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COACHING LAPSE: Trevor Immelman was about to take his stance over a 20-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole when Ernie Els, watching from against the bleachers, asked assistant captain Ian Baker-Finch if he was allowed to help line up the putt.
"Sure," Baker-Finch replied.
Els then told him that everyone had been missing that putt on the low side, and that Baker-Finch should tell Immelman to play the ball a little more out to the right. Trouble was, Immelman was well into his routine.
"What if you're wrong?" Stuart Appleby said to Els.
They sat back and watched Immelman complete his routine. The ball veered to the left. Els looked over and shot Baker-Finch another look.
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BIG HUG: U.S. captain Jack Nicklaus' wife, Barbara, gave Woody Austin — still a little wet from his headfirst fall into a lake on the 14th hole — a hug after patiently waiting for him to finish his greenside interviews.
"What a day!" she said.
Jack was impressed by the way Austin rebounded to birdie the final three holes in the match that Austin and David Toms halved with Trevor Immelman and Rory Sabbatini.
"Here he is, he takes a dive in a lake and then holes three straight putts," the captain said. "He's amazing. He's been terrific so far.
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OLD NEWS: With the on-course scoreboards four or five holes behind the action, the players were unable to keep track of the other matches
Seconds after Vijay Singh birdied the 13th to give himself and Stuart Appleby a 5-up lead over Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk, the scoreboard behind the green reported that the International team had a 3-up lead after eight holes.
"The scoreboards were a few holes behind, so you couldn't really follow it," International player Retief Goosen said. "We did hear a lot of loud roars behind us."
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FASHION STATEMENT: Hunter Mahan wore snazzy red, white and blue shoes.
"I had them in the closet," the U.S. rookie said. "Foot-Joy actually makes them. I didn't even have to special order."
