MELBOURNE, Australia — Two perfect teams and a point for Tiger Woods.
That was all the Americans needed today in the rain at Royal Melbourne to build a 11-6 lead in the Presidents Cup and put the International team in serious danger of falling too far behind to recapture the cup on home soil.
The Americans went 4-1 in the foursomes session, with five fourballs matches scheduled for the afternoon.
Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk won four out of five holes on the back nine, and Mickelson polished off Aaron Baddeley and Jason Day by holing a 50-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole. Mickelson and Furyk won all three matches they played together.
“We turned it around,” Mickelson said. “We fought hard, and we ended up having a nice run on the back nine.”
U.S. captain Fred Couples sat David Toms and Mickelson in the afternoon session. Couples said Mickelson offered to sit if needed, and Couples said this would keep the four-time major champion fresh for the Sunday singles.
That ended a streak of 32 consecutive matches played at the Presidents Cup for Mickelson.
Woods and Dustin Johnson trailed early in their match until winning consecutive holes with pars as Adam Scott and K.J. Choi struggled. Woods and Johnson went 1 up on the 13th when the International team conceded before reaching the green, and the Americans went 2 up on the next hole after Scott and Choi made another bogey. Woods closed out the match with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 16th.
“It was a day of patience,” Woods said. “The weather was kind of iffy, the greens are another different speed. They’ve got some pretty good, little tricky pins. I felt Dustin and I were playing well. We just kept putting on the heat, and eventually one would fall.”
