OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday 11.00am.
THE Internationals lead the United States by seven matches to three after the first day of the Presidents Cup golf team event at Royal Melbourne on Friday.
The Internationals won the morning foursomes 3-1/2 matches to 1-1/2 and then claimed the afternoon four-ball matches by 3-1/2 to 1-1/2.
It is an encouraging start for Peter Thomson’s Internationals team, who were 5-0 and 4-1 down to the Americans at the same stage in the previous 1994 and 1996 Presidents Cups in the US.
World number one Tiger Woods and Fred Couples had a crushing 5 and 4 win over three-time world match play champion South African Ernie Els of South Africa and his Fijian partner Vijay Singh, the US PGA champion to give the Jack Nicklaus-led US team their only win of the opening morning.
The Americans were three up after 10 holes and cruised to victory.
Zimbabwe’s Nick Price had the chance to put the Internationals 4-1 up with a seven-foot putt at the last but missed to allow Davis Love III to birdie and halve the last foursomes match.
Price and his Australian partner Stuart Appleby fought back from two down at the 11th to go one up with three holes to play but could not close out the advantage against Love and former British Open champion Justin Leonard.–AFP