The Americans suffered their first-ever Presidents Cup cleansweep defeat on Saturday when the internationals went on a 6-0 rampage over the Fancourt Links thanks to a breakthrough by Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen, who cracked the valuable Tiger Woods/Charles Howell III link in thrilling four-ball action.
The international team, who were trailing the Americans nine-and-a-half to six-and-a-half, now go into singles play on Monday with a valuable three point lead at 12,5 to 9,5 points.
The Americans, who suffered their first 6-0 cleansweep in the Presidents Cup since its inception in 1994, boast two previous 5-0 cleansweeps of their own.
Ernie Els/Tim Clark, Peter Lonard/Stephen Leaney and Adam Scott/KJ Choi were off the course, well-pleased with their victories and urging on Singh/Goosen, Mike Weir/Robert Allenby and Nick Price/Stuart Appleby, who were all one-up and close to home.
Earlier, the Big Easy, once again produced the goods with Clark with three birdies as they went through 10, three-up, against Jim Furyk/Jay Haas. Then double birdies going though 13 had them four-up. They faltered when Furyk/Haas birdied at 14, before Els sunk a superb 20m putt for an eagle at 16 to seal the match 3 and 2.
”It’s been great playing like this before South African fans,” said Els. ”I’m thrilled about our comeback today. Things are working out all right. Tim was a star today.”
Els’s other favourite partner, the Aussie Scott, was meanwhile having a field day with Choi making mincemeat of Kenny Perry/Jerry Kelly. They’d a string of five birdies heading through nine, five-up. Then Perry got one back with a sweet chip out of the short grass into the cup to birdie the 10th.
Scott/Choi hardly flinched and soldiered on until the Americans conceded at 14 to go out 5 and 4 to the internationals.
Lonard/Leaney were rock-solid, having bogeyed only the third, to hold Fred Funk/Phil Mickelson all square going through 12 then a breathtaking eagle at the 13th by Leaney — the second of the tournament — followed by a birdie at 14, got the international side one- up and they held out for a 2 and 1 win.
With the rest of the field still playing the course, the internationals had by then drawn square at nine-and-a-half with the Americans.
Singh and Goosen focused intensely with no-mistakes golf against Tiger Woods/Charles Howell III and their course remained steady going through nine all square. And so they continued through 12 until a breakthrough when Goosen birdied to go one-up with four to go.
Woods stunned the crowd at the 16th when he drove off the concrete paving for 150m finding the back of the green. Both sides birdied and Singh/Goosen held to one-up with two to play.
Singh then made the major breakthrough of the day when he took a bead on a 20m putt at 17 that dropped into the cup for the two-and-one win to a mighty roar from the crowd.
On the scoreboard, the internationals had edged ahead of the Americans by 1,5 points to 10,5.
”Our team captain [Gary Player] said we got to get it together and go out there and show our true strength,” said Singh. ”So we put our minds to it and it came together. Retief played really well today.”
”The wind in the morning made it very tough out there,” said Goosen. ”But we managed to control our game and when the wind dropped in the afternoon we got our break and just hung in there.”
Weir/Allenby were holding up the internationals’ tail further back four-up against Chris DiMarco/Justin Leonard with a late charge of three birdies over the front nine. They got another at the 11th to go four-up.
But they did not reckon on the Americans consolidating with three straight birdies going through 15 and there was only one point in it going to the final hole where the internationals held on for their one-up win.
Appleby/Price fought back strongly after a double-bogey to claim two birdies on six and seven to hold one-up going through nine, then lost out on the 11th to Davis Love III/David Toms to go all square.
Appleby got a major breakthrough with a stunning wedge out of the bunker for an eagle at the par-four 14th that bounced off the pin into the hole. A joyful Price hugged his teammate to celebrate going one-up.
Appleby birdied at 16 and the Americans had their back to the wall, two-down, with two to play.
”We combined so well today,” said Price after their 2 and 1 win.
” I played poorly over the front nine where Stuart carried me, then we both came through on the back nine.”
”We made a great team. It was just going to a hard working day. And it worked,” grinned a happy Appleby. — Sapa