INCHEON, South Korea – Bae Sang-moon never felt the kind of pressure that weighed on him Friday at the Presidents Cup.

He only made news in South Korea this year during a failed bid to extend his waiver for mandatory military service. He wasn’t sure what kind of reception he would receive at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea. And as Bae stood over a 12-foot putt that was critical to the International team’s rally, half his teammates were on the edge of the green and thousands of Koreans were watching in the gallery.

“I’m pretty sure he was nervous. I was nervous watching him,” Danny Lee said. “So he had to stand up and man up, and hit that golf ball.”

The celebration when the putt dropped was raw emotion, a defining moment for Bae and the International team in its bid to finally give the Americans a worthy fight.

Bae teamed with Lee for a 1-up fourballs victory over Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker, and the Internationals won their first team session in four years to pull within a point of the Americans. Next up is a double session Saturday of eight matches that will shape the final round.

“That putt Sang-moon made on No. 18 today was probably the highlight of the last two days for us,” International captain Nick Price said.

Price had other reasons to cheer.

Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace made three big putts around the turn and sailed to a 4-and-3 win over Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson, while Charl Schwartzel and Thongchai had little trouble against an American team of Chris Kirk and Bill Haas that went 13 holes of nothing better than par.

The Americans, up 4-1 after the opening session, had their lead cut to 5½-4½.

“I think the U.S. team after yesterday, they probably thought it was going to be a walk-off,” Grace said. “We put our chests out and we went full heart. We’re in a good position now. We’re just one point back, and you know, a lot can happen.”

The U.S. lead might have been slightly larger if Phil Mickelson had known the rules.

A penalty that baffled even the captains – the match went from all square to 2 up in one hole – began when Mickelson was not aware of the one-ball rule.

Players must stick with the same model of golf ball for the entire match in fourballs and singles. That didn’t cross Mickelson’s mind until after he switched to a firmer golf ball on the par-5 seventh to help him reach the green in two. Only when he saw U.S. captain Jay Haas did he ask him to make sure it was OK.

It wasn’t.

“It’s my responsibility to know that,” Mickelson said. “I should have at least asked about it before I teed off.”

The penalty in this format is known as a one-hole adjustment – one hole is awarded to the other team. The rules committee made it worse by mistakenly telling Mickelson that he was out of the hole, and so Mickelson picked up his ball. Only later did the committee realize that Mickelson should have been allowed to finish the hole because the penalty already had been assessed.

Jason Day made birdie to win the hole, and the International team got credit for another hole because of the penalty on Mickelson. It made a difference in the end when Day made an 8-foot birdie putt to halve the match. Based on scores for each hole, the Americans would have won.

“I didn’t realize you could lose two holes on one hole,” said Adam Scott, who played with Day.

The ruling overshadowed Mickelson’s great rally – a birdie on the 11th, holing a 142-yard bunker shot for eagle on the 12th – to get his team back in the match. And while it likely cost the Americans a half-point, Mickelson didn’t seem too bothered.

“I feel like we spotted the International’s best team two holes, and they still couldn’t beat us,” Mickelson said. “Just saying.”

Day didn’t bite on Mickelson’s barb. The International team was happy to be back in the match. Price said he spoke to his team Thursday night about trying to relax, and he saw enough of that to give him hope going into the weekend.

The lone American victory came from J.B. Holmes and Bubba Watson, the big-hitting duo who has not lost this week.

The biggest blow for the International side came from Oosthuizen, when he rolled in a 70-foot birdie putt on the eighth hole to square the match. Grace followed with a pair of birdies for a 2-up lead, and the Spieth-Johnson tandem didn’t put up much of a fight. They made only two birdies, none over the final eight holes.

“We both played very poor rounds of golf and we didn’t have many chances,” Spieth said. “So it was ‘Merry Christmas’ to the other guys.”

It sure felt like it to Bae, who made his debut in the Presidents Cup one to remember.

“The first time for me to play in The Presidents Cup, and I have already very good memories,” Bae said. “And I’m very happy about that.”

