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By Lauren Deason
PGATOUR.com Editorial Coordinator

MONTREAL, Canada -- He was playing the same format on the same hole, but the two days could not have produced more different outcomes for Stewart Cink.

Stewart Cink is enjoying a strong ending to a successful season. (Schilpp/WireImage)

In his Four-Ball match on Friday at The Presidents Cup, Cink had a bit of difficulty when putting on the 17th hole, a little 160-yard par 3 with a lake just to the right of the green. While he didn't find water like partner Hunter Mahan, Cink managed to lose the hole anyway when he missed a 3-foot, 7-inch par putt by inches.

That 3-footer lost the hole for his side and sent Cink and Glover to 1 down heading into the final hole, where they matched birdies with Geoff Ogilvy and Nick O'Hern to lose their Four-Ball match.

On Saturday, however, it was a whole different story. Cink hit his approach to within 7 feet of the flag and canned his birdie putt to give himself and Jim Furyk a 1-up advantage. They went on to win the match, beating Angel Cabrera and K.J. Choi in the better-ball format.

Cink didn't draw any extra motivation based on his results from the day before. He said he wasn't looking for any redemption on fickle No. 17, either. He just wanted to win the match for partner Furyk and Team USA.

"It didn't have anything to do with yesterday. It's golf and it happens, and I wish it had not happened, but it did. You just can't dwell on that kind of thing," he said. "If you do, you know, there's plenty of bad shots that I can remember myself hitting or I'm sure Jim (Furyk) and Phil (Mickelson) would also be able to remember a few. You just really don't dwell on it."

Two men on the 12-player squad must sit out during the five Foursomes and five Four-Ball matches that occur on Saturday morning and afternoon, and Cink was one of those who served as a cheerleader for his American squad. After not playing in the morning session, Cink -- who finds himself in 174th place in Driving Accuracy this season after hitting just 56.25 percent of his fairways -- had a bit of trouble getting his round going in the afternoon.

Cink and Furyk lost an early 2-up lead at Nos. 6 and 8 and eventually found themselves 2 down on the 12th hole.

"When we came to (the 14th hole), I had not seen a fairway for about five or six holes before that, maybe more. I said, 'I think I'm going to play to my strengths here.' I could have easily driven the green but I wasn't exactly hitting it within a 10-yard gap today," Cink said, opting for the safe route by hitting a 6-iron 186 yards for his tee shot before sending his second 99 yards to nestle just eight feet from No. 14's pin.

He converted his 8-footer for birdie there and began a little run, going birdie-par-birdie-birdie-par in the last five holes to twist the match in his side's favor.

"Stewart and I got off to a pretty fast start. We birdied the first three. We were 2 up, and the guys we played with fought back, and I think they birdied holes 6 through 10, birdied five in a row and won four of those holes from us. You know, we were in a hole for a while. Angel (Cabrera) missed about a 6-footer on No. 11 to go 3 up and kind of left the door open," Furyk said.

"We finished strong. My partner, you know, birdied 16 and 17 to flip a 1 down to 1 up, and we were able to hold on. It was a big point for the team."

Indeed it also was to International Team Captain Gary Player, since he referred to Cink and Furyk's win as one of the turning points in an afternoon that looked like it belonged to the Internationals. Shortly after Cink and Furyk -- playing in the first match of the afternoon -- turned theirs around, Phil Mickelson and Woody Austin snuck back into their match and stole a half point from their opponents as well.

"I don't think we sensed that our point was anymore important than the others, but having the first match come down to the wire and us end up on top, the way it happened I think that sent a message out to the rest of the guys, and everybody pulled it really strong on the back nine. It means a lot for us to lead the team in that way," the 34-year-old Cink said.

Earning a win on Saturday gave the four-time PGA TOUR winner two wins in his 2007 Presidents Cup week and just one loss. He'll head into Sunday Singles -- where he's set to face Nick O'Hern -- with an overall record of seven wins, four losses and one halve from his three Presidents Cup appearances.

Cink is nearing the end of a successful 2007 campaign, where he tied for third in THE PLAYERS Championship, tied for fifth in The Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley, tied for sixth in the British Open Championship and propelled himself into THE TOUR Championship at the last minute with a tie for seventh at the BMW Championship. The Duluth, Ga., resident wound up in a tie for 11th near his home at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola and finished 22nd in FedExCup points.