Presidents Cup 2011 Leaderboard: Struggles of Top Guns Won't Keep USA from Win

The American team of Dustin Johnson and Tiger Woods really should have been dominant, especially in a four-ball format, where aggressive players are given far more freedom. Instead, in the three different sessions they were paired together, the team went 1-2, with both losses coming in four ball.

Fortunately for the Americans, the rest of their squad was nearly flawless over the opening four sessions. Despite a positive afternoon four-ball session on Saturday night (in Australia), the Americans now hold a 13-9 lead going into singles play on Sunday. 

Now, if you had offered Fred Couples a four-point lead going into the final day, I am sure that he would have jumped all over it. If you had offered him that and then told him that Dustin Johnson and Tiger Woods would struggle as much as they have, particularly on the greens, he would have either given you a big hug or laughed you out of the room.

But here we are, the Americans hold a nearly insurmountable lead. The greatest final day comeback in Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup was four points. That came in the 1999 Ryder Cup.

While this would match that, realize that that day completely defied all odds. The Americans had a front loaded lineup and as a result, won the first six matches on the course, most by convincing margins.

The European team had built that lead largely thanks to a radically different format than the one the Presidents Cup uses. Make no mistake, the Europeans outplayed the Americans over the opening four sessions, but the first four sessions of the Ryder Cup call for four players from each side to be benched per session.

So, the Europeans got to hide a lot of their weaker players, and their team was not as deep as the American team.

That's not the case here. The Americans haven't built this lead because they have gotten to bench their weaker players. In the Presidents Cup, everyone plays Thursday, everyone plays Friday, and then two players a team are benched in each of Saturday's two sessions.

In other words, the Americans in 1999 were very lucky and had a once in a lifetime day. But their deficit was also somewhat built on smoke and mirrors. 

That's not the case here. The lead has been built by the entire team, not its best few players. If anything, some of the better players have been disappointing. 

So, while a comeback is mathematically possible, don't look for it to happen. Look for the USA to get out to a lead and work to a relatively easy win. The International side will surely have their runs, but they won't be enough.

Presidents Cup Schedule. USA leads International team 13-9. 17.5 points are needed to win Presidents Cup.

Match	Players	Time (all times EST)
1	Webb Simpson vs. K.T. Kim	6:30 p.m.
2	Dustin Johnson vs. Charl Schwartzel	6:42 p.m.
3	Bubba Watson vs. Ryo Ishikawa	6:54 p.m.
4	Bill Haas vs. Geoff Ogilvy	7:06 p.m.
5	Hunter Mahan vs. Jason Day	7:18 p.m.
6	Nick Watney vs. K.J. Choi	7:30 p.m.
7	Phil Mickelson vs. Adam Scott	7:42 p.m.
8	Matt Kuchar vs. Retief Goosen	7:54 p.m.
9	Jim Furyk vs. Ernie Els	8:06 p.m.
10	David Toms vs. Robert Allenby	8:18 p.m.
11	Tiger Woods vs. Aaron Baddeley	8:30 p.m.
12	Steve Stricker vs. Y.E. Yang	8:42 p.m.