INCHEON, South Korea – Phil Mickelson has played 49 matches in the 21 years since the Presidents Cup began.

And he learned something new Friday.

For starters, Mickelson was not aware of the one-ball rule in fourballs and singles matches, meaning that players can’t change the model of their golf ball during the match. He also didn’t realize that a match could go from all square to 2 up in just one hole.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of that happening,” he said.

It turned out to be a costly mistake when Mickelson and Zach Johnson halved their fourballs match with Jason Day and Adam Scott, and that allowed the International team to pull within one point of the Americans going into Saturday.

There’s rarely a dull moment around Mickelson, and that was the case Friday at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea. For the second straight day, he holed a bunker shot that helped to turn his match around. For the second straight day, tensions were high coming to the final green.

All that was overlooked because Mickelson didn’t know the rules – and in this case, neither did the rules committee.

It was a double blunder, and it started when Mickelson reached into his bag for a golf ball with a slightly harder cover that he thought would help him reach the green in two on the par-5 seventh hole. Mickelson found the fairway and was sauntering to his ball when he noticed U.S. captain Jay Haas following them.

“I was talking with Jay and I just thought, ‘Gosh, I’m going to ask. I’m sure it’s not an issue,'” Mickelson said. “And it turns out that there was a one-ball rule and it was an issue. As a player, you need to know that. You need to know the rules, and if you have a question, you do it beforehand.”

No one knew the ramifications.

The penalty for violating the one-ball rule is called a one-hole adjustment, meaning the one hole is awarded to the other team.

But the rules committee erred when it told Mickelson that he was out of the hole, and Mickelson picked up his ball. Because the one-hole adjustment already had been assessed, Mickelson should have been able to finish the hole. He was in the fairway just over 290 yards from the hole, which he could have reached with a good shot.

But he never got that chance. Day made birdie and won the hole, so the International team went 2 up heading to the eighth hole.

“The weird thing was I’ve never heard of a match adjustment penalty,” he said. “I just thought, ‘OK, if I hit the wrong ball, no big deal. Zach will cover me on this hole’ But obviously, that’s not what happened.”

Mark Russell, the senior vice president of rules and competition for the PGA Tour who took the blame for the mistake, said the committee could not go back and let Mickelson finish the hole because “allowing a correction could potentially undermine the strategy” with players on both teams having already hit their shots.

Mickelson had reason to be confused.

The Ryder Cup does not have a one-ball rule when it is played in America, nor does the PGA Championship. So he thought nothing of using a different ball, especially one day after a foursomes match (alternate shot) where teams can switch golf balls on every hole.

Asked to comment on his match, Mickelson smiled and said, “Zach and I had a very uneventful day. We walked away with a tie.”

He took the blame, even though it was shared with the rules staff, saying that he never should have put the staff in that position if he had known the rule. And Mickelson wasn’t bothered that his team had to settle for a halve.

“I feel like we spotted the International’s best team two holes, and they still couldn’t beat us,” he said. “Just saying.

INCHEON, South Korea – The Presidents Cup wasn’t an hour old when Nick Price looked at the scoreboard and had that sinking feeling.

It was filled with American red.

And there wasn’t much Price or the International team could do about it Thursday in an opening session that ended just like so many others in this one-sided affair.

Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson capped off a performance that was as businesslike as their handshakes, and the Americans had a 4-1 lead after foursomes in which they never trailed in any match except the one they lost.

“A tough day for us,” Price said. “Having said that, we are only five points into 30. We still have another 25 points left out there. So we’ve got a long way to go, and that’s that I told my team. Just to keep their chins up and do the best they can tomorrow.”

The International team was adamant that the number of matches be reduced – it was lowered from 34 to 30 – to keep it a close contest. After one day, maybe having one less match on Thursday helped.

It could have been worse.

The Americans, who have lost the Presidents Cup only one time since it began in 1994 and are going for their sixth straight victory, had a lead after the opening session for the fifth straight time. The margin was their largest since a four-point lead in 2007 at Royal Montreal.

