MONTREAL -- Phil Mickelson showed Woody Austin how to stay dry, and the Americans blew the International team out of the water Saturday in the Presidents Cup to build the largest lead in seven years.
The United States swept the alternate-shot matches in the crisp morning, then turned back an International rally with one of its own to split the afternoon fourballs and build a 14½-7½ lead going into the 12 singles matches Sunday.
Mickelson and Austin combined to birdie their last two holes to steal a half-point, Tiger Woods recorded two blowouts with different partners, and Stewart Cink made all the clutch putts to turn a loss into another point that filled the scoreboard with American red numbers.
It now appears that for the second time in three weeks, the Sunday chase for a cup will be anticlimactic. Woods essentially wrapped up the FedEx Cup at East Lake before the weekend arrived, and only the greatest comeback in Presidents Cup history will keep this event from turning into a snoozer at Royal Montreal.
"It's not over," International captain Gary Player said. "But things don't look too good. The egg is not sunny-side up."
Indeed, the International squad looked fried.
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| Day 3 is much more productive for Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk. (AP) |
U.S. captain Jack Nicklaus nodded his head and clapped his hands with each point moving the Americans closer to their first outright victory on the road in the Presidents Cup, and their first in any cup since winning the Ryder Cup at The Belfry in 1993.
Mickelson provided the most entertaining moment when his ball caromed off the hill and into a shallow spot in the water left of the 15th green. Austin, his partner in the fourball match, walked over to look at the situation and shrugged his shoulders as if to say, "Your turn to give it a try." A day earlier, Austin lost his balance trying such a shot and wound up face-first in the water.
Mickelson borrowed the size-14 sneaker from his caddie to put on his left foot and go into the water. The ball tumbled back into the hazard, but at least Lefty didn't take the fall, even though they fell 1 down.
They went dormie on the next hole when Retief Goosen holed out from a deep bunker as he and Adam Scott went 2 up, but Austin made a 10-foot birdie on the 17th, and Mickelson halved the match with a 20-foot birdie on the final hole.
Player took Weir as a captain's pick, mostly because these matches came to Canada for the first time, and it was a good move. Weir ran off three straight birdies at the turn to give his team a commanding lead, and they closed out Charles Howell III and Lucas Glover, 4 and 2.
But now, those cheers are only a consolation prize.
