International team remains in front on Day 3 of Presidents Cup

The International team has finished strong Saturday to remain in front of the United States through three days of the Presidents Cup outside Chicago, holding a 10 1/2-7 1/2 lead.

"What a day. The US team, they came out firing as we knew they would," International captain Geoff Ogilvy said. "But the boys hung tough and sort of weathered the storm, if you like, and started making a few putts."

Chris Gotterup and Cameron Young combined to win two matches for the US at Medinah Country Club's No. 3 course, creating at least some suspense for Sunday's final day.

But in the last two matches to go complete in afternoon foursomes, New Zealand's Ryan Fox and Australia's Min Woo Lee upended Sam Burns and Wyndham Clark 3 and 2, and then Canadians Corey Conners and Nick Taylor needed all 18 holes for a 1-up triumph against Russell Henley and Jacob Bridgeman.

The International tandem recovered from Taylor's tee shot into the rough on the last hole to post par and avoid halving the match.

That made for quite a comeback for Conners and Taylor, who trailed by three holes through 10.

"Gave them a few holes early on," Conners said. "I think we were both motivated to try and get back on the right side of things, just keep battling away."

Gotterup said it was important to get the crowd energised and he believed that was accomplished in the morning.

"I thought our guys battled hard. It was a tough day out there," US captain Brandt Snedeker said. "This golf course got really tough this afternoon. There's such a fine line between good shots and bad shots."

Gotterup/Young rolled to a 6-and-4 victory against Australia's Adam Scott and South Korea's Sungjae Im.

"It's awesome when you're going like that," Young said. "There's nothing like it. At the same time, it's never easy."

Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele edged South Korea teammates Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim 2 and 1.

Scottie Scheffler, the World No. 1, wasn't in the US lineup for the afternoon session.

"I challenged the guys this afternoon to go out there and be that team that we need them to be and got Scottie some much-needed rest so he can go out there tomorrow and be the Scottie Scheffler that we know he is," Snedeker said.

In morning four-ball, the US claimed a 2 1/2-1 1/2 edge to narrow its gap after the International team swept five foursomes matches Friday.

Gotterup/Young defeated Conners/Taylor 2 and 1, while Scheffler and Burns had the same margin against Japan's Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune.

The International team prevailed 2 and 1 with Kim/Kim topping Collin Morikawa and Clark.

Each team earned a half-point with a draw between Lee/Im and Justin Thomas/Jackson Koivun, but the US side failed to protect a 2-up lead. On No. 16, Lee/Im drew even despite a bogey because Thomas and Koivun each hit shots into the rough and couldn't recover.