Sunday's Singles recaps
 
Sep. 30, 2007

Match #23
Scott Verplank def. Rory Sabbatini, 2 and 1

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A swing adjustment and a couple of late birdies were the difference in a taught duel that swung back and forth. Verplank, who ran his record to 4-0 for the week and 3-0 in singles, birdied three of the last six holes in rallying from a 2-down deficit after nine holes thanks to three bogeys. A short birdie at the par-5 12th got him back to square, and his 32-footer connected at the 16th to stun the scrappy South African, who made only one birdie in his first Presidents Cup singles match. When Sabbatini missed from 14 feet and Verplank converted from seven at the 17th, the match was suddenly over. "I was getting quick from the top and being to steep," Verplank said. "So I just had to slow it down and be more shallow and ... the stroke got better."

Match #24
Ernie Els def. Lucas Glover, 1 up

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Els anticipated a birdie blitz from Glover, and he was right. But he countered with some of his own and the pressure finally wore down the U.S. rookie. While Els bogeyed two of the first six holes, Glover posted three birdies to lead 3 up. "I was in deep trouble the front nine," Els said. "I knew it was going to be tough. He made a ton of birdie and I got off to a bit of a slow start, and somehow I battled my way back into the game. It took four birdies from Els to finally square things up by the 13th hole when he lasered an iron to 3 feet and converted. The South African nosed ahead at 14 with a 12-foot birdie, but the resilient American countered with a kick-in birdie after an approach from 190 yards. A three-putt from 45 feet cost Glover a hole at 16, and a sloppy 18th forced him to concede the match.

Match #25
Phil Mickelson def. Vijay Singh, 5 and 4

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The anticipated heavyweight battle never materialized as Mickelson, the No. 2 player in the world, dispatched No. 12 Singh with surprising ease to win his first singles match in his seventh Presidents Cup. Mickelson played a sloppy first hole to lose with a bogey, but a birdie at No. 2 and Singh's bogey at three flipped the lead, and Mickelson never looked back. With Singh failing to make a birdie, Mickelson soon took over. Singh bogeyed the sixth, conceded a birdie at No. 7 and then fell four behind when Lefty birdied the 10th from 7 feet. Mickelson two putted for a birdie at 12, and when Singh, who fell to 1-4-2 in singles, missed a 9-footer for the halve, the dye was cast. Mickelson closed out the match with two routine pars.

Match #26
Mike Weir def. Tiger Woods, 1 up

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Hands down the best match of the day. It came down to a concession at the final hole when Tiger, who had driven into the hazard, failed to chip in. But it was so much more. Rarely does anyone survive a Tiger comeback -- Weir had him down by 3 after 10 holes -- and rarely does a player get the chance to beat the best player in the world. You could hear the roar in Toronto. Tiger came out less than perfect and Weir was on. He birdied the second hole from 12 feet to go 1-up and takes a 2-up lead at the fourth when Tiger left it in a greenside bunker. Then Tiger hit it out of bounds at the sixth and Weir was 3-up. But when Weir missed back-to-back close-in birdies at the ninth and 10th, Tiger hit it to six inches at the 11th to cut the lead to 2-up. Then he was just inside three feet at the 12th to cut it to 1-up. A Weir bogey at 14 squared the match and Tiger rolled in a 20 footer at the 15th to go up by one. Weir hung in there, squaring it back up at the 17th, when Tiger's 12 foot birdie attempt kissed the cup and Weir's 10 footer fell. That set the stage for 18 where Tiger made a huge mistake, putting it in the hazard off the tee. He lost his next shot to the right and when he missed the chip, conceded to Weir.

Match #27
Angel Cabrera def. Woody Austin, 2 and 1

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It was close the whole way. And, even a bit entertaining when Woody pulled out some diving goggles at the 14th hole and had a little fun. The new-found folk hero scraped and scraped to keep up with Cabrera, who was hitting some incredible shots. Like at the second hole when Austin was 8 feet from the pin and Cabrera carved it out from behind a tree and dropped it softly to 2 feet for a halve. On the next hole, Austin got into trouble, bogeyed and Cabrera two-putted for par and a 1-up lead. Austin squared it at the sixth, went one-down at seven and squared it again at eight. Austin's two-putt bogey at the ninth gave Cabrera the lead for good, 1-up. Austin kept it close, but Cabrera closed it out at the 17th when Austin's 13-foot birdie didn't fall and he drilled his 7-footer for the win.

Match #28
Adam Scott def. Zach Johnson, 2 and 1

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It's hard to beat a guy who has seven birdies in 17 holes. Or one who hasn't won a point all week. Scott saved his best for last, jumping to a 1-up lead at the first hole with a six-foot birdie. Johnson squared it at the second hole from 18 feet and the battle was on. Scott went up by one at the fifth hole with an iron to 7 feet, and took a 2-up lead at the sixth. It seesawed from there, with Johnson winning the 10th and 11th holes -- the former with a 25-foot roller coaster -- to square it again. Scott took the lead for good at the 12th with a six-footer for birdie. Scott missed the green at the 14th and chipped to 2 inches. Johnson birdied the 15th from 13 feet to cut it to 1-up, but Scott closed it out at the 17th with an iron to five feet.

