World No. 1 Tiger Woods for a third consecutive time has won the match to clinch the Presidents Cup for his USA Team.

Woods won a tight match against South African born Richard Sterne of the International Team, 1 up, to clinch the 18th point for the U.S.

The final score was USA 18 1/2 to the Internationals  15 1/2 to make it the closest since the Internationals had come to beating the U.S. since 2005 when they lost by the same score.

The win moves the U.S. record to 8-1-1 in the Presidents Cup.

Tiger Woods shakes hands with Richard Sterne after delivering the point to ensure the USA Team retain the Presidents Cup. (Photo – www.pgatour.com)

“It feels good. It was a team effort this whole week,” Woods said. “We played well and had a nice lead going into the Singles.”

Woods also clinched the wins at Harding Park four years ago and Royal Melbourne two years ago for Fred Couples, who captained the U.S. team for all three of those wins.

“We just outperformed them by making a few more putts,” Couples said.

Asked if he was going to come back for a fourth time as captain in two years in Korea, Couples said he wasn’t interested.

“A three-peat is good enough for me,” Couples said.

Here’s a quick look at each of the completed Singles matches Sunday at The Presidents Cup and with story and photo thanks to www.pgatour.com

FULL SINGLES DETAILS FOLLOWS

	Jason Day, International def. Brandt Snedeker, U.S.	6 & 4	Play by play
Day, who is a Muirfield Village member, led the entire match. The Aussie took control at the onset when he won four of the first six holes with three birdies and a par. Snedeker did win the seventh and ninth with birdies, but Day put the match out of reach with wins at Nos. 12, 13 and 14. “It was good to finish off with a bang like that,” Day said. “I’ve been playing great golf the whole week, and I just wish it was a little bit closer.”

	Hunter Mahan, U.S. def. Hideki Matsuyama, International	3 & 2	Play by play
After going 1 down, Mahan won four of five holes starting at No. 6 and never looked back. Mshan was 4 under for the 16 holes. Matsuyama, the 21-year-old rookie from Japan, never got closer than 2 down the rest of the way. “I didn’t know about Matsuyama, except he’s a great player and great competitor,” Mahan said. “Everyone has said he’s been hitting it unbelievable this week, so I feel very pleased to do what I did today.”

	Jason Dufner, U.S. def. Brendon de Jonge, International	4 & 3	Play by play
Dufner won the first hole with a birdie, one of six he would make in this match, and never trailed. The American’s iron play was phenomenal — he stuck it to 3 feet at the eighth hole and 5 feet at No. 10. But the best was the approach to No. 13 where Dufner left himself a tap-in of 17 inches.

	Graham DeLaet, International defeated Jordan Spieth, U.S.	1 up	Play by play
For the second straight session, DeLaet holed out from off the green at 18. This time, his hole out from a bunker clinched the win over Spieth in a heavyweight bout between two Presidents Cup rookies. Neither player led more than 1 up. The Canadian’s birdie at the 16th squared the match, then Spieth gave the 17th hole away when he found water off the tee, setting up more DeLaet heroics at the 18th.

	Zach Johnson, U.S. def. Branden Grace, International	4 & 2	Play by play
Johnson took the lead with a birdie on the third hole and never looked back. He got to as many as 3 up and the match ended when Grace conceded the par-3 16th. Johnson had three birdies to just one by Grace. “Today was probably as solid as I’ve played all week,” Johnson said.

	Adam Scott, International def. Bill Haas, U.S.	2 & 1	Play by play
Neither player made a bogey in yet a well-played match. Haas two-putted from 65 feet for the day’s first birdie to go 1 up and take his only lead. But Scott won three of the next five holes to grab a 2-up advantage, as Haas only won one more hole.

	Ernie Els, International def. Steve Stricker, U.S.	1 up	Play by play
Els picked up his third win of the week. Els led for 10 holes compared to just two for Stricker, but this one went down to the wire. After Stricker squared the match with a birdie on the par-4 13th, Els took the lead for good with one on the par-3 16th. “It was really a fun match, obviously more fun for me than for Steve but a great game,” Els said.

	Marc Leishman, International def. Matt Kuchar, U.S.	1 up	Play by play
Kuchar took the lead with a birdie on the second hole and maintained it for the next nine. He and Leishman then traded wins on the next four holes but the Aussie went 1 up to stay with birdie at the 15th. Kuchar had a chance to send the match to extra holes but he couldn’t convert a birdie from 28 feet at the 18th. Leishman sealed the win with a 15-footer from the fringe for par.

	Charl Schwartzel, International def. Keegan Bradley, U.S.	2 & 1	Play by play
Schwartzel won three of the final four holes to flip the match late. Bradley had taken a 1-up lead with a par on the par-3 12th hole before making double bogey to Schwartzel’s bogey on No. 14. Schwartzel then birdied the 15th and clinched it on the following hole. Schwartzel had started the match with a birdie and led for the first seven holes before Bradley squared it at the eighth.

	Tiger Woods, U.S. def. Richard Sterne, International	1 up	Play by play
An ailing Woods rallied on the back nine to beat the No. 41-ranked player in the world and clinch The Presidents Cup for the third consecutive time. Woods only led four holes in this match. But he took the lead and didn’t relinquish it when the South African bogeyed the 16th hole. Woods sealed the win with a two-putt par at the 18th hole.

	Webb Simpson, U.S. vs. Louis Oosthuizen, Int’l	halved	Play by play
Simpson led for 16 of 17 holes before conceding the final hole to Oosthuizen as the match was halved. Because the Presidents Cup had already been decided they were allowed to halve the match. Simpson’s put to win on 17 stopped just short of the hole.

	Angel Cabrera, International def. Phil Mickelson, U.S.	1 up	Play by play
Cabrera shot even par while Mickelson was 1 under in their match. Neither player held more than a 1 up advantage in this battle of major champions, but Mickelson owned the edge overall with five holes led to Cabrera’s three. Lefty bogeyed the last two holes, though, and Cabrera posted the final point for the Internationals after the 1-up win.