Woods & Stricker put U.S. in front

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker were perfect as Presidents Cup partners, and they got enough help from everyone else Saturday to put the Americans in position to stay perfect on home soil.

With an improbable rally by Woods in the morning and pure putting by Stricker in the afternoon, they became the first partnership in the Presidents Cup — and the first in 30 years of any team competition — to go 4-0.

Phil Mickelson had a chance to join them with an undefeated record using different partners. Mickelson and Sean O’Hair, who won their match handily in the morning, each had a birdie putt inside 15 feet on the final hole for the win, but had to settle for a halve.

The International team walked away from Harding Park the last two days with momentum from keeping close. But as darkness fell across from Lake Merced, the deficit looked daunting with only 12 singles matches remaining Sunday.

The Americans had a 121‚Ñ2-91‚Ñ2 lead.

No team has rallied from three points behind on the final day to win the cup outright, and the Americans have lost only one singles session in the seven previous Presidents Cup matches.

“Last time we had a five-point mountain to climb in Montreal, and it looks like we will have something to climb,” Geoff Ogilvy said after collecting his first point of the week in teaming with fellow Australian Robert Allenby.

Hunter Mahan will lead it off for the Americans against Camilo Villegas, who has yet to win a point. Woods gets another crack at Y.E. Yang, who rallied to beat him in the PGA Championship, and 18-year-old Ryo Ishikawa will face 49-year-old Kenny Perry.

Woods and Stricker are the first partners to go 4-0 in any team competition since Larry Nelson and Lanny Wadkins won all their matches in the 1979 Ryder Cup at The Greenbrier.