MELBOURNE, November 19, 2011 (AFP) - South Korea's Kim Kyung-Tae drained a pressure putt at the last hole to earn a crucial victory over Tiger Woods in their four-ball match on the third day of The Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Saturday.
The win keeps the International team in the hunt after defending champions the United States shaded a gripping marathon day to take a four-point lead into the deciding singles.
The Americans dominated the morning foursomes 4-1 to lead by five points heading into the afternoon four-ball, but Greg Norman's Internationals fought back in the rain to win 3-2 and shave the deficit to 13-9 heading into Sunday's final 12 singles.
Leading the fightback were the Internationals' three South Koreans -- K.J. Choi, Y.E.Yang and Kim -- who between them earned two vital points to keep their team's hopes alive.
Kim drained a pressure five-foot par putt at the last to earn a crucial one-up victory with Yang over Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson, while Choi shared in a one-up victory with Australian Geoff Ogilvy.
The US team will be favourites to claim their seventh Presidents Cup, with the Internationals bidding for only their second success since their 1998 triumph at this week's Royal Melbourne venue.
"We won the session today. When you look at the four-ball compared to the alternate shot, you can see where the balance of our power really sits," Norman said.
No team trailing into the singles matches have gone on to win The Presidents Cup. In 2003 the United States trailed 12.5 to 9.5 heading into the singles and fought back to tie the competition.
Resuming with a two-point advantage, the Americans won four of the five morning foursomes to take charge ahead of the four-ball matches.
Woods claimed his first point of the match play tournament, while the Phil Mickelson/Jim Furyk and Webb Simpson/Bubba Watson pairings remained unbeaten after three matches.
But while the Americans were on top in the morning, it was the Internationals who charged back in steady afternoon rain in the four-ball after Friday's brutal blustery conditions.
"I was a bit nervous playing against Tiger, especially because I haven't been playing well the last two days," Kim said.
"I've felt a lot of pressure but because we had the morning off, I think it helps conditioning wise, and I think I got used to the course.
"I also think that at the tail end, we trusted each other. That's probably the main reason why we won."
Choi putted resolutely in a one-up victory with Ogilvy over Steve Stricker and Matt Kuchar for the Internationals' third point in the four-ball.
"Today was up and down with the weather and we had to stay calm and patient and did a good job making birdies," Choi said.
"On the back nine, we were putting very well and we came in with the win."
South African pair Retief Goosen and Charl Schwartzel were four-up with five holes to play but Goosen twice missed winning putts before they ended the winning run of rookie Americans Watson and Simpson two and one.
"Me and Charl played solid from the first few holes and got up on them early on," Goosen said. "Then I got spooked the last few holes and couldn't get a ball in the hole, but luckily we finished it off."
Hunter Mahan holed a magnificent 22-footer downhill for birdie to claim a two and one win with Bill Haas over Australians Aaron Baddeley and Jason Day.
"This has definitely The Ryder Cup atmosphere," Mahan said. "It was difficult. It was tough. We grinded.
"Boy, it was a lot going on today. This is an Australian team we were playing today, we heard it all day and to make it like that feels good."
Furyk and Nick Watney fought off Australian Adam Scott and South African Ernie Els to win the final crunch match one up after being two holes ahead at the 14th.
"We needed those two points really bad and they got them for us," US team captain Fred Couples said.
"Because this team was rallying and playing some great golf in that junk (rain), but our guys somehow won the last two groups."
