Americans Roll to Victory in Presidents Cup


After completing the weather-delayed Saturday afternoon foursomes by winning three of five points - with a loss and a halve, the Americans did just enough in the 12 singles matches to win the 10th Presidents Cup.

The biennial competition that pits Americans against a team of Internationals (non-Europeans) took place at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.

In the foursomes, Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson beat Richard Sterne and Marc Leishman 4 and 3 on Saturday. On Sunday morning in the unfinished matches, Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley got a halve against Jason Day and Graham De Laet; Bill Haas and Steve Stricker beat Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama 4 and 3; Ernie Els and Brendon de Jonge edged Tiger Woods and Matt Kuchar 1-up, and Webb Simpson and Brandt Snedeker eked out a 1-up victory over Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel.

The Americans entered the singles with what turned out to be an insurmountable 14-8 lead. They needed only 4½ points to retain the Cup.

The Internationals got off to a good start in singles, with Els - who's played in all 10 Presidents Cup matches - beating Stricker 1-up. Hunter Mahan then beat Matsuyama 3 and 2 in the second match, followed by Dufner's 4 and 3 victory over de Jonge.

But the Internationals rallied with three straight points as Day walloped Snedeker 6 and 4; De Laet beat Jordan Spieth 1-up; and Scott got past Haas by a 2 and 1 margin.

Johnson got a key point in the seventh match by beating Branden Grace 4 and 2 before Kuchar fell 1-up to Leishman.

But Woods got the winning point, bringing the Americans to 18½, with his 1-up win over Sterne. "It feels good," Woods said of getting the key win, the third consecutive Presidents Cup in which he clinched victory for the USA. "It was a team effort this whole week."

The Internationals tacked on 2½ points in the last three matches, as Bradley lost 2 and 1 to Schwartzel, Simpson halved with Oosthuizen; and Angel Cabrera beating Mickelson 1-up in the 12th match.

The final score was 18½ to 15½.

The win was the third straight for USA captain Fred Couples and the fifth in a row for the Americans, bringing their record to 8-1-1 in the series, which began in 1994.

When asked if he wanted to return a fourth time, Couples demurred, saying, "If someone wants me to be an assistant, I'd love to help out, but a three-peat as captain is good enough for me."

As for beating the Internationals again, Couples added, ""We just outperformed them by making a few more putts."

For complete scoring details, visit http://www.presidentscup.com/scoring/2013.html.