
Match #23
Scott Verplank (3-0-0, 5-2-1) vs. Rory Sabbatini (0-2-1, 0-2-1)
Match outlook: Verplank does nothing fancy except win his matches. If he were to triumph Sunday against the rookie Sabbatini, he would improve to 10-3-1 in combined Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup play, including a 2-1 singles mark. Both rested Saturday afternoon. Sabbatini has yet to win this week. Verplank has yet to lose and has good match-play vibes dating back to his U.S. Amateur win in 1984 ... when Sabbatini was 12 years old.
Key statistics: Verplank has always been one of the game's best with a putter, but he goes up against a younger, stronger guy whose key stats are all in the short-game area, including second in scrambling and eighth in putts per round. Verplank is eighth in the latter category. Hard to attach any statistical number to the value of experience.
Projected outcome: Verplank wins

Match #24
Lucas Glover (2-2-0, 2-2-0) vs. Ernie Els (2-2-0, 12-10-2)
Match outlook: Els is 2-2-0 in singles play and has looked sharp on his own ball in two Four-ball victories. Glover has given a splendid rookie effort in his first Presidents Cup, and he won't back down against the No. 5 player in the world. The fact that Els has come into the matches in rising form might weigh on the outcome.
Key statistics: Though he hasn't won this year, Els has quietly climbed to second on TOUR in scoring average at 69.29. Glover has a slight edge in birdie average. Els is seventh, Glover 10th in scrambling.
Projected outcome: Els wins

Match #25
Phil Mickelson (1-1-2, 10-13-9) vs. Vijay Singh (2-1-1, 14-14-6)
Match outlook: A match-up of the only two players in the field who have competed in every Presidents Cup, and of two men who have not excelled on their own. Mickelson is 0-3-3 in singles competition while Singh is 1-3-2. There will not be a lot of chatter among opponents who respect each other but aren't exchanging birthday cards, especially after their differences over Mickelson's utilization of metal spikes at the 2005 Masters. Both pound it off the tee, and both have been showing off their uncanny short games. This should go down to the wire.
Key statistics: Singh leads the PGA TOUR in total birdies, the stat in which Mickelson usually is king, but lefty has a slightly better birdie average and he has the edge in scoring average ... by .07. If the match were any tighter, they'd have to walk single file down the fairways all day.
Projected outcome: Mickelson wins

Match #26
Tiger Woods (3-1-0, 13-10-0) vs. Mike Weir (2-1-1, 11-7-2)
Match outlook: It's the match they've been talking about for months. The player Canadians love vs. their passion. And no, it's not contrived. Weir earned the right to play the best player in the world so it's game on. Good for the players. Good for the Cup. Good for Canadians. You think Tiger roars are loud? Ramp it up. Weir's riding a high -- and, yes, his game's back -- but he's still got to get off to a fast start. Tiger lives for moments like this -- him against 90 percent of the spectators here -- and if he gets hot . . . he can take the crowd out of it. Could be a very good match. Could also be the clincher for the U.S.
Key statistics: Tiger's 3-1-0 in singles; Weir's 2-1-0. The gap is in their games. Tiger's got more power off the tee and, well, the best game and hottest streak going. He's your guy in singles. Weir can't keep up off the tee, but he's not intimidated. Plus, he's got his irons working this week. He's got as high a mountain to climb as his team does.
Projected outcome: Woods wins

Match #27
Woody Austin (1-0-3, 1-0-3) vs. Angel Cabrera (0-3-0, 2-3-3)
Match outlook: Woody's a cult hero. Cabrera? He won the U.S. Open. Unless the Internationals jump to early leads in the first four matches, the crowd will likely go with Woody. Who wouldn't love a guy who takes a header into the water, bounces up and makes the big putts. And laughs about it? Woody's game is peaking, Cabrera's is spotty.
Key statistics: The Woody factor. He's made just about every putt he's had to this week, although he'll disagree a bit about Saturday afternoon. He's got the momentum going into singles and the crowd loves him. Cabrera's long off the tee and won the U.S. Open, but things haven't gone his way this week. If it comes down to putting, think Woody.
Projected outcome: Austin wins

Match #28
Zach Johnson (2-1-0, 2-1-0) vs. Adam Scott (0-3-1, 6-6-2)
Match outlook: Two of golf's best young players, neither of whom has played up to his expectations this week. Scott has been solid all week, but he's run into teams playing better. And he and Els played the buzz-saw team of Woods-Furyk Saturday morning. Johnson isn't near as long off the tee, but that's not going to bother him. What might? He didn't play that well on his own ball in Four-Balls.
Key statistics: Scott's sixth in the world; Johnson's 14th. Yes, Johnson has a major, but Scott's got a more well-rounded game and the Cup experience. Difference here is that Scott's hit more good shots this week and doesn't yet have a win. Johnson's got two. That's a powerful motivation.
Projected outcome: Scott wins

Match #29
David Toms (2-1-0, 4-8-0) vs. Trevor Immelman (0-1-2, 1-4-2)
Outlook: Toms has racked up the most points for the U.S. Team thus far with 3.5 going into Sunday's singles match. Immelman, on the other hand, is looking for his first win in these matches. Toms is riding the strength of a hot putter, while Immelman is looking to find something to get an edge. Immelman certainly won't pack it in, but the South African could be disheartened by looking at the boards as the Internationals face the mother of all uphill battles.
Key statistics: Between the Ryder and Presidents Cups, Toms is 2-4-1 in singles competition. That may not give him much of an edge over Immelman who lost in his only singles showing, but the experience Toms has could. Plus, it's always easier playing with a lead.
Projected outcome: Toms wins

