Gainesville, Va. – Jack Nicklaus had cause for concern Friday in the Presidents Cup.
His best player – Tiger Woods – walked the fairway with a bag of ice pressed against his back. What Nicklaus figured would be his best tandem was getting hammered again. And as he stood on the ninth tee and gazed at the scoreboard, the Americans were ahead in only one of the six matches.
“When that last group went through, if you gave me 3-3, I would have given you 10-1 (odds),” Nicklaus said. “I would have been very, very pleased. As the afternoon went on, I was kind of disappointed it ended up 3-3.”
Indeed, it was a strange and stormy afternoon at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. The push in six better-ball matches belied the changes in momentum and a stark difference in a crowd that revved up its cheers for the U.S. team and went silent when the International team pulled off its share of great shots.
When it was over, the International team kept its one-point lead – 6 1/2-5 1/2 – heading into a pivotal round Saturday of 10 matches, followed by 12 singles matches Sunday.
“I see it going right down the line again,” International captain Gary Player said.
Nothing was more bizarre than Woods’ play.
Winless in his previous six better-ball matches at the Presidents Cup, the world’s No. 1 player showed up on the first tee wondering if teammate Jim Furyk’s sore ribs would allow him to play. An hour later, it was Woods getting the treatment. Sore ribs affected his upper back, and a therapist had to apply ice between shots.
No matter. Woods birdied seven of the first 12 holes, then relied on Furyk to make the decisive birdie for a 3-and-2 victory against Stuart Appleby and Mark Hensby.
“It only hurts when I swing,” Woods said with a laugh.
The International team got more great play from Retief Goosen and Adam Scott, who have not trailed in the two matches and 32 holes they have played. They had an easy time with Fred Couples and David Toms, leading 4-up after six holes and stopping a late rally to win, 2 and 1.
Peter Lonard and Nick O’Hern of Australia pitched in, also leading 4-up through six holes to beat Davis Love III and Kenny Perry. That was the Americans’ strongest team two years ago, yet they are 0-2 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
Instead, the dynamic duo for the United States has been Scott Verplank and Justin Leonard, both born in Dallas. They overcame an early deficit to beat Trevor Immelman and Mike Weir.
The Americans were on the move until storms forced a 1 1/2-hour delay, and the International team was able to regroup enough to hang on. It could have been better.
The International team had a chance to extend its lead until Michael Campbell and Vijay Singh failed to capitalize on great opportunities at the 18th hole, both of them settling for halves.
Campbell’s wedge to the 18th hit the pin and rolled back into the rough, then his belly wedge rimmed in and out, he and Angel Cabrera settling for a half-point against Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco.
“We hung in there. We grinded one out and got a half a point,” DiMarco said. “That feels like a win, being 2-down with four to go.”
Singh, playing with Tim Clark, stuffed a wedge into 3 feet for birdie on the 17th to square their match, then had a chance to beat Fred Funk and Stewart Cink when he hit a towering shot out of the rough to 15 feet. But the birdie putt never had a chance, dipping well below the cup for a halve.
Still, the International team had the lead.
“If you talked about it two days ago, if you would like to be 1-up, you’d take it,” Singh said. “I think we’re in very, very good position.”
It wasn’t comforting to see Woods with ice on his back.
The spasms started on the sixth hole, when he hit a shot and his knees buckled. He said it was part of his ribs, which affected his upper back, and it had been bothering him all week.
It didn’t appear to affect his game.
Woods hit a 6-iron on the par-3 seventh, a peninsula green with the flag tucked just over the bunker. The shot soared into the hazy skies, landed softly and rolled just past the edge of the cup to within 2 feet. Woods walked to the side of the tee, and a physical therapist – the one who treated Furyk on Thursday – filled a plastic cup with ice and pressed it against his lower back.
The birdie was conceded, and the hole was halved when Appleby pitched in for birdie to match him. Despite the ice treatment, Woods kept firing away with birdies.
Furyk managed to play without much pain, and he came through in the clutch. Right when Appleby and Hensby were making a charge with consecutive birdies, Furyk nearly holed his approach from the 16th fairway, then made an 8-footer for birdie to close out the match.
“Jimmy decided to play his three best shots of the day,” Woods said. “Perfect time.”
