PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. -- Fred Couples had no qualms about taking on the best player from the International Team in Sunday’s singles matches at The Presidents Cup. The fact is, going toe-to-toe with Vijay Singh for 18 holes in a taut showdown wasn’t as stressful as keeping his emotions in check.

Couples, 46 next month, couldn’t help but ponder that his tour of Robert Trent Jones Golf Club Sunday afternoon might be his last in a U.S. uniform in a team match play setting.

“I thought about it on every tee box,” admitted Couples, who has played for the United States nine times, including four Presidents Cup appearances.

But instead of it being a distraction, Couples merely kept himself motivated. And, sure enough, when he had a chance to put away Singh on the final hole and give the U.S. a key point, he was up to the challenge. Couples holed a curling 21-foot birdie putt that was crucial in a hotly contested competition that eventually ended in a satisfying 18 ½ to 15 ½ win for the Americans, their first team win in five years.

Couples, a captain’s pick by Jack Nicklaus, defeated Singh for the second time in three meetings with the talented Fijian. He defeated Singh 2 and 1 in 1996 with a similar finish, sinking a long birdie putt to close it out, winning The Presidents Cup for the Americans in the process. In ’98 they halved their match.

“You know, is he going to beat me eight out of 10 times? I think so,” said Couples, who already has defied his own math. “But in a one-day time, I have just as good a shot as anyone. It was a great match and I was thrilled to play with him and be ahead of him, and to win the last hole is certainly a dream for me.”

Why Couples wanted to play against Singh was apparent 20 minutes before they teed off. The two shared barbs and laughs on the putting green and Couples genuinely enjoys Singh’s company on the golf course. Nevertheless, deep down, with their singles history and their respective stations in the game today, Couples also felt like a victory over Singh would be a lift to his team psychologically.

“Something in my mind (Saturday) night … if I was going to beat anyone and it was going to be probably their best player -- I had enough of Goose (Retief Goosen) in the first two matches, so I selected Vijay,” Couples, a 15-time TOUR winner and former Masters champion, said. “To be honest, I though if I could play with him and handle him, several guys would be excited by that, and it happened that way.”

While Singh struggled for much of the match, making only one birdie and an eagle, Couples was keeping his ball in play and led 2 up through 11 holes thanks to a pair of short birdie putts at No. 8 and 10. Singh’s tap-in eagle at the 12th and conceded birdie at No. 16 evened things until the last. There, Singh, after a wayward drive, punched a beautiful low approach through the trees but just over the green. He chipped to 6 feet on a line similar to the putt Couples was eyeing. He drained the winner, raising both arms skyward as the putt dove in.

Chris DiMarco would later win the Presidents Cup with a similar putt. Nicklaus asked Couples just before DiMarco holed the winner how much the left-to-right putt broke. Responded Couples, “I honestly don’t know because I don’t think I ever looked.”

Nicklaus could only laugh.

Couples could only cry the night before the final round at the team meeting, so grateful was he for the opportunity to play on a close-knit team and for Nicklaus. Then he went out and fought his emotions all day and held off Singh in the process.

“It was an unbelievable week, and I feel so lucky to be a part of it,” he said. “What a great day. What a great feeling.”

What a great finish, something Couples should be used to -- but, of course, something he’ll never tire of.