Presidents Cup 2019: Predicting Winners Ahead of Final Play

The final day of the 2019 Presidents Cup will see the International team enter singles play with a 10-8 lead and a legitimate chance to win the trophy for the first time since 1998.

Doing so will mean surviving 12 singles matches against a U.S. team with enough talent to salvage what has been a rocky title defence so far.

Tiger Woods will get things started when he faces Abraham Ancer at 10:02 a.m. local time (Sunday), 6:02 p.m. ET, 11:02 p.m. GMT (Saturday) at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia.

Several matches favour the U.S., including Justin Thomas taking on Cameron Smith. However, history is on the side of the International team:

Predictions for Day 4 (International Team vs. USA)

• Abraham Ancer vs. Tiger Woods (Woods)
• Hideki Matsuyama vs. Tony Finau (Finau)
• C.T. Pan vs. Patrick Reed (Pan)
• Haotong Li vs. Dustin Johnson (Li)
• Adam Hadwin vs. Bryson De Chambeau (Tie)
• Sungjae Im vs. Gary Woodland (Tie)
• Joaquin Niemann vs. Patrick Cantlay (Cantlay)
• Adam Scott vs. Xander Schauffele (Scott)
• Byeong Hun An vs. Webb Simpson (An)
• Cameron Smith vs. Justin Thomas (Thomas)
• Louis Oosthuizen vs. Matt Kuchar (Kuchar)
• Marc Leishman vs. Rickie Fowler (Leishman)

Finau to Draw U.S. Level Early

After Woods gets his team started on the comeback trail, it will be Finau's turn to draw the reigning champions level.

Beating Hideki Matsuyama won't be easy, but Finau has been proving himself able to deliver in clutch situations:

The 30-year-old's natural talent has yet to be rewarded, but there is no doubt Finau is capable of turning on the style when needed:

He hasn't won in Melbourne yet, and Finau will be giving up a healthy amount of experience to Matsuyama, but he can spring a surprise and set the U.S. a platform for victory by drawing level early.

Thomas to Continue Strong Form

He hasn't lost a match during the tournament so far, and Thomas won't break his unbeaten streak when he meets Smith. The latter is a native of Brisbane, who will have home support firmly on his side, but Thomas is playing the better golf.

Even so, Thomas will need to refocus after he and Rickie Fowler wasted being five up against Ancer and Leishman during Saturday's foursomes. Thomas took responsibility after he and Fowler had to settle for three straight bogeys to close out the back nine, per Omnisport (h/t Yahoo Sports): "We had our chances, and I mean, flat honest, just didn't execute. I'm just disappointed in myself for burning that, I felt like, for us on 18."

Despite his anger, wasting a lead against Ancer and Leishman represents a rare setback for Thomas at this level:

His quality in matchplay will nullify Smith's home advantage and put the U.S. in a strong position to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Leishman to Seal International Win

Thomas will help keep things close, but the International team will still make good on its fourth-day lead and ultimately secure the title. Leishman will be the hero by overcoming Fowler with everything on the line.

A win for Fowler would mean sharing the prize thanks to new rules introduced in 2003. However, Leishman will have the psychological edge after leaving Fowler frustrated in the foursomes.

Leishman will also have the crowd on his side as a local Melbourne talent. It means Fowler faces a daunting challenge keeping his concentration with the destination of the trophy likely to be at stake.

To make matters worse for Fowler, Leishman is undefeated in singles action during three previous appearances at this tournament, per the PGA Tour official website.

So far this year, Leishman has saved his best shots for the key moments. He can do so again to leave the U.S. having to rue missed opportunities for the first time in over two decades.