Saturday's Four-Ball recaps
 
Sep. 29, 2007

Match #18
Stewart Cink and Jim Furyk def. Angel Cabrera and K.J. Choi, 2 up

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Three members of the foursome sat out the morning session, with Cink doing so for the American squad while Cabrera and Choi rested for the International team. Furyk turned right around from his morning win and gave the U.S. side an early lead in the afternoon Four-Ball match, making a five-foot putt to go 1 up on the first hole. Cink sent them to 2 up at the third hole but the American side gave one away on No. 6 when Cink's birdie try lipped out. The Internationals went birdie-birdie on Nos. 6 and 7 to square the match then Cink and Choi traded long birdie putts to maintain a tie at the eighth hole. At No. 9 the International side took their first lead in the match when Cabrera hit his approach to within five feet of the pin to make a key birdie. Choi's first shot on the 10th hole landed amongst the fall foliage but he hit his second to 13 ft. 6 in. and clanged that in for a 2 up International lead. Bogeys by all on the 11th hole and four birdies on No. 12 kept it all square until Furyk -- who said to partner Cink that something good was about to happen -- logged a birdie on the 13th to cut into the International lead. Cink subsequently sank a birdie on the 14th to stay just one down, then canned a 15-foot birdie to square the match on the 16th hole. He then made his fourth birdie in six holes at No. 17 to make the match dormie for the U.S. side heading into the final hole. Cabrera and Choi's birdie tries missed on the last hole and the U.S. earned their first point of the afternoon. "I didn't even see it as a run. I was trying got do my best on every shot and luckily some of my putts were for birdie. It felt good to escape from being in jaws of defeat there," Cink said of his birdiefest, which sent Choi into Sunday's Singles matches batting 0 for 3 for the week.

Match #19
Phil Mickelson and Woody Austin halved Retief Goosen and Adam Scott

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They had it. Then they didn't. Then they did. Then they came back and got a huge halve. What started as a quick lead for the Americans turned into a dogfight at the end as Austin birdied the 17th and Mickelson drilled a 20-footer at the 18th to turn a potential International rally to a deep sigh. Mickelson's 4-foot birdie at the second hole gave the Americans a 1-up lead early and they held it until the seventh when Scott put it to 3 feet to square the match. America grabbed the lead back on the next hole with a 9-footer, gave it back, got it back at the 10th. Austin was making key putts all day, but it was Scott who made a huge one at the 12th to square the match. There was the requisite teasing about water at the 14th and Austin promptly hit into it again. This time, too far out to even try. Mickelson answered Scott's 3-footer with an 8 footer to stay all square, then put one in the water himself at 15. After Austin missed his 8 footer, Mickelson put on his rain pants and one tennis shoe and tried to get his ball out of the reeds. Two shots later, Scott's 15-footer for birdie gave the Internationals the lead for the first time in the match. A few minutes later, Goosen nailed the match shut at 16, holing out a 68-foot bunker shot to go 2-up. Austin made yet another clutch putt -- this one a 9-foot birdie -- at the 17th to cut it to 1-up and extend the match to 18. Scott missed his putt, Austin went long and Mickelson -- with a little help on the read from Austin -- made the 20-footer to turn an International point into a halve.

Match #20
Mike Weir and Ernie Els def. Lucas Glover and Charles Howell, 4 and 2

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The International Team never trailed in this match after Els set the tone with a birdie on the first hole. Glover answered at No. 2 but the big South African made another birdie at the third and the International Team took command. Weir delighted the home crowd with a string of three birdies that began at No. 7 -- the first to halve and the next two to put the Internationals 3 up. Glover responded with consecutive birdies at Nos. 10 and 11, but Els gave the Internationals some breathing room with a 10-footer to win the 12th and return to 2 up. Weir celebrated his birdie putt that earned a halve at No. 15 by thrusting both arms -- and his putter -- into the air as if to lead the cheers of the crowd. Els was staring at a 5-footer and Weir had a putt from 13 when the Americans conceded the match at the 16th hole. The Internationals were 11 under and won for the second time in Four-Ball this week. "They were talking about the team being Canadians but then we've got one guy running for president," Els said with a smile.

Match #21
Stuart Appleby and Vijay Singh def. Steve Stricker and Hunter Mahan, 1 up

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Stuart Appleby finally came out of his funk at The Presidents Cup on Saturday afternoon. In the Four-Ball session, Appleby teamed up with Vijay Singh to knock off previously undefeated Americans Steve Stricker and Hunter Mahan, 1 up. The Internationals wasted no time jumping out in front. Singh, who has been sensational through most of these matches, made a 4-foot birdie putt on the second hole for the early 1 up lead. The International team should have been 2 up after four holes, but Stricker holed an incredible chip from 55 feet away in the rough to save par after both Americans made a mess of the 501-yard hole. That was good for a halve. Appleby made birdie on the par-5 sixth hole to give the Internationals a 2 up edge. After birdies by both Singh and Appleby at No. 9, the duo had a 3 up lead. The Americans got one back with a Stricker birdie on No. 12 on a 5-foot putt. Stricker forced the match to the final hole after he made a 6-footer for birdie on No. 17. The final hole was an adventure for the International side. With the Americans already in with a par, Singh was forced to make a 5-footer for par to close the match, which he did.

Match #22
Tiger Woods and David Toms def. Nick O'Hern and Geoff Ogilvy, 5 and 3

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The Americans combined to shoot 9 under in an overwhelming decision one day after Woods was on the losing end of a big decision. Toms got the proceedings rolling at No. 2 with a laser wedge from 116 yards that stopped inches from the hole for a conceded birdie. Woods, after a 323-yard drive, knocked a wedge to 10 feet and drained it for a quick 2-up advantage, and the U.S. duo never looked back. A 30-footer followed by another smart wedge to 5 feet at Nos. 8 and 9 gave Woods two more birdies for a 4-up lead at the turn. Ogilvy finally got a putt to drop at 11 from 12 feet to cut the margin to three. At 12 Nick O'Hern dropped a wedge to within inches, but he was canceled out by Woods, who ripped a 262-yard 3-wood to within 10 feet, setting up an easy two-putt birdie. When Toms converted a 5-footer at 14, the Americans went dormie. For good measure, Woods strafed the Internationals with a 42-footer for birdie to end it with an exclamation point.

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STANDINGS
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US TEAM 19.5
INTERNATIONAL TEAM 14.5
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