At a Glance: Saturday's Four-Ball matches
 
Sep. 29, 2007
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Match #18
Stewart Cink (1-1-0, 6-4-1) and Jim Furyk (2-1-0, 12-7-2) vs. Angel Cabrera (0-2-0, 2-2-3) and K.J. Choi (0-2-0, 2-5-0)
U.S. analysis:
Cink should be itching to play after sitting out the morning and having to sleep on that 3-foot miss that cost him and Lucas Glover a Four-Ball loss. Furyk should be itching to play after he and Tiger Woods were blown out Friday afternoon. Expect some aggressive play.
Key statistics: Cink hasn't won a Four-Ball match since the 2004 Ryder Cup when he paired with Davis Love III.
International analysis: Choi, a two-time TOUR winner this year, hasn't been steady thus far, but a pairing with the easy-going Cabrera, who helped take down Phil Mickelson and Hunter Mahan on Friday, might take some pressure off. Cabrera asked to sit out the morning Foursomes, so he should be fresh.
Key statistics: Choi ranks ninth in scoring average on the PGA TOUR, and he is seventh in par-4 scoring, which means the par-70 Royal Montreal Blue Course should be to his liking more than has been proven so far.
Outlook: First match out of the chute after the morning U.S. whitewashing in Foursomes, so establishing a beachhead of a lead is important for the International Team. Cink and Furyk aren't likely to be complacent, though, as each has a score to settle from Friday Four-Ball play.
Projected outcome: U.S. team wins.

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Match #19
Phil Mickelson (1-1-1; 10-13-8) and Woody Austin (1-0-2; 1-0-2) vs. Adam Scott (0-3-0, 6-6-1) and Retief Goosen (1-2-0; 10-7-1)
U.S. analysis:
They're kind of a pair of Oscars -- no Felix -- with a little Laurel -- no Hardy -- tossed in for good measure. Entertaining to the point of hilarity and SportsCenter shot of the month Friday. But good, very good. and Hardy, but . . .this pairing is front-and-center at Royal Montreal. Woody, playing with David Toms, lost his footing and fell in the water Friday providing a little comic relief, but then he bounced back and made three big putts. Still lost 1-up. Fast forward to Saturday morning where Phil and Woody played their second fourball together. They halved the first one, ran away with the second one -- 5 and 4 over Goosen and Stuart Appleby.
U.S. key statistic: The Woody factor. The rookie's playing out-of-his-mind great; Phil's steady, but always dangerous.
International analysis: Player puts his killer four-ball team from 2005 back together. They went 2-0 at RTJ, but haven't played together this year. Both coming off big losses and some head-shaker shots. International key statistic: With Appleby struggling, Singh is going to need to be firing on all cylinders, which he is very capable of.
International key statistic: The 2-0 in 2005. Two years later, it looks more impressive. So does Goosen's four-ball record of 6-1-0.
Match outlook: Team Nothing-Fazes-Us vs. Team Folklore. Phil's legendary roller coaster rides and lob wedges; Woody's comic relief. If US can keep the momentum, it could be tough. If the Internationals make a few putts, this could be very interesting.
Projected outcome: U.S. Team wins

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Match #20
Charles Howell III (1-1-0, 4-3-0) and Lucas Glover (2-1-0, 2-1-0) vs. Mike Weir (1-1-1, 10-7-2) and Ernie Els (1-2-0, 12-11-2)
U.S. analysis:
U.S. Captain Jack Nicklaus has put Howell with another hot hand in Glover, his inspired Captain's Pick who has been reeling off birdies with abandon this week. The rookie wasted little time showing he belonged, teaming with Scott Verplank to pick up two points in Foursomes. Glover came close to a third point when birdied three of his first four holes in Four-Ball on Friday --and made seven overall -- before he and Stewart Cink fell on the 18th hole. Howell, meanwhile, sat out the morning Foursomes on Saturday and undoubtedly will be itching to contribute. He partnered Tiger Woods to a win in Foursomes on Thursday, but suffered a 3-and-1 defeat to this same International Team in Four-Ball competition.
U.S. key statistic: Glover ranks seventh in birdies and sixth in total birdies on the PGA TOUR this year. If he can get things going, and Howell can provide the steady hand, this duo could be strong.
International analysis: Weir's undefeated streak came to an end Saturday morning when Glover and Verplank took a 2-and-1 victory over him and Singh. The Canadian has drawn strength from the partisan crowd, though, and he and Els already have a Four-Ball victory under their belt. Weir was the catalyst on Friday, winning the seventh, eighth and 17th holes with birdies and the 11th with a par on the way to a 3-and-1 victory. Els has been struggling with his putting this week but could benefit from the positive vibes in another date with the wildly popular Canuck.
International key statistic: Weir made twice as many birdies (6) as Els did on Friday. The Canadian needs another big day if the Internationals are to win.
Match outlook: The match looks to hinge upon the play of Weir and Glover. There will be a "fifth man" of sorts, though, in the Canadian crowd which could prove decisive.
Projected outcome: International wins.