That makes the five matches of fourballs on Friday even more critical.

U.S. captain Jay Haas put Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson in the first match, followed by Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker.

“He’s going for the kill,” Price said. “If we get momentum going, it can change things.”

All the momentum belonged to the Americans on Thursday.

Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes ran off four straight birdies early in their match against Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama, and that set the tone. They wound up winning a tight match when Scott and Matsuyama missed key putts and ended it on the 16th hole.

“That was my whole goal,” Watson said. “Get out there fast, change the color so the other guys see that and it sparks them going forward.”

Watson and Holmes didn’t deliver the first point. That came from Fowler and Walker, who are unbeaten as a team but picked up their first win. They halved their three matches at the Ryder Cup last year, and they had the shortest match at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, 5 and 4, over Anirban Lahiri and Thongchai Jaidee.

The lone International victory came from Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace of South Africa, who took advantage of some sloppy play by Matt Kuchar and Patrick Reed in a 3-and-2 victory. Kuchar hit a tee shot into the water on No. 11, and he hit a wedge so far on No. 14 that it didn’t even reach the creek.

Grace went 0-4 in his Presidents Cup debut two years ago, and the South Africans gave the International team at least some hope.

“I know we’re behind,” Grace said, glancing at a scoreboard behind him. “But one point is better than none.”

The Americans got help from top to bottom.

Spieth, coming off a year of two majors, the FedEx Cup and the No. 1 ranking, and Dustin Johnson made for a formidable duo. They set the tone early when Spieth holed a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 2, and Johnson stepped up on the next hole and hammered a tee shot nearly 350 yards.

They halved that hole, but a message was sent.

“Me hitting bomb drives, Jordan holing putts,” Johnson said. “That’s what you want to get in their heads.”

Johnson had a few wild drives, too, but they restored their cushion early on the back nine and coasted to a 4-and-3 victory.

Mickelson had to rely on a captain’s pick for the first time since the inaugural Presidents Cup in 1994. Players wanted him on the team for his experience and enthusiasm, and the Hall of Famer showed he was more than capable with a club in his hand. Mickelson holed a bunker shot on the par-3 13th to go 2 up, and he came up big with a key drive on the 18th with water down the right side.

Jason Day, coming off a five-win season that included his first major, did his part to extend the match. Day holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to keep alive hopes of at least earning a half-point. But on the closing par 5, Mickelson’s big drive set up nothing more than a 7-iron for Zach Johnson, and he put it 10 feet below the hole.

Day’s eagle putt from about 18 feet slid by on the left, and he and fellow Aussie Steven Bowditch conceded the eagle to Mickelson for a 2-up U.S. win.

“It’s tough when you go out there and you see all the red and we’re down,” Price said. “I’m certainly not despondent about the whole thing. I think this team is going to bounce back a lot quicker than maybe any of the other teams we’ve had. I don’t know, we’ll have to wait and see.”

INCHEON, South Korea – Comparing the Presidents Cup to the Ryder Cup is like listening to a conversation between a Scot and an American.

The words might be similar, but they sound nothing alike.

The biggest difference with the Presidents Cup is an American team that is filled with smiles, not stress. And there’s a reason for that. The Americans haven’t lost in these matches since 1998, and the last four have not been particularly close.

They walk taller. They worry less.

Jordan Spieth has played in one of each in his short but already stellar career, and it was hard not to notice the contrast between the two cups.

“It seems there is a bit of a difference in the two teams rooms in the Presidents Cup experience I’ve had and the Ryder Cup last year,” Spieth said Wednesday. “Almost like we put too much emphasis on the Ryder Cup instead of just freeing up to play our own game.”

Ryder Cup practice rounds felt like dress rehearsals. Presidents Cup practice rounds feel like a Tuesday money game on tour.

“We feel like the favorites,” Spieth said. “We’re walking around with cockiness in our step, and often that can bite you if you’re not careful, but we’re aware of that. But the point is, we’re out there smiling because we believe whatever matchup we want to put together, we believe we can beat the other team.”

