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By Dave Shedloski
PGATOUR.com Senior Correspondent

MONTREAL -- He won't deny he felt a twinge of trepidation when he accepted the invitation to return for a fourth time as U.S. Presidents Cup captain, but Jack Nicklaus, whose heart has always been pure and whose head has always been clear, could not ignore his gut.

Jack Nicklaus has been the U.S. Presidents Cup captain four times. (Halleran/Getty Images)

PRESIDENTS CUP HISTORY

• Past results • Historic photos

The 2005 Presidents Cup, which America had won by whisker, had been an emotional and satisfying exercise, a proper way to close down a year in which he said goodbye to the Masters, his competitive career, and, most painfully of all, a grandson. His charges had bundled it up so neatly, delivering a three-point victory at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Lake Manassas, Va., after first presenting him with a portrait of Jake Walter Nicklaus, the toddler who died in a drowning accident seven months earlier. The Golden Bear said the gift was the nicest thing that anyone had ever done for him.

No way to top that, he figured. And, in the immediate aftermath of that U.S. win, which leveled his record to 2-2-1 as a captain of American teams, Nicklaus was all but certain that it was time he stepped aside, though he promised to be around the game if he were needed.

He was needed, he answered the call -- delivered resoundingly by his players, above all others -- and he now has the American squad poised for an emphatic victory in the seventh edition of the Presidents Cup.

Winless in Canada during his playing career (though seven times a runner-up in the Canadian Open), Nicklaus has ever so gently and lovingly pulled the right strings at Royal Montreal Golf Club and his horses have responded. The result as Sunday's 12 singles matches loom is not only a seven-point U.S. lead over a talented but tortured International Team, but also a blueprint for future captains in this event and the Ryder Cup, where the Americans are as cursed of late as the Internationals seem to be here.

"I felt like being captain ... I didn't want to be piggish in any way. I'm sure Gary feels the same way," Nicklaus, 67, said. "I told Tim (Finchem, PGA TOUR commissioner), and the same goes for next time, or any other time, 'If you want me and you need me and you'd like for me to do it, I'm happy to do it.'

"Barbara said to me after the last one, 'How can it be any better? Why do you want to do it again?' I said, 'Barbara, because I like the game of golf. If it helps the game and it promotes the game, I would put that ahead of my own selfishness of winning the last time.' "

Unless the International dozen has some kind of miracle to conjure, Nicklaus and his fellow Americans will win again, and that is because the Golden Bear has put his imprint on the proceedings. He did it from the outset, prodding Phil Mickelson and Woody Austin to concede a half-point in Foursomes to Vijay Singh and Canada's native son, Mike Weir.

Captains don't hit drives or make putts, but they do control the tenor and tempo of the task at hand, and Nicklaus has been masterful. When Austin, fabulous throughout the week in his first Presidents Cup, initiated a session of self-loathing on the 17th tee Saturday in his Four-Ball match with Mickelson against Retief Goosen and Adam Scott, Nicklaus was there for soothing advice.

The Americans were 2 down with two holes to play and Austin had just missed a short par putt. He thought he had let his teammate down.

"Woody was really down on himself and he was really having a hard time. I went on the tee at 17 to him, and I said, 'You know, Woody, the glass is half full. It's not half empty.' He says, "I just let my partner down.' I said, 'No, you haven't let your partner down. Just slow down your tempo a little bit and see what happens.' "

Austin hit his tee shot on the par-3 to nine feet and drained it. When Mickelson followed with a birdie at 18, the U.S. team had stolen a half-point and the last vestiges of momentum the Internationals had been trying to muster.

"A player's captain," he has been called by several of his players. A father figure he has been more than a legend since he has surreptitiously stepped away from his identity as the man who won 18 majors and dominated the game for more than two decades.

"He's kind of like your dad more than he is the best player in the world captaining for you," Jim Furyk, who has played in a combined 10 team match play events, said. "We enjoy playing for him. It's cool being a part of a team that he is leading. Even for the young guys ... he can be intimidating, but he and Barbara are so special and they make us feel really good, real loose and relaxed and you just feel like you can go out there and just play and it will be OK whatever happens."

"He's very easy to play for," added Steve Stricker, playing his first Presidents Cup in 11 years. "He lets us tell him what we're thinking, what we might want to do, and then he makes the pairings. He makes the decisions, but he values our input, too, so we feel like we're part of the process and not just marching out there to play."

Three-time assistant captain Jeff Sluman said Nicklaus has an uncanny knack for pairings. "They're giving him the suggestions, but he's still putting the guys together, and his timing is impeccable," Sluman said. "Each time has been different, different players, circumstances, courses, and he finds a way to bring the guys together and then send them out and let them play."

Nicklaus knew how to get out of his own way, so it's no surprise that he is staying out of the way of his players. He knew how to trust himself, so he is comfortable with trusting 12 men who are among the best of their era.

It would be easy for him to insinuate himself further into the proceedings, given all the knowledge and experience he has to share, but he's aware that it would not necessarily be the best thing. The best thing has been just being there, just in case. Just in case he's needed. A giving man, Nicklaus has given his boys space, and gotten so much in return.

"I've enjoyed it, and I absolutely love being part of the game," Nicklaus said. "I love being a part of these kids. ... I'm very proud of them."