Scores on Saturday in the USA v Internationals Presidents Cup match play golf tournament at Royal Melbourne:
USA 13 Internationals 9
(Overnight score USA 7 Internationals 5)
Foursomes
USA 4 Internationals 1
Bubba Watson/Webb Simpson (USA) bt Robert Allenby/Geoff Ogilvy (AUS/AUS) 3 and 2
Hunter Mahan/David Toms (USA) bt Charl Schwartzel/Retief Goosen (RSA/RSA) 5 and 4
Ernie Els/Ryo Ishikawa (RSA/JPN) bt Bill Haas/Matt Kuchar (USA) 1 up
Tiger Woods/Dustin Johnson (USA) bt Adam Scott/K.J. Choi (AUS/KOR) 3 and 2
Phil Mickelson/Jim Furyk (USA) bt Aaron Baddeley/Jason Day (AUS/AUS) 2 and 1
Four-ball
USA 2 Internationals 3
Charl Schwartzel/Retief Goosen (RSA/RSA) bt Bubba Watson/Webb Simpson (USA) 2 and 1
Y.E. Yang/Kim Kyung-Tae (KOR/KOR) bt Tiger Woods/Dustin Johnson (USA) 1 up
Geoff Ogilvy/K.J. Choi (AUS/KOR) bt Steve Stricker/Matt Kuchar (USA) 1 up
Hunter Mahan/Bill Haas (USA) bt Aaron Baddeley/Jason Day (AUS/AUS) 2 and 1
Jim Furyk/Nick Watney (USA) bt Adam Scott/Ernie Els (AUS/RSA) 1 up
Previous scores:
Friday four-ball: USA 3 Internationals 3
Bubba Watson/Webb Simpson (USA) bt Ernie Els/Ryo Ishikawa (RSA/JPN) 2 and 1
Steve Stricker/Matt Kuchar (USA) bt Y.E. Yang/Robert Allenby (KOR/AUS) 4 and 3
Aaron Baddeley/Jason Day (AUS/AUS) bt Tiger Woods/Dustin Johnson (USA) 1 up
Phil Mickelson/Jim Furyk (USA) bt Adam Scott/Kim Kyung-Tae (AUS/KOR) 2 and 1.
Geoff Ogilvy/K.J. Choi (AUS/KOR) bt Bill Haas/Nick Watney (USA) 1 up
Charl Schwartzel/Retief Goosen (RSA/RSA) bt Hunter Mahan-David Toms (USA) 2 and 1
Thursday foursomes: USA 4 Internationals 2
Bubba Watson/Webb Simpson (USA) bt Ernie Els/Ryo Ishikawa (RSA/JPN) 4 and 2
Adam Scott/K.J. Choi (AUS/KOR) bt Tiger Woods/Steve Stricker (USA) 7 and 6
Hunter Mahan/David Toms (USA) bt Kim Kyung-Tae/Y.E. Yang (KOR/KOR) 6 and 5
Phil Mickelson/Jim Furyk (USA) bt Retief Goosen/Robert Allenby (RSA/AUS) 4 and 3
Bill Haas/Nick Watney (USA) v Geoff Ogilvy/Charl Schwartzel (AUS/RSA) halved
Dustin Johnson/Matt Kuchar (USA) v Aaron Baddeley/Jason Day (AUS/AUS) halved
Presidents Cup Pairings
MELBOURNE, November 19, 2011 (AFP) - Pairings for Sunday's matches at the USA v Internationals Presidents Cup match play golf tournament at Royal Melbourne:
Singles
10:30 am (2330 GMT) Webb Simpson (USA) v Kim Kyung-Tae (KOR)
10:42 am Dustin Johnson (USA) v Charl Schwartzel (RSA)
10:54 am Bubba Watson (USA) v Ryo Ishikawa (JPN)
11:06 am Bill Haas (USA) v Geoff Ogilvy (AUS)
11:18 am Hunter Mahan (USA) v Jason Day (AUS)
11:30 am Nick Watney (USA) v K.J. Choi (KOR)
11:42 am Phil Mickelson (USA) v Adam Scott (AUS)
11:54 am Matt Kuchar (USA) v Retief Goosen (RSA)
12:06 pm Jim Furyk (USA) v Ernie Els (RSA)
12:18 pm David Toms (USA) v Robert Allenby (AUS)
12:30 pm Tiger Woods (USA) v Aaron Baddeley (AUS)
12:42 pm Steve Stricker (USA) v Y.E. Yang (KOR)