US golfers race to a 4-2 lead in the Presidents Cup

Nov 17, 2011, 9:08 GMT

Sydney - US golfers raced to a 4-2 lead Thursday over the international team at the Presidents Cup tournament on the lightning-fast Royal Melbourne links course in Australia's second-largest city.

But their dominance did not come courtesy of the glamour pairing of Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker, the duo who did not lose a match when the Americans last beat their non-European counterparts in the United States two years ago.

Australia's Adam Scott and Korea's K J Choi handed the US pair a record loss in the foursomes match on the first day of the tournament.

It was all over by the 12th green, with the 7 and 6 victory by Scott and Choi the equal biggest in Presidents Cup history.

It was the worst ever showing by Woods at the Presidents Cup.

Woods and Stricker had to rely on their 10 team-mates, who won three of the other five matches and halved the other two.

The Presidents Cup, held every other year, compliments the Ryder Cup, which pits the Americans against European professionals.

Royal Melbourne, the first course outside the United States picked to host The Presidents Cup twice, in 1998 was the venue for the internationals' solitary victory in the 17 years the series has been running.