Gainesville, Va. – Fred Couples delivered another magical moment. Chris DiMarco provided the clinching point with the biggest putt of his life. Best of all, the Americans sent captain Jack Nicklaus into retirement as a winner.
Just when it looked like the Presidents Cup might end in another tie, DiMarco capped off a sensational week with a 15-foot birdie on the 18th hole Sunday, giving him a 1-up victory over Stuart Appleby, the final points the Americans needed to win the Cup 18 1/2 – 15 1/2.
“Every piece of my body was shaking,” DiMarco said. “My caddie says before I hit the putt, ‘This is the moment you’ve waited for your whole life, so go ahead and do it.’ And you know, I did.”
DiMarco knew it was good as the ball was still a few feet from the hole. He charged toward the cup and then into the arms of Nicklaus as the players hugged everyone they could find.
It was a great week for DiMarco, who went 4-0-1.
But ultimately, this was more about getting a win for their captain, the greatest champion in golf.
“All I thought about was to get him a win,” DiMarco said.
Nicklaus already said farewell to the majors this year at an emotional British Open. He doubts he’ll be a Presidents Cup captain again, wanting someone else to get a chance, so this likely was his last time in the spotlight and his last chance to get a victory in this event.
“It feels a lot better to have a win, there’s no question about that,” said Nicklaus, whose team had lost badly in Australia in 1998 and tied in South Africa two years ago. “As far as being something special, I may never captain another team, I may never play another round of golf, and if I end my career this way, it’s a pretty good way to end it.”
Nicklaus put Phil Mickelson and DiMarco in the final two matches, and they came through in the clutch.
Mickelson thought he had earned the clinching point when he stuffed a wedge into 4 feet and made birdie on the 18th hole to square his match with Angel Cabrera. But under new rules, every match had to go extra holes until one team had enough points to claim the Cup.
Nobody told Mickelson.
With the Americans already at 17 points, Mickelson pounded his fist when the putt fell and was ready to start the celebration when European tour rules officials broke the news – the match wasn’t over.
Mickelson looked on with shock and headed to the first tee. But he never had to finish the extra hole. A massive roar behind him told him all he needed to know.
Tiger Woods lost for the first time in a Presidents Cup singles match, falling to Retief Goosen on the 17th hole. Goosen also went unbeaten for the week at 4-0-1. But the Americans got loads of help, from Jim Furyk (3-0-2) beating Adam Scott to Kenny Perry and David Toms getting their first points of the week.
“All day long I was like, ‘Let’s hope it doesn’t come down to our match,’ ” DiMarco said. “And sure enough, it came down to our match.”
