New York - AFP
Tiger Woods clinched The Presidents Cup for the US team with the winning point over the Internationals in the singles matches of the teams match play event at Royal Melbourne on Sunday. The former world number one thrashed Australian Aaron Baddeley four and three to push the Americans beyond the 17.5 points needed to claim their seventh Presidents Cup against the non-European Internationals. Woods also provided the clinching point when the Americans posted a 19.5-14.5 triumph over the International team at the previous event in San Francisco in 2009. The powerful American team went into the final day's 12 singles leading by four points and although Greg Norman's International team made a charge to get within two points they were too strong in the final matches. It was a dominant performance by the Americans who won both the foursomes, split one of the four-balls and narrowly lost the other fourball. Apart from Woods, America's other singles winners were Hunter Mahan, Nick Watney, Jim Furyk and David Toms. The Internationals faced a tall order heading into the final day as no team trailing into the singles matches had gone on to win The Presidents Cup. In 2003 the United States trailed 12.5 to 9.5 heading into the singles and fought back to tie the competition in South Africa.