The United States secured a fifth straight Presidents Cup win on Sunday when Tiger Woods knocked off Richard Sterne on the 18th green to claim the winning point. The U.S. currently leads the International team, 18-14, with three more non-determinate matches still in progress.
The Internationals certainly made things interesting late Sunday, but a tie was still the best they could do thanks to a disastrous morning finish to the final Foursomes session. They cut the deficit to just four points, but the damage from all two-man games the prior three days had been done and there would be no American choke like last year at the Ryder Cup.
It was supposed to be different this year for the International team, which successfully lobbied to have the order of formats changed. But even with the Four-ball leading things off, the Internationals never held a lead and did not win one of the four two-man sessions.
The U.S. team, perhaps fatigued from four rainy days of start-and-stop golf, was sloppy late and it never should have gotten to Tiger for the clincher. Regardless, Woods -- who was an overwhelming mismatch for Sterne on paper -- took advantage of a Sterne bogey on the 16th to go 1-up with a steady par.
Tiger's back troubles flared up a bit on the back nine, but he still carded two clutch pars on the last two holes to secure the 18th and deciding point. It was an admirable attempt by Sterne, but the No. 1 player in the world had to be thrilled to get the honors of finishing off the Internationals with the winning point.
Below is the Sunday singles match board. There are still three matches in progress, which are expected to finish out unless the weather gets particularly nasty in the last few holes.
International | Match Progress | American |
Hideki Matsuyama | USA wins, 3&2 | Hunter Mahan |
Jason Day | INTL wins, 6&4 | Brandt Snedeker |
Graham DeLaet | INTL wins, 1up | Jordan Spieth |
Ernie Els | INTL wins, 1up | Steve Stricker |
Brendon de Jonge | USA wins, 4&3 | Jason Dufner |
Adam Scott | INTL wins, 2&1 | Bill Haas |
Branden Grace | USA wins, 4&2 | Zach Johnson |
Marc Leishman | INTL wins, 1up | Matt Kuchar |
Richard Sterne | USA wins, 1up | Tiger Woods |
Charl Schwartzel | INTL 1up thru 7 | Keegan Bradley |
Louis Oosthuizen | USA 1up thru 6 | Webb Simpson |
Angel Cabrera | INTL 1up thru 6 | Phil Mickelson |
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