“Keegan Bradley with the final dagger on a dominant day for the Americans.” – Dan Hicks birdied Bradley on No. 18 for a 5-0 four-ball sweep

“The Internationals did their best, but the Americans seemed to have the answer to every question asked of them.” – Paul McGinley

“You can’t say enough about Xander Schauffele in the last 30 minutes. He hit five perfect shots to end this match. – Jim “Bones” Mackay on Schauffele birdied the last two holes to win match 1

“That was some bulletin board material.” – Brad Faxon about the international team couple Tom Kim/Sungjae Im running from 8^e green with Scottie Scheffler left to putt

STAMFORD, Conn. – September 26, 2024 – NBC Sports presented exclusive coverage of Day 1 of the 2024 Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Canada, followed by Golf Central live from the Presidents Cup post-round coverage on GOLF Channel. The U.S. team leads the international team 5-0 after Day 1’s four-ball matches.

Coverage of tomorrow’s foursomes match begins at 1:00 PM ET on GOLF Channel.

Dan Hicks (play by play), Brad Faxon (US Team Analyst) and Paul McGinley (International Team Analyst) led NBC Sports’ coverage, along with the hole announcer Curt Byrum and reporters on course Notah Begay III, Smylie Kaufman, Jim ‘Bones’ MackayAnd Johannes Hout. Cara Banks covered interviews and reports on the international team Damon Hack covered interviews and reports about the American team.

Rich Lerner, Brandel ChambleeAnd Johnson Wagner anchored Live from the President’s Cup coverage after the round. Below are notes and quotes from today’s coverage.

DAY ONE

UNITED STATES TEAM

Hicks birdied Bradley on No. 18 to win the match and beat the Internationals: “Keegan Bradley with the last dagger on a dominant day for the Americans. No one loves this theater more than Keegan Bradley.”

Chamblée on Live from on Schauffele: “The man of the day was Xander Schauffele…they left the 16^e green bound. At this point the games were all so close and this could go either way. We have discovered why this man has risen to a new level of linkage. You don’t win two majors in a year without going big… (his win) tells the rest of the team, ‘We got this.’

Wagner on Live from on Bradley: “He’s known as a great driver, but today he did it with his putter…on the back nine he almost single-handedly won this match. He said he wouldn’t pick himself (for the Ryder Cup) if he’s outside the top six, but these players might let him pick himself if he keeps playing like that.”

Faxon on Schauffele who hits a shot at No. 18 to four feet: “That’s why he won two majors this year. Shots like this when the pressure is greatest. What about the last two holes he played after missing the short putt on No. 16? Putting it together, hitting it close to number 17 and making that putt.

Mackay: “You can’t say enough about Xander Schauffele in the last 30 minutes. If this putt goes in, he will have hit five perfect shots to end this match.

Byrum on Scheffler yelling at Tom Kim after answering with a birdie on No. 7: “Wow! Scheffler also shows some emotion. He and Tom are very good friends…he said he wanted Scheffler and wanted to take him down. He was definitely talking to Tom Kim.

Faxon about Kim/I’m walking to 9^e hole while Scheffler has yet to putt: “That was bulletin board material. Assistant captain Kevin Kisner then texted me and said he told the assistant captain of the international team Camilo Villegas‘If you’re going to do that, then it’s game on.’”

Faxon on the post-match conversation between Villegas and Kisner: “I don’t think Kiz wants any part of what Camilo tells him.”

Faxon: “The birdies on the American side just make it so quiet there.”

Wood on Henley: “In his very first team match, Russell Henley birdied No. 14 and No. 15 to move them into third place. An incredible performance from Russell Henley in his first game.”

Wood on the Scottie Scheffler/Russell Henley pairing: “I like the order in which they play, with Scheffler going first. Since this is (Henley’s) first team event, there must be some nerves, but he hasn’t shown it yet. When you have the No. 1 player in the world in front of you on the fairway on every hole, it must free you up a bit.”

INTERNATIONAL TEAM

McGinley: “The back nine was going to be important. The Americans would continue to play good golf, they had the wind in their sails, and the question was: could the Internationals rise up and match them? And the answer so far has been ‘no’...you have to give credit. The Internationals did their best, but the Americans seemed to have the answer to every question asked of them.”

McGinley: “This audience today is never really interested in it. They never really put much effort into getting loud and creating a hostile environment.

Faxon: “A nightmare start.”

McGinley: “They just missed every important putt.”

Hicks on Bezuidenhout birdie miss at No. 17: “Three misses at the same distance from Bezuidenhout. They were all huge. Not one (goes in).”

McGinley lost both the green at No. 17 and the hole on An/Day, ultimately losing the match to Schauffele/Finau: “You had the advantage, you had the honor, and you just completely opened the door… you have to put pressure on your opponent in match play, they didn’t do it and they paid the price.”

Wood on the Tom Kim/Sungjae coupling I walk to the 9^e hole with Scottie Scheffler yet to putt: “Kim and I left. They’ve reached number 9^e tee box and absolutely left. They are 200 feet away and not looking. Things are definitely going a bit rough now.”

McGinley about the Tom Kim/Sungjae Im combination running to 9^e hole with Scottie Scheffler still to putt: “Wow. That borders on bad behavior. That’s disrespectful in my opinion… I’m a big believer in not wanting to give the opponent energy, you don’t want to put a chip on his shoulder and give him the moral high ground “Their behavior was not moral. They did not show the respect of watching their opponent’s putt. That is not a good psychological position for the Internationals.”

Wood: “When Kim and I walked off the 8^e green, it looked like Villegas had turned it on. He said let’s go and they walked over. After that gap, the American vice-captain with this group was Kevin Kisner and it seemed like he and Camilo had some words. I couldn’t hear what was being said, but it didn’t look that friendly to be honest.”

–NBC SPORTS–