Kim Si-woo and Kim Joo-hyung delivered valuable points for the International Team on the opening day of the Presidents Cup golf showdown against the United States.

Paired together for the International Team, Kim Si-woo and Kim Joo-hyung secured a dominant 3-and-2 victory with two holes remaining against the U.S. duo of Chris Gotterup and Patrick Cantlay in the opening day's four-ball match play held on the No. 3 course (par 70) at Medinah Country Club in Chicago, Illinois, on the 25th (Korean time).

Four-ball is a format where two players from each team play their own balls, with the better score counting for the team.

On the first day of competition, the International Team picked up two points in the five four-ball matches, thanks to wins by the Kim Si-woo and Kim Joo-hyung pairing as well as the duo of Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune (both from Japan).

Matsuyama and Hisatsune defeated Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele with a 3-and-1 victory.

The United States won three of the four-ball matches to take a 3–2 lead on the opening day.

On the second day of the tournament, five foursomes match play games will take place, where two players from each team alternate hitting a single golf ball.

Kim Si-woo and Kim Joo-hyung will team up once again in the foursomes match play to face the U.S. duo of Schauffele and Cantlay.

In the all-time Presidents Cup records, the International Team trails the United States with 1 win, 1 draw, and 13 losses.

Holding a 1-up lead through 12 holes, the Kim-Kim pairing extended their advantage to 2 holes on the 13th hole (par 3) after Kim Joo-hyung made a par putt while the U.S. team managed only a bogey.

They stretched their lead to 3 holes on the 14th hole (par 4) with a birdie putt by Kim Si-woo, and on the 16th hole (par 3), Kim Joo-hyung landed his tee shot within 50 centimeters to capture a birdie.

Although America's Cantlay also made a birdie, the match came to an end as the U.S. team was down by 3 holes with only 2 holes remaining.

Kim Si-woo and Kim Joo-hyung boast a strong record of 3 wins and 1 loss when paired together in past Presidents Cups.

After finishing his first-day match, Kim Si-woo said, "We kept pushing until the end to avoid giving our opponents any chances," adding, "I felt a sense of relief being able to finish the match without too much stress."

Recalling a 5–0 shutout defeat on the first day of the tournament two years ago, Kim Joo-hyung expressed confidence: "We had a really tough start at the last event, but I think our team played really well today. I am looking forward to tomorrow's match and have high expectations for the rest of the tournament."

Im Sung-jae teamed up with Australian-Korean Lee Min-woo to play in the opening match, but suffered a 1-up defeat against the pairing of Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns.

The Im and Lee pairing engaged in a tight battle through 16 holes, but failed to save par on the 17th hole (par 4), allowing Scheffler—who clinched a par—to pull off a comeback.

The Im-Lee duo sought to tie the match on the 18th hole (par 4), but halved the hole with pars, handing a point to the U.S. team.

Im Sung-jae attempted a 12-meter birdie putt, but the ball struck the back of the cup hard and bounced out, missing the chance to force a draw.

On the second day of the tournament, Im Sung-jae will team up with Matsuyama to face the pairing of Russell Henley and Jacob Bridgeman.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)