Melbourne bites Tiger again but US retain lead

THE United States maintained their grip on the Presidents Cup yesterday, holding off a late charge by the Internationals to split the opening fourball matches 3-3 as the Royal Melbourne course bared its teeth amid searing northerly winds.

With the temperature soaring above 34 degrees Celsius and swirling gusts buffeting the famed sandbelt course, players on both teams were dumbstruck by the pace of the flint-hard greens but the US made enough of their chances to hold a 7-5 lead going into the weekend.

Phil Mickelson, who teamed up with Jim Furyk again to down Australia’s Adam Scott and Kim Kyung-tae 2&1 for the pair’s second win, described the conditions as “crazy”.

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“This was a case where we’re trying to read the wind on the putts,” said the four-time major champion. “I hit a couple of good putts that didn’t go in and it kind of affected my confidence.”

After stumbling with a late bout of nerves in Thursday’s opening foursomes, the Internationals showed grit to grind out three tense victories to square the day’s ledger.

Aaron Baddeley gained a measure of redemption following his meltdown at the 18th tee on Thursday, calmly sinking the winning putt from four feet on the last after carrying his wayward playing partner Jason Day to a one-up victory over Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson. “It was a tough day,” said Woods. “Just trying to hit the greens was a heck of an accomplishment.”

Baddeley felt he had helped atone for his opening-day display. “I was super disappointed yesterday because Jason played so well and I really feel like I let him down and the team down a little bit,” said the Australian. “So to be able to bounce back today and get out there on a tough day and do the job, it was good.”

His compatriot Geoff Ogilvy also showed nerves of steel to roll in the winner on the 18th against Bill Haas and Nick Watney. South Africans Retief Goosen and Charl Schwartzel notched the Internationals’ final point with a 2&1 victory over Hunter Mahan and David Toms.

While the points were shared, the Americans could claim the moral victory, as three of their pairings enjoyed lop-sided victories to silence the packed galleries at Royal Melbourne.

US captain Fred Couples’ decision to split Woods and Steve Stricker paid off well for one half, as Stricker’s playing partner Matt Kuchar notched four birdies in his first 12 holes.

Kuchar rolled a 40-feet putt from the apron of the 12th which burned the edge of a greenside bunker before dropping into the cup to the delight of spectators as the pairing marched to a crushing 4&3 victory over Australia’s Robert Allenby and YE Yang of South Korea.

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Presidents Cup rookies Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson made it two in a row over South Africa’s Ernie Els and Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa, sealing a 3&1 victory on the 17th hole. They were rewarded with a third match-up against Allenby and Ogilvy in today’s final foursomes.

“I’m riding his coat-tails pretty good right now so that’s how we got two Ws [wins] out of it,” answered Watson when asked whether he hoped to be paired with Simpson again.

Asked why he persevered with the Ishikawa and Els partnership, Internationals skipper Greg Norman said: “Well, Ernie asked for [Ishikawa] actually. We talked with Ernie about it. We gave him other options. He really... at the end of the day, he has no problem, he’s completely comfortable with him.”

Woods, who proved a controversial captain’s pick, remains his team’s only player not to reap a point. “He laughed about it,” Couples said, referring to Woods’ barren run. “Not many times where he doesn’t win a point through a couple of rounds. But you know what, we are up by two points, and that’s really all I care about at the moment. And I would say Tiger does the same.”

The players wrap up the final foursomes and fourball matches today, with a change in the weather expected to bring rain showers and a wind from the south. “Anyone breaking par, it’s an astonishing score, but it’s there if you play great shots,” said Ogilvy. “It’s frustrating to play, but it’s also great fun to play like that for anyone that has not seen Royal Melbourne in weather like that before.”