JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) A memorable start that featured the previous three U.S. presidents on the first tee ended with a familiar result in the Presidents Cup. The Americans are out to another big lead in the event they haven’t lost in nearly two decades.

PGA champion Justin Thomas made his professional team debut with a short day of work as he and Rickie Fowler lost only two holes in a 6-and-4 victory. Jordan Spieth holed a 35-foot putt that sent him and Patrick Reed to another victory. Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar remained unbeaten.

The Americans won the opening session for the sixth straight time in the Presidents Cup and built a 3 1/2-1 1/2 lead Thursday after the opening foursomes matches.

Phil Mickelson, playing in his 23rd consecutive team competition, ended the tough, wind-swept afternoon at Liberty National by missing an 8-foot par putt, or the U.S. lead would have been even greater. He and Kevin Kisner were 1 down with two holes remaining to Jason Day and Marc Leishman..

ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. (AP) Sam Saunders, Arnold Palmer’s grandson, shot a 12-under 59 on Thursday in the first round of the Web.com Tour Championship.

Saunders closed with six straight birdies at Atlantic Beach Country Club for the seventh sub-60 round in Web.com Tour history. Stephan Jaeger set the tour record of 58 last year in the Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae in Hayward, California, and Notah Begay III, Doug Dunakey, Jason Gore, Will Wilcox and Russell Knox also shot 59.

Saunders had 13 birdies and a bogey. Opening on the 10th hole, he birdied the first three holes, added a birdie on 14, bogeyed the par-3 15th and birdied 15 and 18 to make the turn in 5 under. He birdied No. 2 and Nos. 4-9 for a 7-under 28 on his final nine.

The 30-year-old Saunders is trying to regain his PGA Tour card in the four-event Web.com Tour Finals after finishing 129th in the FedEx Cup standings. He entered the week 24th in the race for 25 PGA Tour cards with $27,900 in the first three events. H..

Scott HalleranJERSEY CITY, NJ – SEPTEMBER 28: “FANATICS” cheer in the stands at the first tee during the first round of the Presidents Cup at Liberty National Golf Club on September 28, 2017, in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Scott Halleran/PGA TOUR)JERSEY CITY, N.J. — By mid-afternoon on Thursday, as American flags already started to dot the scoreboard at Liberty National Golf Club, David McClatchey called out to one of his charges.
“Get on Gracey,” McClatchey said while racing by, referring to Brandon Grace and Louis Oosthuizen's match against Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger.
The order was given urgently, like it was a medical emergency. Which is fitting, because when it comes to the Presidents Cup, McClatchey and Co. are perhaps most responsible for giving the event a pulse.
In the annals of devoted fan bases, you could argue no group offers as much unconditional support as McClatchey's Fanatics, the yellow-shirt-wearing, beer-swilling, clever-chanting group of men who..

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Canadian golf fans attending this week's Presidents Cups had to be disappointed that their country's lone representative on the International Team, Adam Hadwin, sat out the opening day. But one particular crew of Canucks latched onto the Aussie pair of Jason Day and Marc Leishman instead. And Leishman looked especially happy to have the extra support.
RELATED: Live updates from the Presidents Cup
After chipping in for eagle on the ninth hole, Leishman celebrated with the group of guys wearing skin-tight spandex in the colors of the Canadian flag. Have a look:
https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/913492618423570432
We're not sure how they got inside the ropes, but Leishman certainly didn't mind. Who says the Presidents Cup can't bring other countries together?
Here's a better different shot of these guys from earlier in the day:
FacebookPinterestImagine how these guys are going to react if Hadwin does anything exciting on Friday?
RELATED:..

