The man whose career has been defined by his individual brilliance was crying tears of joy after orchestrating a team triumph that was much more difficult than most would have imagined.
The Internationals had looked so unified for the better part of three days in the two pairs formats but collectively appeared listless when playing on their own on Sunday.
The stage is set for an epic Sunday at Royal Melbourne after Ernie Els and Tiger Woods confirmed the singles showdowns that will ultimately decide the 2019 Presidents Cup.
A Unites States team teetering on the brink of rendering Sunday’s singles largely immaterial played its way back into contention in afternoon foursomes in the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne on Saturday.
A difficult week in which partisan crowds have heckled Patrick Reed in the wake of his rules violation at the Hero World Challenge got even worse on Saturday at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
No warning, no explanation; he just gave the prosthetic leg to the most famous golfer on the planet. Even more remarkably, Tiger accepted it as though this were the most normal thing in the world.
When Greg Norman and Tiger Woods were pitted against each other in the singles matches of the 1998 Presidents Cup, pride and their place in golf history went on the line.
How can the underdog International team wrest the Presidents Cup from a dominant American side? By playing better, of course. But the galleries at Royal Melbourne can play their part, too.