The Americans, who have won the Ryder Cup only one time in the last 16 years, go after their sixth straight victory in the Presidents Cup when the matches get started Thursday at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea.

Adam Scott, who has yet to play on a winning Presidents Cup team in six previous tries, and Hideki Matsuyama lead off the foursomes session against J.B. Holmes and Bubba Watson, two of the longest hitters in golf.

Spieth and Dustin Johnson are in the anchor match against Marc Leishman and Danny Lee.

A lively opening ceremony Wednesday night, which featured South Korean President Park Geun-hye and former President George W. Bush, began with great suspense when a secret box was carried onto the stage. It was carefully opened to reveal the shiny gold Presidents Cup trophy.

But there really hasn’t been much suspense at all.

The last time it was close was in 2003 at South Africa when it ended in a tie after Ernie Els and Tiger Woods matched pars in three sudden-death playoff holes before it was too dark to continue. Jack Nicklaus was the captain that year, and he mentioned that Presidents Cup in a speech Wednesday night. Nicklaus referred to it as the greatest sporting event in which he had ever taken part.

“We have that opportunity again this week,” Nicklaus said.

The Presidents Cup has lacked the rancor of the Ryder Cup, which is inevitable when it’s a competition between two tours (PGA and Europe) instead of the Americans against an International team in which all but one player – Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand – is or will be a PGA Tour member.

“They’re all Americans, they were just born in a different country,” U.S. assistant captain Fred Couples said.

This is the first Presidents Cup without Woods since 1996 when he was a 20-year-old playing on sponsor exemptions to avoid going to Q-school. Els didn’t qualify and didn’t feel worthy of a pick, so he is out for the first time since 2005.

Price has an International team that is the youngest ever despite the 45-year-old Thongchai. The captain is worried that if the Presidents Cup is another blowout, even some of the players might start losing interest.

What might give these matches a little edge is a debate over the number of matches, which were reduced from 34 to 30 this year in a decision that left neither team happy. The International team wanted it lowered to 28, like the Ryder Cup. The Americans wanted it to stay at 34.

Price believes the fewer the matches, the more likely it is to come down to the last day.

Whether that makes a difference depends largely on the one aspect that doesn’t change no matter what kind of cup is involved. It’s about making putts, winning holes and piling up points.

“We don’t have a crystal ball, and anything can happen in this game,” Scott said. “But I believe we’re moving closer to a great competition.”

INCHEON, South Korea – Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson battled at Chambers Bay in the U.S. Open. They will be partners in South Korea at the Presidents Cup.

Spieth and Johnson will be in the anchor match of foursomes Thursday against Danny Lee of New Zealand and Marc Leishman of Australia when the Presidents Cup begins at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea.

Spieth had a successful partnership with Patrick Reed at the Ryder Cup last year, and Johnson and Matt Kuchar won both their team matches at the 2012 Ryder Cup. Now they’ve swapped. Kuchar will be with Reed in the second of five matches against Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace of South Africa.

U.S. captain Jay Haas says Spieth and Johnson wanted to play together. He says whatever Spieth wants, Spieth gets.

INCHEON, South Korea – Phil Mickelson studied the line of the putt from both sides, and then he stood over an imaginary golf ball about halfway to the hole and gently swung his putter to make sure he had the right read.

And it wasn’t even his shot.

“The first part is going to slide to the right,” he told Presidents Cup rookie Chris Kirk, “and then it’s going to try to move back to the left.”

Kirk narrowly missed the putt, and Mickelson winced.

This was more than just one of his money games on a Tuesday at a big event. Mickelson had yet another rookie under his wing, relishing in his role as the guy who has played the Presidents Cup as many times as the U.S. captain (Jay Haas) and two of his assistants (Fred Couples and Steve Stricker).

“His experience is huge,” Jimmy Walker said. “He’s playing with Chris Kirk and he’s telling him things throughout – the history of his play, little tidbits here, something that might help Chris down the road in the next couple days. So I think that’s what really helps.”

