Golfing legends Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus have been filled with bosom-buddy love all week, but on Thursday they once again locked horns when the Presidents Cup got under way on the uncompromising Fancourt Links.
And first strike went to Player in foursomes play when the internationals, thanks to a mighty fightback by Ernie Els and Australian Adam Scott against Justin Leonard and Jim Furyk, gained a lead of three-and-a-half to the Americans’ two-and-a-half going into the second round on Friday.
Retief Goosen and Vijay Singh struck the first blow for the international team when they won three-and-two against the Chris DiMarco/Jerry Kelly combination.
”I tried setting them up for Retief and just hanging in there,” said Singh, whose solid play assisted with three birdies in what proved to be a disastrous start for the American side, which gained only one birdie at the par-four 14th and suffered with two bogeys.
”It worked well for us,” said Goosen. ”I’m happy with that start.”
Nick Price and Canadian Mike Weir struck a superb partnership with six birdies in a see-saw struggle against David Toms and Phil Mickelson that saw them going to the wire all square through 17.
The Americans were one-up at the 16th until Weir was once again a cheering favourite for Price with a superb chip onto the green at the 17th, setting his partner up for a neat birdie that sent them for a showdown at the last hole.
This time it was up to Price to chip on to the green and that he did so with aplomb after Toms had gone into the sticky ankle-deep grass at the edge of the green. Weir was up to the 1m putt for birdie to finish one-up.
”Mike’s second shot he hit on the 17th was quite remarkable,” enthused Price. ”I told him just get it anywhere on the green and I’ll just have to sink it. But he set me up beautifully.”
The young Canadian said he was thrilled to gain a valuable point for his team.
”Except for my one shot going into the water, Nick and I combined solidly. I’m thrilled to have helped get a valuable point for my team.”
Davis Love III chipped into the cup when he and Kenny Perry were three-up against Peter Lonard and Tim Clark at the 16th, which got a point back — for a four-and-two win for the Americans.
”David got around the greens superbly,” said Perry. ”He chipped two beauties into the hole and his 50-foot putt on the second was exactly the break we needed.”
Nicklaus’s team struck again when Tiger Woods and Charles Howell III finished four-and-three against Stuart Appleby and KJ Choi.
”We felt very comfortable out there,” said Woods, who was quick to pay tribute to his young partner. ”Charles played great. He played a lot of good shots out there on a very difficult course. We just had to make sure we kept control over our shots to keep the pressure up.”
Ernie Els and Adam Scott, meanwhile, were having a torrid time against Justin Leonard and Jim Furyk and it appeared as though an emphatic nail was about to be hammered into their coffin when Furyk had a four-foot putt to halve the hole at 16.
At two-up with two to go it would have been all but over for the International pair.
But Furyk missed and Els and Scott went on to the 17th with their tails up where the Big Easy put away a 15m putt to go all square down the 18th.
Els crowned a dynamic comeback by chipping out of a seemingly impossible steep position from the rough to drop the ball a half metre from the pin and the Americans, placed for a two-putt on the green, conceded.
At two down and three to go Els said to Scott: ”Just stay on course.”
And he did.
”It was great to have fought back to go to the wire at the 18th — that two iron that touched the green and went over was a great shot that only two players could have hit — Tiger and Adam,” said Els.
”It was very exciting. It was great playing with Adam. We hung in there.”
Australians Robert Allenby and Stephen Leaney then hung in desperately against Jay Haas and Fred Funk to finish all square, which contributed to the internationals gaining their one-point edge. — Sapa