Friday was the second day of The Presidents Cup, and the second day in a row the United States team came away with four of the five points on offer to lead 8-2 in the best-of-30 competition.
After foursomes was the format on Thursday, things moved to four-ball for the second trip around Quail Hollow, meaning all four golfers in their matchup play each hole, with only the best score from each duo counting towards their score.
Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele – the reigning champions from the PGA Tour's only team event during the season, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans – showed no signs of slowing down after their blistering 6 and 5 win in the opening round, again delivering the biggest margin of victory for the day.
They defeated the duo of Hideki Matsuyama and Tom Kim 3 and 2, and the International team needed to mount a comeback to even survive that long as the United States were 5up through eight holes.
Kim was responsible for all three winning holes for his duo, with birdies on the 12th, 14th and 15th, while Cantlay and Schauffele evenly split their six triumphant holes with three apiece.
The only other fixture to not go the full 18 was Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas' 2 and 1 win against Australian duo Cam Davis and Adam Scott.
It was another hot start for the United States, with back-to-back birdies from Thomas and one from Spieth putting them 3up through eight holes, and although Davis and Scott both won a hole each down the back-nine, they were never able to bring the margin to within one.
Things were much more competitive in Max Homa and Billy Horschel's 1up win against Canadians Corey Conners and Taylor Pendrith, as the Americans picked up the lead with one hole to play.
Team United States took a 2up lead into the back-nine, which was quickly erased by Conners with two birdies on the 11th and 13th, leaving things tied until the 17th, where Homa delivered a clutch birdie to secure the win.
There were no wins for the Internationals on Friday, but they collected two half-points as the duos of Mito Pereira and Christiaan Bezuidenhout as well as Im Sung-jae and Sebastian Munoz held on to salvage something from the day.
Im and Munoz had a tough matchup against world number one Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, but it was Burns doing most of the heavy lifting for the United States, winning three of his team's four holes.
Munoz won three of the Internationals' four holes, including a par on the 17th as both Americans bogeyed to even things up.
Lastly, Pereira and Bezuidenhout were leading through 13 holes, before Cameron Young tied it and collected another half-point for his duo with Kevin Kisner.
Saturday will see teams contest both foursomes and four-ball rounds, before the competition moves to singles play on Sunday.
McIlroy 'getting used to' near misses after Irish Open heartbreak
Rory McIlroy admitted that he was "getting used to" his near misses after another late collapse saw him lose the Irish Open by one stroke.
The Northern Irishman looked set to win on home soil after taking a commanding four-shot lead at one point on Sunday.
However, costly errors on the 15th and 17th holes put the pressure back on him, and he could not hold off Rasmus Hojgaard.
McIlroy's performance at Royal County Down had echoes of his US Open misery, where he also held a lead before mistakes at crucial moments saw him lose out to Bryson DeChambeau, extending his wait for a major title into an 11th year.
He also faltered late in his bid for an Olympic medal in Paris, but McIlroy attempted to take some positives out of his latest tournament.
"I'm getting used to it [the near misses] unfortunately this year," McIlroy said.
"Hopefully the tide is going to turn pretty soon, and I can turn all these close calls into victories."
"Missing the green right on 15 is the place you can't go, and then I just misjudged the speed with the first putt on 17.
"Overall, obviously really disappointed that I didn't win, but I'll try to take the positives and move on to next week to Wentworth [at the BMW PGA Championship].
"From where I was at the start of the week and what I wanted to do, it's a step in the right direction. You know, if anything, it just whets my appetite even more for Portrush [the Open Championship] next year."
Woods undergoes back surgery after difficult 2024 season
Tiger Woods has undergone surgery to address the back spasms and pain that hampered him throughout 2024.
Woods has struggled for fitness throughout the last few years, having suffered serious leg injuries in a car crash in 2021.
He appeared at all four majors this year but missed the cut at three of those events, also finishing 60th at the Masters, while illness forced him to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational in February.
The 15-time major champion has also undergone several surgeries on his back throughout the last decade, and he revealed on Friday that another procedure was required to rectify issues that plagued him this season.
"Earlier this morning Tiger underwent micro decompression surgery of the lumbar spine for nerve impingement in the lower back," read a statement posted to Woods' X account.
"Dr Sheeraz Qureshi of Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach performed the surgery and deemed it successful."
Woods added: "The surgery went smoothly, and I'm hopeful this will help alleviate the back spasms and pain I was experiencing throughout most of the 2024 season.
"I look forward to tackling this rehab and preparing myself to get back to normal activities, including golf."
Rahm sets sights on Ryder Cup but refuses to pay DP World Tour fines
Jon Rahm has no intention of paying the fines dealt his way by the DP World Tour, as he reiterated his desire to play at the Ryder Cup.
Rahm, who starred as Europe beat the United States in Rome last year to regain the Ryder Cup, moved to LIV Golf in February.
The Spaniard's participation in next year's Ryder Cup, which will be held in New York, remains in doubt.
Rahm was slapped with fines for playing in LIV tournaments that clashed with DP World Tour events without having requested permission.
If he does not play in three more DP World Tour tournaments before the end of the season in November, he will not be eligible to play at the Ryder Cup.
However, despite Rahm entering the Spanish Open, Dunhill Links Championship and Andalucia Masters, he will be unable to play until he pays his fines, something the 29-year-old does not plan on doing.
"I'm not a big fan of the fines. I don't intend to pay the fines and we keep trying to have a discussion with them about how we can make this happen," he said.
"I intend to play in Spain. Whether they let me play or not is a different thing."
Former European captain Padraig Harrington has limited sympathy for Rahm.
"I'm a stickler for the rules," he said.
"I'm friends with Jon but if the rules are written down, that's just the way it is. The Ryder Cup is bigger than just the match. It is the backbone of the European Tour.
"The European Tour doesn't have a lot of leverage to get players to come back across and play here. The Ryder Cup is the carrot that we use to get people to come back.
"It is a very tough situation for Luke Donald and the Ryder Cup but if the 12th guy who qualifies by sticking to the rules gets bumped out, he's not going to be happy if somebody else has not stuck to the rules. We can't forget that person."
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