Match #29
David Toms def. Trevor Immelman, 2 up

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David Toms had gained at least a half-point for the Americans in every match he played this week. That trend continued in his Sunday singles match, where he defeated South African Trevor Immelman, 1 up. For the week, Toms racked up a total of 4.5 of a possible five points. With a birdie at No. 6, Immelman went 1 up. But, when Immelman consecutive bogeys on Nos. 8 and 9 to Toms' pars, the American was suddenly 1 up and never looked back. Toms made his first birdie of the day at No. 12 for a 2 up lead and then went 3 up with a birdie at No. 14. Thanks to back-to-back birdies, Immelman reduced his deficit to 1 down and after pars at No. 17, the match went to the last hole. Immelman shattered any hopes of a halve when his tee shot on No. 18 went left and into the water. With a par to Immelman's bogey, Toms won the match, 2 up. The 4.5 points this week ties Toms was second-most in Presidents Cup history behind Mark O'Meara and Shigeki Maruyama, who each had five. "I got some good partners this week," Toms said. "I played with Tiger when he was playing well and Woody Austin, the way he finished up one day. And today I played well. Overall I think it's attributed to the fact that I played pretty solid and I was stuck with some good partners."

Match #30
Stewart Cink def. Nick O'Hern, 6 and 4

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Stewart Cink earned what proved to be the clinching point for the U.S. Team with his dominating 6 and 4 victory over Australian Nick O'Hern in singles action on Sunday to retain The Presidents Cup. O'Hern was overmatched right out of the gate as Cink rattled off five straight birdies to start the round -- giving him eight birdies over 10 holes dating back to Saturday. Through eight holes, Cink had a massive 5 up lead. O'Hern made birdies on Nos. 9 and 10 to cut his deficit to 3 down. But with bogeys on Nos. 11 and 13, O'Hern suffered the most lopsided loss of these matches. With his U.S. teammates scattered across the course, Cink was left to celebrate his clinching point alone. "When you're by yourself and you've won, that means you won your match early and I'm happy to do that," Cink said. "In match play you don't want to keep playing golf when you're ahead. I'm happy to be the one to clinch the point for the U.S. Team. We came into this week with a little score to settle up in the international golf arena and I think we showed everybody that we can play again."

Match #31
Geoff Ogilvy def. Steve Stricker, 11 up

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The runner-up for the FedExCup, Steve Stricker found himself paired against a young but expert match play champion in Geoff Ogilvy. Ogilvy was perfect in the first five holes, making four pars and a birdie to go 1-up when Stricker made five pars. But Stricker soon squashed Ogilvy's lead with a birdie on No. 6. It was all square through the par-3 7th hole then Ogilvy birdied the 8th hole and parred the 10th when Stricker could only make bogey to hold a 2-up lead on the 11th tee. It wasn't meant to last, as Stricker barred his former World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship winning teeth and cut into Ogilvy's lead with a par on the 12th and a birdie on the 13th to square the see-sawing match. A conceded 14th hole gave Stricker a 1-up lead, which he carried in the 16th hole. That's when Ogilvy showed his former Accenture Match Play Championship-winning skills and sank a 26-footer on No. 16 to square the match. Stricker had a closer opportunity than Ogilvy for birdie on the 17th hole, putting the pressure on the Aussie to make another long putt. He couldn't make the 21-footer and Stricker missed his birdie try by about a foot, so the match was all square going into the final hole. On the tough par-4 18th, Stricker hit it everywhere but the fairway and the green with his first and second shots, leaving the door open for Ogilvy. Stricker eventually conceded the hole to Ogilvy, giving him a win for the International team.

Match #32
K.J. Choi def. Hunter Mahan, 3 and 2

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K.J. Choi was the only player for either side without a win or half point heading into the final day. He took the lead early when Hunter Mahan double bogeyed No. 2. But bogeys by Choi on the fourth and fifth holes -- where Choi missed saving par by four inches -- squared the match then gave Mahan a 1-up advantage. Mahan made a routine par on the sixth so Choi saw an opportunity and ran with it, only needing a 1 ft. 9 in. putt to make birdie and bring the match back to all square. After matching pars on the next two holes, Mahan made the turn at 1-up upon making birdie on the ninth hole while Choi could only manage par. The match stayed even from holes 10-13 until Choi knocked in a 6-footer for birdie on No. 14. Mahan's shot on the 15th went into the water hazard and Choi benefited, going 2 up with three holes remaining. Choi's par on No. 16 was good enough to close out Mahan, as the rookie failed to convert his 17-foot par putt to extend the match. With that, Choi finally got his victory with a 3 and 2 win.

Match # 33
Charles Howell III def. Stuart Appleby, 2 and 1

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Howell led three times on the front nine, but the match went to the back all square after he three-putted No. 9 for bogey. The American then drove into the water on the 10th hole and suddenly found himself trailing Appleby for the first time Sunday. Howell shook off that miscue, though, and seized control with a string of five straight birdies starting at the 11th hole. The first three gave Howell a 2-up advantage, the fourth got him a halve and the fifth put the American dormie at 3 up. Howell's bogey at the 16th hole gave Appleby glimmer of hope, but the American picked up the 2-and-1 victory when he matched the Aussie's birdie at No. 17. The victory gave Howell a 2-2-0 record this year. Appleby has yet to win in Singles in five Presidents Cups.

Match #34
Retief Goosen def. Jim Furyk, 2 and 1

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Furyk took the early 2-up lead when he holed a shot from the fairway at the second hole and Goosen made bogey at No. 4. The South African must have been chapped by his miscue because Goosen came back with a vengeance -- winning four of the next five holes with birdies, including three straight starting at No. 7 to move to 2 up. He gave one hole back with a bogey at No. 13, but won the next when Furyk hooked his drive into the lake that had claimed so many victims this week. Furyk narrowed the gap to 1 down when he won the 16th hole as Goosen made bogey, but the South African coolly rolled in a 10-footer on No. 17 to earn the final International point. The loss was Furyk's first in Singles in five Presidents Cups.

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US TEAM 19.5
INTERNATIONAL TEAM 14.5
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