November 19 2011
11:51 PM
International Team faces big challenge
MELBOURNE, Australia – The International Team will have the partisan crowd on its side on a sunny and cool Sunday at Royal Melbourne.
Trailing by four points, though, Greg Norman’s squad faces an uphill battle in Sunday’s Singles matches. The Internationals have only won the session once in the nine previous Presidents Cups – winning seven of the 12 head-to-head battles at Royal Montreal in 2007.
A team needs 17 1/2 points to win the Presidents Cup, so the Internationals, trailing 13-9, would need an historic rally. But it wouldn’t be unprecedented in global team competition – the U.S. scored 8 1/2 points on a thrilling Sunday at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., to rally and win the 1999 Ryder Cup.
Wonder if Greg Norman had the same kind of “feeling” Ben Crenshaw did 12 years ago?
| Year | Score entering Singles | Final score |
| 1994 | U.S. led 12-9 | U.S. wins 20-12 |
| 1996 | U.S. led 10 1/2-9 1/2 | U.S. won 16 1/2-15 1/2 |
| 2000 | U.S. led 14-6 | U.S. won 21 1/2-10 1/2 |
| 2003 | Internationals led 12 1/2-9 1/2 | Internationals, U.S. tie 17-all |
| 2005 | Internationals, U.S. tied 11-11 | United States wins 18 1/2-15 1/2 |
| 2007 | U.S. leads 14 1/2-7 1/2 | U.S. wins 19 1/2-14 1/2 |
| 2009 | U.S. leads 12 1/2-9 1/2 | U.S. wins 19 1/2-14 1/2 |
| 2011 | U.S. leads 13-9 | TBD |