The history of Mickelson in the Presidents Cup is extensive.

He has never missed one since it began in 1994, and this might be the most special of all. He was 30th in the U.S. standings and needed a captain’s pick to join the Americans at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea. Haas sought the opinion of the players who qualified, and it became an easy choice.

“Across the board, the players were all in when we were texting and talking to them,” Haas said. “The captains, certainly, were all about Phil. … You could say, ‘Well, his play didn’t warrant being a consideration’ and all that. But I don’t know that you can put a value on what he means to the players and the demeanor he brings into the team room.”

He showed that much at the first team dinner Monday night.

Mickelson dressed for the occasion in flag pants, which look like pajama bottoms with a Stars & Stripes pattern.

“I asked him if he was cooking because it looked like something a chef would wear,” Walker said. “American flag pants. It was great.”

For all the incessant trash talking, side bets and laughs, there is a serious side to this Presidents Cup for Mickelson. He is proud of his streak – his 21st consecutive time playing in the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup – he was as much a player’s pick as a captain’s pick.

“That meant more to me than anything, and I’m appreciative of the chance to have felt how that feels to be wanted by the other players,” Mickelson said. “And it was very emotional for me when I found out. It makes me just want to play hard and so anything I can to help us succeed.”

That hasn’t been a problem for the Americans in the Presidents Cup. They haven’t lost this match against the International team (players from everywhere outside the United States except for Europe) since 1998 at Royal Melbourne, and they have won every time since a tie in South Africa.

Mickelson became the first American to go 0-5 in South Africa in 2003, a forgettable year in which his wife nearly died giving birth to their third child and Mickelson failed to win a PGA Tour event for only the second time in his career. Jack Nicklaus was the captain of that U.S. team, and he marveled later about how Mickelson remained upbeat all week despite not winning a match.

“He is the Alpha dog,” Zach Johnson said. “He does have kind of that mentality of, ‘You know what? I’ve done it and I know what it’s about.’ But there’s also a significant selflessness there. In other words, he knows he’s just 1-12th of the team. When you have a leader that gets that, that’s pretty awesome.”

Mickelson doesn’t see it that way. He just wants to win points.

He has a 20-16-11 record, tied with Tiger Woods for the most points contributed at the Presidents Cup. He doesn’t see his role much differently now, even though he is being looked upon as much as an inspiration and as a Hall-of-Famer with 45 victories worldwide.

“If he wins all his points, he’s a real good leader,” Bubba Watson joked. “No, it’s like having another assistant. He understands what it takes. He’s had the experience. He’s had the bad and the good. When he speaks, everybody listens.”

Even when he’s trying to bring some humor?

“He brings it all,” Watson said. “And if it’s not that funny, you just laugh because you feel bad for him.”

INCHEON, South Korea – The battle at the Presidents Cup began Tuesday even before the first match.

U.S. captain Jay Haas still doesn’t understand why the number of matches was reduced from 34 to 30 for this year’s event, meaning he has to sit eight players over three days of team matches.

“You look at our lineup, and it’s hard to sit guys,” Haas said.

He has another powerful squad at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea with his son, Bill, having the worst world ranking at No. 29. That’s still higher than seven players on the International team.

International captain Nick Price remains disappointed that PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem only reduced the number of matches to 30. He said his players lobbied strongly this summer to make it 28 matches, just as it is at the Ryder Cup and the Solheim Cup.

“The Presidents Cup should be on an apples-to-apples basis,” Price said. “We seem to think looking at the past that the most excitement there is in an event is when you have a 28-point format. I think the Solheim Cup showed that two weeks ago. So that’s something that I think the guys who are going to play … will continue to push for that.”

Americans have believed for years that fewer matches allow a weaker team to hide players. They used to say that about the Ryder Cup, which for years was close even when it appeared the Americans had the stronger team.

Price said fewer matches allowed for more strategy in team play, and it kept the competition from getting out of hand.

