Match 16 report: Stricker & Woods win 1 up

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Here's an in-depth look at Saturday morning's Foursomes match between the United States duo of Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods and the Internationals' Tim Clark and Mike Weir.

Match reports: Match 13 | Match 14 | Match 15 | Match 16 | Match 17 | Complete coverage

Match 16

Steve STRICKER/Tiger WOODS(USA) def. Tim CLARK/Mike WEIR(Int'l), 1 up

Overview: After dominating their first two matches at Harding Park, Americans Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker were in serious jeopardy through 16 holes of losing their match against pesky Internationals Tim Clark and Mike Weir. But then Woods displayed why he's the top player in the world, and the Internationals wilted, losing what may be the turning point of this event. The Internationals were 2 up through 12 holes before the Americans birdied to cut into the lead. Still 1 down through 16, Woods' birdie putt from just inside 23 feet at the 17th crawled into the hole to square the match, punching the air when the ball fell into the cup. It was the first time this week that Woods/Stricker -- who had closed out their first two wins early -- had even played the 17th, and they made the most of it. Then Woods' second shot from 232-yards out on the par-5 18th was just as impressive, landing within nine feet of the pin. Meanwhile, the Internationals had all kinds of problems. Weir's second shot landed in the rough to the right of the green, and Clark followed with a poor shot that popped well past the pin. When Weir missed the birdie putt, they conceded the hole to the Americans.

Key moment: You could choose from two moments from Woods -- his putt on the 17th and his second shot on the 18th. It was that birdie putt, however, that put all the pressure squarely on the Internationals. After Woods rolled in the putt, Weir had a birdie putt from within four feet to halve the hole, but he missed it. The Internationals were clearly shaken at the 18th, giving the Americans the opening to win the match. "The second shot on 18 might not have happened if I had missed that putt," Woods said.

Quotes: "It was fun to watch. I had a front row seat for that. That was pretty cool. But you know, we all know what he does, and he stepped it up when he had to here. It was pretty impressive." -- Steve Stricker

"We were lucky to only be 2 down, so we kept ourselves in the ballgame there and should have been probably three or four down easily. We turned it around at the end." -- Tiger Woods

"Obviously they didn't play as good as they had the first two days. We hung in there, putting some pressure on them, hitting it in close. On 17 ... looked like a putt to win the match, but that didn't happen. Then Tiger hit a great shot on 18." -- Tim Clark

"We all know what (Woods) does. The stage is set and he comes through again today. It's pretty impressive." -- Steve Stricker

Updated Presidents Cup player records: Steve Stricker (8-5-0 overall, 4-2-0 Foursomes); Tiger Woods (16-11-1 overall, 9-2-1 Foursomes); Tim Clark (5-7-1 overall, 1-5-0 Foursomes); Mike Weir (12-9-1 overall, 3-6-1 Foursomes).