Match #30
Stewart Cink (2-1-0, 7-4-1) vs. Nick O'Hern (1-3-0, 3-6-0)
Match outlook: Cink's record in the Presidents Cup is brilliant -- 12 matches overall and a 7-4-1 record to show for his efforts. With a 3-6-0 record, O'Hern hasn't exactly been burning it up. However, don't count O'Hern out. This is the guy who has taken no less than Tiger Woods down twice in the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship.
Key statistics: The Internationals are going to need 10 points in 12 matches on Sunday. Surely they're trying for the seemingly impossible win, but if they can't get it they'll certainly be playing for pride. O'Hern is a force in singles and that should show on Sunday.
Projected outcome: O'Hern wins

Match #31
Steve Stricker (3-1-0, 5-4-0) vs. Geoff Ogilvy (1-3-0, 1-3-0)
Match outlook: Steve Stricker was one of the hottest players coming into The Presidents Cup and hasn't let Team America down with his three-point week. Geoff Ogilvy has only earned one point and has three losses on his 2007 record. But singles is a whole different ball game from the team competition and Ogilvy has proven that he has a knack for match play, winning the 2006 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship and finishing runner-up in the same event in 2007. Here's where it becomes tricky -- Stricker also has a win at the Accenture Match Play Championship under his belt. It's gonna be a close one. Momentum could be working against Ogilvy since they are one of the later matches in a day where the U.S. Team only needs three points to take the Cup.
Key statistics: Ogilvy drives the ball further but he's going up against one of the guys with the lowest scoring averages on the PGA TOUR in 2007. Stricker is fourth at 69.39 strokes per round while Ogilvy averages 70.08. Stricker is also sixth on TOUR in putting average.
Projected outcome: Stricker wins 2 and 1

Match #32
Hunter Mahan (2-2-0, 2-2-0) vs. K.J. Choi (0-3-0, 2-6-0)
Match outlook: In 2003, K.J. Choi defeated Justin Leonard in Singles at The Presidents Cup. But his record at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship is pretty dismal. In fact, he's never made it past the second round there. Mahan has no previous experience in The Presidents Cup or in the Accenture Match Play Championship so it's hard to predict what will happen, but Mahan is a healthy young rookie who has proven himself a worthy Captain's Pick this week by winning two points for Captain Jack Nicklaus. Choi withdrew from the Deutsche Bank Championship a little over a month ago because of back problems, whereas Mahan finished the season strong with top-20 finishes in nine of his last 12 tournaments. Choi is also the only winless and tie-less player for either squad in the 2007 Presidents Cup.
Key statistics: Mahan ranks third on TOUR in total driving, a stat that looks at both how far and how accurate a player hits off the tee. Choi is 120th in the same category.
Projected outcome: Mahan wins

Match #33
Charles Howell III (1-2-0, 4-4-0) vs. Stuart Appleby (2-2-0, 5-13-2)
Match outlook: Appleby should be favored in this match. Sure, he's got to be frustrated with the position the International Team finds itself in after Saturday's drubbing. Appleby at least has tasted some success this week, though -- winning two Four-Ball matches with Vijay Singh. Howell, on the other hand, has struggled. His one win came when he partnered with his good friend Tiger Woods in Foursomes. U.S. Captain Jack Nicklaus was hoping that would get Howell untracked, but the strategy failed, and he held Howell out of the Foursomes on Saturday morning.
Key statistics: Appleby made four birdies on Saturday and three more -- along with an eagle -- on Friday so he knows there are some low scores out there. Howell can't seem to buy a putt, though. He made just one birdie and a bogey in Saturday's 4-and-2 loss to Appleby and Singh while contributing two of each in Friday's defeat.
Projected outcome: Appleby wins

Match #34
Jim Furyk (3-1-0, 13-7-2) vs. Retief Goosen (1-2-1, 10-7-2)
Match outlook:This should be a mismatch. Furyk is the No. 3 player in the world, and he's already won three matches this week at Royal Montreal. But this isn't the same Goosen who won two U.S. Open titles, and he won't have a partner to lean on in Sunday's Singles. The South African hasn't had a top-10 finish on either side of the Atlantic Ocean since he tied for second at the Masters Tournament. Of course, this match, the final one of the day, will probably be a moot point with the Americans needing just three points to retain the Cup on Sunday. In the unlikely event that the U.S. needs a win, though, Furyk is the man to get it.
Key statistic: Furyk's had another consistent season with eight top-10s and a win at the Canadian Open presented by Franklin Templeton Investments. He ranks sixth on the PGA TOUR in scoring average at 69.47 compared to the No. 38 Goosen's 70.30 -- and the South African's final-round scoring average is 72.09.
Projected outcome: Furyk wins
| STANDINGS | ||
| Results | Points | |
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US TEAM | 19.5 |
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INTERNATIONAL TEAM | 14.5 |
| Leaderboard | ||