Match 9 report: Yang & Ishikawa win 4 and 3

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Here's an in-depth look at Friday's Four-Ball match between the United States duo of Sean O'Hair and Kenny Perry and the Internationals' Ryo Ishikawa and Y.E. Yang.

Match 9

Ryo ISHIKAWA/Y.E. YANG(Int'l) def. Sean O'HAIR/Kenny PERRY(USA), 4 and 3

OVERVIEW: The Asian tandem of Korea's Y.E. Yang and Japan's Ryo Ishikawa proved deadly effective, giving the International team its most impressive performance thus far. Americans Kenny Perry and Sean O'Hair never had a chance. Yang got his team off to a quick start with a birdie at the par-5 opening hole, then Ishikawa followed by sticking his approach shot to within nine feet on the par-3 second before draining the putt for a birdie. After that, the Internationals were in complete control. Down 4 up through six holes, the Americans did rally briefly with birdies on the eighth and ninth holes to cut the deficit in half. But when both Ishikawa and Yang birdied the short par-4 13th -- Yang drove the green and landed within 17 feet for a two-putt birdie -- the Internationals began building on the lead again. Yang's birdie at the 14th was his team's third birdie of the day on a par-3 hole. Of the 15 holes played in the match, the reigning PGA champ hit 13 greens in regulation.

KEY MOMENT: When Ishikawa rolled in a putt of 8 feet, 10 inches for birdie on the second hole, the Internationals went 2 up. The U.S. could never get any closer the rest of the match.

QUOTES: "Yesterday, Ryo and I jokingly said we should birdie every hole and alternate between each other and it ended up being a bit like that. Ryo made some very nice putts. Myself, I made some putts, but we were really efficient, actually." -- Y.E. Yang

"It was so difficult to win this match but I enjoyed playing with Y.E. He's a great guy." -- Ryo Ishikawa

Updated Presidents Cup player records: Sean O'Hair (0-2-0 overall, 0-1-0 Four-Ball); Kenny Perry (8-7-0 overall, 2-4-0 Four-Ball); Ryo Ishikawa (1-1-0 overall, 1-0-0 Four-Ball); Y.E. Yang (1-0-1 overall, 1-0-0 Four-Ball).