 2 UP through two. Horschel cut into the gap at various points, but a 4-putt on the par-5 seventh was a moment he wishes he could have back. Mistake-free golf from the South Korean on the inward half was enough to close this match out on the 17th green.

Match 10 -- Homa 1 UP over Kim: It is a shame this one did not mean more as it featured plenty of twists and turns. Homa went double-bogey-double on Nos. 7-9 and saw his deficit grow to 3 down at the turn. From there, he went to work. Birdies on 12 and 14 propelled him even with Kim and a birdie on the difficult 15th saw him take his first lead of the match. Trading birdies on the next, the two went to 18 with Homa 1 UP. While Kim may have been the star of the week, he couldn't muster together one last birdie and ultimately fell. It was a dream week not only for Kim, but also Homa. The five-time PGA Tour winner enjoyed a 4-0-0 record in his debut appearance. Running the risk of sounding like a broken record, Homa's confidence should soar from the Presidents Cup making him all the more dangerous on a weekly basis.

Match 11 -- Morikawa 3&2 over Pereira: A birdie on the opening hole set the tone for this match. Morikawa was brilliant in the penultimate bout and went around Quail Hollow in impressive fashion, making six birdies and an eagle on the day. Morikawa played his front nine in 5 under and was rewarded a 3 UP lead on the Chilean. A birdie on the 10th pushed his margin to four before Pereira grabbed his lone hole of the match on the 11th. A side-winding birdie on the par-5 15th from Morikawa's new putter put a bow on a great day for the American.

Match 12 -- Bezuidenhout 2&1 over Kisner: For only playing in two matches, Bezuidenhout acquitted himself nicely in his Presidents Cup debut. With a win over Kisner, he collected 1.5 points on the week. This match was always going to be an afterthought but the South African can take pride in taking down the match play extraordinaire. It is hard to project, but this was likely the last match of Kisner's Presidents Cup career. The U.S. is filled with young talent and even he knew he was only a member of this team due to Will Zalatoris' injury. He made the most of the experience and will surely make the most of the celebrations.

[Sep 25, 2022 at 5:30 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Schauffele clinches the cup for USA

The Olympic gold medalist has clinched the ninth straight Presidents Cup for the U.S. Winning 1 UP over Corey Conners, Schauffele captured the coveted 15.5 point needed for victory. There are still matches ongoing, but only pride is being played for as the heavily favored Americans lived up to the hype.

[Sep 25, 2022 at 4:56 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Pendrith's debut ends poorly

The Canadians have yet to put a point on the board (Corey Conners is still on the course) as Pendrith went 0-4-0. Tony Finau was simply too much as he carded eight birdies and won five of the final nine holes to win 3&1 and put the U.S. within one point of clinching the Cup.