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Match #21
Steve Stricker (3-0-0, 5-3-0) and Hunter Mahan (2-1-0, 2-1-0) vs. Vijay Singh (1-1-1, 13-14-6) and Stuart Appleby (1-2-0, 4-13-2)
U.S. analysis:
Stricker and Mahan were paired together in the morning Foursomes session and came away with a point. Captain Jack Nicklaus took note of that and kept this duo together for the afternoon Four-Ball session. Stricker continues to roll, playing the best golf of his life. Ditto for Mahan, who has been a force all summer long.
U.S. key statistic: Just keep making birdies. It's what Stricker and Mahan have been doing all week.
International analysis: Appleby has a rough Presidents Cup record -- now 4-13-2 after Saturday morning's Foursomes loss. Singh, on the other hand, helped out in a big way in a rout of Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk on Friday and fought hard with Mike Weir on Saturday morning despite a loss to Lucas Glover and Scott Verplank.
International key statistic: With Appleby struggling, Singh is going to need to be firing on all cylinders, which he is very capable of.
Match outlook: Unless Appleby can pull it together, Stricker and Mahan are going to be too tough for the Internationals to overcome.
Projected outcome: U.S. Team wins

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Match #22
Tiger Woods (2-1-0, 12-10-0) and David Toms (2-0-1, 4-7-1) vs. Nick O'Hern (1-2-0, 3-5-0) and Geoff Ogilvy (1-2-0, 1-2-0)

U.S. analysis: If at first you don't succeed, try a new partner. Woods and Toms have played on six Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup squads together but never been paired in the same group for either Four-Ball or Foursomes .Toms has yet to earn a victory in a Presidents Cup Four-Ball match and Woods is 2-7-0 after losing 5 and 4 on Friday. One intangible of note:Toms -- who said after his morning match that he fed off the "quiet" of the crowd -- won't be finding much solitude when he's paired with Woods on Saturday afternoon.
U.S. key statistic: Toms is tied for 34th in putting average, which factors in the amount of putts it takes a player to make it in the hole after hitting the green in regulation. Partner Woods is No. 3 in the same statistic. Both are in the top-15 in Scoring Average on TOUR. They'll need to keep the putt total low to avoid a repeat of Friday's Four-Ball action.
International Analysis: The Aussies are together for the third time this week. They were the last match of the morning Foursomes, where they lost 2 and 1 in alternate shot, and won a hard-fought Four-Ball match on Friday after taking a 1-up lead for good on the 17th hole.
International key statistic: O'Hern had three straight birdies on the front nine during their first Four-Ball match on Friday and kept them in it before the turn, while Ogilvy was able to convert his birdie try on the 18th hole and eagled the 12th to keep them in the match down the stretch.
Match outlook: There are a few things to watch in this match. O'Hern plays Woods again, the man he got the best of in the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship twice but failed to beat on Thursday in the Foursomes competition. Then there's the fact that Woods and Toms have never played together. Jack Nicklaus mixed it up a bit and it's possible that this pairing just might work -- Toms needs to remain steady and keep his ball in play, giving Woods a chance to shoot for birdies. Still, after the International rout on Friday in Four-Ball, it's hard to imagine this one ending in any better than a half point for both sides.
Projected outcome: Halved

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STANDINGS
Results Points
US TEAM 19.5
INTERNATIONAL TEAM 14.5
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