Professional English major who hasn’t thrown a for-real punch since 7th grade just chiming in to say this little girl who looks like she could obviously kick my ass while literally blindfolded is both spectacularly talented and truly, deeply horrifying. Behold the horror, fellow talk-out-your-problems-like-adults snowflakes:
https://twitter.com/WatchStadium/status/913423044315672576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FWatchStadium%2Fstatus%2F913423044315672576
We don’t know much about the pint-size pounder, other than that her dad is a boxing coach and she hails from Belarus, an area of Europe which, if you’ve been following the rise of fighters like Ukraine’s Vasyl Lomachenko in recent years, you already know is not a great place to be picking bar fights at the moment.
Whether or not this girl makes the big time and becomes the next Laila Ali, Ronda Rousey, or Cris Cyborg remains to be seen, of course, but she certainly looks the part. In the meantime, we will just..

Presidents Cup 2017: For one day, three former U.S. Presidents were simply golf fans at Liberty National

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) The start of the Presidents Cup gave golf a new Big Three – former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton posing with players and wives on each team in an opening ceremony unlike any other.

It was the first time three U.S. presidents have attended the matches together since this event began in 1994, named after the highest office in the land.

The U-shaped grandstands around the first tee at Liberty National were at capacity more than an hour before the first tee time Thursday. Most of the players were warming up on the range. Phil Mickelson, in the fifth and final match, came over early to clasp hands with all three.

Then, Mickelson took out his phone for a selfie he might not get again.

All presidents are invited to be the honorary chairman of the Presidents Cup when it is held in the United States, and all have accepted. Clinton has been the only sitting presidents to attend the matches, on Saturday at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club ..

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) The start of the Presidents Cup gave golf a new Big Three – former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton posing with players and wives on each team in an opening ceremony unlike any other.

It was the first time three U.S. presidents have attended the matches together since this event began in 1994, named after the highest office in the land.

The U-shaped grandstands around the first tee at Liberty National were at capacity more than an hour before the first tee time Thursday. Most of the players were warming up on the range. Phil Mickelson, in the fifth and final match, came over early to clasp hands with all three.

Then, Mickelson took out his phone for a selfie he might not get again.

All presidents are invited to be the honorary chairman of the Presidents Cup when it is held in the United States, and all have accepted. Clinton has been the only sitting presidents to attend the matches, on Saturday at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club ..

Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama hanging out on the first tee to kick off the 2017 Presidents Cup was a history-making event — marking the first time that three former U.S. presidents have attended the matches in such fashion.
The moment wasn't lost on Phil Mickelson, as his brother shared this hilarious selfie that Phil took with the former world leaders before Phil's Day 1 match.
https://twitter.com/goodwalkspoiled/status/913450996688408576
Phil could've angled the camera a little better — but hey, we're just thankful that Phil thought to document the moment with Presidents Nos. 42, 43 and 44. Donald Trump is expected to attend the Presidents Cup on Sunday, tour officials said on Wednesday, which would mark the first time that the sitting president attended the matches.
Not to be outdone by that selfie with Phil is this equally awesome photo of the three presidents hanging out with the Team USA WAGS on the first tee.
https://twitter.com/JasonSobelES..

NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, England (AP) George Coetzee and Tyrrell Hatton shot 7-under 63s to lead the British Masters on Thursday, while Rory McIlroy needed the help of a spectator to stay on track in his first round.

Coetzee followed up top-10 finishes at his last two events by rolling in six birdies and making an eagle at the par-5 sixth hole to set a clubhouse target at Close House Golf Club in northern England.

Hatton joined Coetzee atop the leaderboard by making birdies on five of the last seven holes, including one from 15 feet at the par-3 18th.

Finnish golfers Mikko Ilonen and Mikko Korhonen were in a five-way share of third place on 6 under, along with Alvaro Quiros, Chris Hanson and Rikard Karlberg.

McIlroy, who was a late entry after failing to qualify for the Tour Championship on the U.S. PGA Tour, shot 67 but only after a spectator found his ball inside the five-minute time limit following a wild drive on No. 17, his eighth hole.

The No. 6-ranked McIlroy produced a su..