First time Presidents Cup tied heading into final day

Sep. 24, 2005 CBS SportsLine.com wire reports

GAINESVILLE, Va. -- The American players in their red shirts sat on one side of the 18th green in gathering darkness Saturday, hopeful that Fred Couples could make an 8-foot birdie putt for their first lead in the Presidents Cup. Watching from the other side were the International players in gold and black.

It was similar to the scene two years in South Africa, and so was the score.

Tied.

After 22 matches over three days, the Americans and Internationals showed their strengths in a stellar display of golf at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club that set the stage for a dynamic conclusion Sunday.

Chris DiMarco emerged as the star with a hole-in-one in the morning and more birdies than he can count in the afternoon, teaming with PGA champion Phil Mickelson in two victories that never saw the 16th tee.

Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk staged two comebacks, with birdies on the last two holes to scratch out a halve against Stuart Appleby and Vijay Singh, then a late surge from Woods to beat them in the afternoon.

Retief Goosen and Adam Scott were as formidable as ever.

Chris DiMarco high-fives Phil Mickelson following their afternoon victory. (AP)

All that remained were 12 singles matches Sunday to decide a Presidents Cup that is so evenly matched, the captains refused to rule out the possibility of another tie.

"We played three days, four rounds of golf, and we are dead even," U.S. captain Jack Nicklaus said. "We've got two teams that are so even, it's unbelievable. What's going to happen tomorrow? Who knows?"

A spectacular Saturday of golf concluded when Couples missed his putt and had to settle for a halve with Davis Love III against Michael Campbell and Angel Cabrera in their better-ball match.

Each team had 11 points, the first time the Presidents Cup has been tied going into Sunday since it began in 1994

"I think tomorrow is a toss-up," Mickelson said. "The International team is very strong, 12 of the best players in the game. They are extremely tough and are playing some extremely good golf. I feel the American team is playing exceptional golf, as well. I have faith in my team. But we have a lot of work ahead of us."

Woods will face Goosen in the third match, while Couples will take on Singh in the fifth match. Mickelson and DiMarco anchor the U.S. team, facing Cabrera and Appleby in the final two matches.

The United States typically is strongest in singles. It has never lost a singles session at the Presidents Cup, and has a 35-25 lead overall. Then again, the International team is equally strong in this format, especially because many of its players compete on the PGA Tour and four of them have won major championships.

"It just shows you that when you take the best players in the world, that kind of thing can happen," International captain Gary Player said of the tie. "They are all pumped up."

Woods and Furyk, both dealing with rib injuries, turned in a full day of work.

Two holes down with two to play, they birdied the 17th and 18th in an alternate-shot match in the morning for a surprising halve. They never led the better-ball match until it mattered. After Furyk carried the team most of the round, Woods came through with an 18-foot birdie putt that caught the corner of the cup and disappeared.

"I didn't really do much except for read putts and have the pompoms out," Woods said. "Finally, I was able to help him out on 16 and I made a putt there."

The star was DiMarco, who has only three PGA Tour victories in his 10-year career, but plays like a major champion in these team events. He made only the second hole-in-one in the Presidents Cup in the morning, holed just about every putt that mattered and joined Mickelson in two victories the Americans needed.

The International side received more strong play from Scott and Goosen, who battled Scott Verplank and Justin Leonard to a draw in the morning, and buried them in a better-ball match with 10 birdies in 14 holes.

The only other time the matches were this close was in 1996, when the Americans took a one-point lead into the final day and split the singles to win the cup.

"We had to go through all of this just to be tied," Furyk said. "It all boils down to tomorrow."

The Americans started the day trailing by one point, but pulled even by winning three points from the five alternate-shot matches in the morning.

There was no shortage of dramatic shots and stunning rallies.

DiMarco, 3-0-1 in his partnership with Mickelson, started it off with an ace on the par-3 seventh hole. Assistant captain Jeff Sluman was on the tee and mentioned that Leonard in the group ahead had hit a 7-iron. DiMarco went with the same club, and it hopped onto the green and rolled gently into the heart of the cup.

That sparked the American tandem, and they never let up in beating Campbell and Cabrera.

Behind them, Woods and Furyk were in trouble.

Appleby, who had made two long par putts to keep his International team in the match, came through again on the 16th hole with a 15-foot par for a 2-up lead with two holes to play. Furyk and Woods got all they could get, a half-point that ultimately tied the matches after three sessions.

Furyk made a 10-foot birdie putt on the 17th that broke sharply to the right, then he hit his approach to 4 feet. Singh had a 25-foot putt that stopped a few blades of grass to the right of the cup, and Woods made the birdie.

Singh has yet to win a match, although he has three halves.

Unlike two years ago, when Woods and Ernie Els had a sudden-death playoff, all the matches will go extra holes to determine a winner until one team has secured 18 points needed to win. A tie remains a possibility, in which both teams would share the cup.

"There's going to be some fun, very exciting, interesting and stressful pairings," Mickelson said of the Sunday finale. "I think it's going to be an exciting day."