face tall order in Sunday Singles

SAN FRANCISCO -- The International players have thrown plenty of solid punches at the Americans this week at Harding Park. They've even been able to land a few. They've improved their performances in Foursomes -- their usual nemesis. They've fought hard, found some good pairings and made the U.S. Team sweat in almost every match not involving Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker.

And what has it earned them? A three-point deficit heading into Sunday's Singles matches, which means they need to pull off the unprecedented task of winning eight of the 12 matches in order to claim The Presidents Cup.
The International team has never produced that kind of lopsided score in any of the seven previous Presidents Cups. In fact, until two years ago in Montreal, the Internationals had never even finished the final day with any advantage in Singles. And neither side has ever rallied from three points down on the final day to win the Cup.

Captain Greg Norman knows that history is not on his side. And considering the way Woods, Stricker and Phil Mickelson have played this week, it's unlikely his guys will emerge victorious in those matches. If that proves out, then the Internationals will need to win eight of the other nine.

Good luck with that.

"Obviously, we have to win eight matches out of 12, which a lot of people are probably going to say that's a tall task," Norman said. "But it can be done, and it has been done."

Yes, it has been done ... by the Americans in the inaugural Presidents Cup in 1994. That team, incidentally, included both U.S. captain Fred Couples and assistant Jay Haas, each of whom won his singles match in what became a U.S. rout at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.

Do the Internationals have the kind of firepower to duplicate that feat?

Certainly they'll need improved performances from Angel Cabrera, Camilo Villegas and Retief Goosen, who are a combined 0-8-1 through the first three days of competition. Goosen faces Phil Mickelson, and Cabrera takes on Jim Furyk in the final two matches Sunday. Norman is hoping those matches actually matter.

They'll need Australians Adam Scott and Geoff Ogilvy, a combined 2-5, to step up.

Scott, the controversial Captain's pick, started the week strong with a win in Thursday's Foursomes, but he hasn't tasted victory since.

Ogilvy lost his first two matches, sat out Saturday morning and then finally showed life by teaming with Robert Allenby for a Four-Ball win in the afternoon. His reward? A date against Stricker, the hottest player on the course Saturday, the one who rolled in seven birdie putts in the afternoon, including two bombs from outside 31 feet.

"I wouldn't have wanted to play Foursomes with me the way I was hitting it," Ogilvy said candidly when asked about sitting out. "... It would have been difficult for somebody to play with me."

They'll need feisty Tim Clark to be rewarded finally for some of the solid play he has produced this week.

Clark has won just three of a possible eight points, but it's hard to ask for much more from the South African. He and partner Mike Weir nearly pulled off the upset of Woods and Stricker in Saturday morning's Foursomes before Woods produced his usual magic to win the final two holes, a result that must have been demoralizing in the International Team room.

Clark then recorded seven birdies and no bogeys in the Saturday afternoon Four-Ball match, but he and partner Vijay Singh had to settle for just a half-point when Mickelson and Sean O'Hair rallied down the stretch. He has definitely been the hard-luck kid this week.

"Two great matches and, unfortunately, didn't get as many points as I'd hoped to out of them," Clark said.

But Norman expects another dogged performance from Clark in his match against Zach Johnson.

"He's my pit bull," Norman said. "There's no more gutsier player than Tim Clark. He actually reminds me of a modern-day version of a Corey Pavin.

"Corey was always such a tenacious player, and I never thought there was a shot he couldn't hit, even though he was probably one of the shortest guys in the field. And Timmy is not short by any means, but he's just a gutsy guy. He wants the bit between his teeth."

They'll also need Y.E. Yang to re-create his Hazeltine Heist, where he rallied to overtake Tiger Woods and steal the PGA Championship. The two will face off in the ninth and most notable match of the day.

Said Yang: "I'm going to stick to my game plan, just like I did then. I'll have a few tricks up my sleeve, perhaps."

Maybe that's what the Internationals really need on Sunday. Magic. Or perhaps just a plain old-fashioned miracle.

And it'd help if Stricker might actually miss a putt at some point.