Conners and Taylor save International lead as Presidents Cup heads to singles

Corey Conners and Nick Taylor turned a three-hole deficit into a point Saturday, giving the International Team a 10.5-7.5 lead over the United States heading into the final day of the Presidents Cup. Their 1-up win over Russell Henley and Jacob Bridgeman came in the last foursomes match at Medinah Country Club. Conners made a short par putt on the 18th to close it, after the Americans had led through the first 13 holes.

The finish mattered because the U.S. had chances to cut further into the lead it faced after Friday's International sweep. Americans led all four matches at some stage in both Saturday sessions, according to Golf Channel's on-site recap. The U.S. took the morning four-ball session 2.5-1.5, but the teams split the afternoon foursomes 2-2. Saturday reduced the International advantage by only one point.

Watch the Canadian pair complete its comeback in the PGA Tour's September 26 post. The Tour identified the match and result in its post; the same finish appears in NBC's broadcast notes.

There was a forceful American answer elsewhere. Chris Gotterup and Cameron Young beat Adam Scott and Sungjae Im 6 and 4 in foursomes after also winning their morning match. Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele defeated Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim 2 and 1, handing that International pairing its first loss of the week. But Ryan Fox and Min Woo Lee beat Sam Burns and Wyndham Clark 3 and 2. Those two International wins kept Saturday from becoming the American reset that the early scoreboards suggested.

U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker left Scottie Scheffler out of the afternoon foursomes. Snedeker told NBC that he wanted Scheffler rested for singles, while the rest of the team had to carry its share. The decision will draw attention Sunday, but Saturday's result cannot be reduced to one lineup choice: the U.S. also lost leads in matches Scheffler was not scheduled to play. International captain Geoff Ogilvy credited his players for salvaging points in sessions where they had trailed across the board.

Twelve singles matches remain Sunday. At 10.5 points, the International Team needs five more to reach the 15.5 required for an outright win; the U.S. needs eight. The official Presidents Cup scoring page carries the live match status. No team has clinched the Cup. The decisive question is whether the Americans can finish the leads they built on Saturday, or whether Conners and Taylor's late escape becomes the moment that preserved a historic International win.