Presidents Cup: Woods joins Furyk on injury list

Gainesville: A day after Jim Furyk turned the fairways of Robert Trent Jones Golf Club into a makeshift chiropractor's office, it was Tiger Woods' turn. Woods made seven birdies in 12 holes on Friday. Furyk made the putt that won their Presidents Cup match. LaFountain to the rescue Give an assist to therapist Tom LaFountain, who spent the first two days of the Presidents Cup working on both golfers as they played their matches. LaFountain filled a cup with ice and pressed it against Woods' upper back on the seventh tee on Friday. He repeated the process until he found a baggy to fill, then applied the ice pack as they walked the fairways. Woods said his ribs had been bothering him all week and became progressively worse throughout the match. "It only hurts when I swing," he joked after the 3-and-2 victory over Stuart Appleby and Mark Hensby. Rib injury Furyk, who on Thursday lied face down in the grass to receive a back massage from LaFountain, received no treatment on Friday and said he wasn't bothered by his rib injury. "Tom went out there with me, but he ended up working with Tiger. I let him borrow him for the day," Furyk said. When the match began on Friday, US captain Jack Nicklaus greeted Furyk on the first hole and immediately asked him about the ribs. Furyk waved off any concern. He held his side briefly as he walked the fairway on No. 4, but otherwise didn't seemed bothered. Had Furyk bowed out in the middle of the match, Woods would have had to play alone against Appleby and Hensby. Two-up lead From a practical standpoint, that's exactly what happened on the front nine as Woods carried Furyk to a 2-up lead. Woods' par putt on the first hole gave them a 1-up lead, and he then holed a short birdie putt on the par-3 2nd to increase the lead. He birdied all three par-3s on the front nine, and added a 20-foot downhill birdie putt on the fifth. Furyk struggled on the front nine before making some key putts late in the match. Furyk did not win a hole for the team until the par-5 12th, making an 18-foot birdie putt. Even then, Woods was only facing a short putt for birdie. Bur Furyk clinched the victory with an 8-foot par putt on 16. "Jimmy decided to play his three best shots of the day'' on the 16th, Woods said. "It was perfect timing." International team leads As Woods' injury developed, LaFountain - lacking an ice pack - at first applied cups of ice to Woods' back every time he teed off. That was replaced by bags of ice and intermittent back rubs on the back nine. "It's just a matter of keeping it pain free and loose before I swing," Woods said. "Tom did an awesome job. ... He kept me swinging." Woods and Furyk's teammates praised their gritty performance. "You've always got to beware of that wounded dog, and when you've got two of them, you've just really got to beware," said Justin Leonard, who along with Scott Verplank provided the only other American victory on Friday as the International Team took a 6 1/2-5 1/2 lead. Nicklaus impressed Nicklaus was also apparently impressed, putting Woods and Furyk together Saturday morning for the alternate-shot competition. "They'll be fine," Nicklaus said. "Jim got much better as the day went on." Still, Furyk said after Friday's match it would be unlikely he would play two matches on Saturday. Woods said he would need treatment but hoped to play in both. Woods and Furyk's victory marked the first time Woods had won a four-ball match in the Presidents Cup in six previous tries. "Tiger's record may not be the best in the Presidents Cup," Nicklaus said, "but I tell you what, he gets pumped up to play." (AP)