Australians Adam Scott and Cam Davis suffered a defeat on the second day of the Presidents Cup as the USA continued to pull away to what appears to be an inevitable victory in the teams competition at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina. Scott, playing his 10th Presidents Cup, stepped out out alongside Cam Davis against the gun American team of Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth and the Australian duo quickly fell behind. Ultimately they lost 2 & 1 when Spieth poured in a three-metre birdie putt on the 17th green. The veteran Scott has lost both his matches on the opening two days, while Davis won his opening foursomes match alongside South Korea's Si Woo Kim. Thomas made birdies at the fourth and fifth to put the Americans 2 up and they never relinquished the lead. The Australians only won two holes, at the ninth with a birdie by Scott, and the 16th with a birdie by Davis, who nevertheless acquitted himself well on debut. The USA leads 8-2 after the second day, needing just seven more points to retain the cup. Trevor Immelman's team, decimated by the suspension of players including Cameron Smith who joined the LIV series, now faces the prospect of being out of contention early on the final day when all 12 players compete in singles play.

The Internationals lost 19-11 in Jersey City in 2017, and 20-12 in 1994 in Washington but this event may end up even more lop-sided.

Sungjae Im inspired a mini-comeback late on the second day and the Internationals managed to tie two of the five matches, but the overall vibe was encapsulated by American Max Homa burying a birdie putt from just more than three metres at the 18th to win the final match for the home team.

"I think all the (past) losses are tough to cop when it's ... you know, just on the back foot for two days," said Scott. "So it's been a grind. I haven't gotten anything going. I haven't got the putts going and haven't played particularly great so I shouldn't expect to be routing anybody." The veteran paid tribute to his younger teammate. "He (Davis) carried me the whole front nine. But we were playing two really good players who just got on top of us early and played the way they do and made it hard for us to get back in it." Davis said he remained highly motivated. "For me personally, I'm so pumped to be playing every match that I'm playing, I feel like I'm playing well. It's just I really want a chance to get that next point on the board. It was a great feeling yesterday to get it done for the team. I love this team atmosphere, and that's what pushes me forward to making points, not seeing red on the board. It's like I really want to do my part for the team."

There are eight points available tomorrow, with foursomes in the morning followed by four ball.