He could easily have been speaking of his own experience in the Presidents Cup, because it hasn’t been close for a decade. Ever since a tie in South Africa in 2003, the Americans not only have won the last five times, they have won by an average score of 19-15.

Going back to the inaugural event in 1994, only once has the International team won. That was in Australia in 1998, which was played two weeks before Christmas.

“I think we’ve seen in the past that the Presidents Cup needs more excitement,” Price said. “It needs to be more closely contested. Certainly most of us on the International team feel that hasn’t been the case the last five or six Presidents Cups.”

It could use some tension in the final hour Sunday, so maybe this argument will spark even a smidgen of acrimony.

The Presidents Cup begins Thursday with five matches of foursomes (alternate shot), meaning two players from each team won’t compete on the opening day. Five matches of fourballs (better ball) follow on Friday, with two more players having to sit.

On Saturday, there will be four matches of foursomes in the morning and four matches of fourballs in the afternoon, leading to the 12 singles matches.

Previously, everyone played on Thursday and Friday, and only two players sat out the morning and afternoon sessions on Saturday.

“There’s a lot more strategy involved when you have to sit guys out,” Price said. “And some people think that you’re hiding the weakest players, but in actual fact, what you’re doing is putting your strongest team forward. It’s a glass half-full or glass half-empty, depends which way you look at it.”

All Haas sees are 12 players who flew halfway around the world and will have to sit out a match or two. The new rule requires everyone play at least three times by the end of the week.

“I didn’t look at it as playing your strong players more,” Haas said. “I guess the U.S. team over the years at the Ryder Cup it was, ‘Oh, they’re hiding players.’ That’s maybe sour grapes. It will be harder because all 12 used to play Thursday and Friday, and now we sit two. If teams lose, who do you sit? Before, you just go out there and do it.

“We’ll see,” Haas added. “We’re having … not issues or anything like that, but more thought involved to do it the right way. We’re trying not to screw it up.”

The Americans only have one player – Chris Kirk – who has never competed in a Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup. The International side has five rookies, which might not be the worst thing for Price. A year ago, the U.S. sailed to an 18 1/2-15 1/2 victory at Muirfield Village.

“Some of the veterans who have played in numerous Presidents Cups, they have had a tough time in the past I think, certainly at Muirfield, getting them motivated, because it’s been a bit one-sided,” Price said. “So I think with the points changed now, I think the guys are looking forward to this a lot more than any of the previous two or three.”

INCHEON, Korea – Dustin Johnson hasn’t lost a match while playing for the United States in nearly four years.

Part of that is because he’s very good.

Any discussion about American talent in golf would have to include the 31-year-old Johnson, who has won in every PGA Tour season since he was a rookie in 2008 fresh out of Coastal Carolina. He has chased majors, falling short either by bad luck (Chambers Bay), a bad shot (Royal St. George’s), bad golf (Pebble Beach) or a bad setup (bunkers at Whistling Straits).

But there’s another reason that Johnson hasn’t lost a match in so long. He hasn’t played a team event since the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah.

Johnson was left off the Presidents Cup team two years ago when he finished 12th in the U.S. standings, and captain Fred Couples passed over Johnson and Jim Furyk in favour of 20-year-old rookie Jordan Spieth.

“I was pretty (upset) I didn’t get picked,” Johnson said with a laugh. “Why you got to bring that up?”

And then last year involved extenuating, if not mysterious, circumstances. He easily would have qualified for the team except for taking an indefinite leave from golf to seek professional help from what he described only as “personal challenges.”

Even so, the record shows that Charl Schwartzel is the last player to beat him, in Sunday singles at Royal Melbourne in 2011. Johnson went 3-0 at Medinah the following year, one of only three Americans to win a singles match in Europe’s record-tying comeback.

“Even though it’s been a little bit, it didn’t feel like it’s been that long,” Johnson said. “It’s the same guys, kind of the same team.”

Not really.

Only six American players are at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea who were on the last team that included Johnson. Even last year, three players who had been considered regulars for the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup didn’t make the team.

Zach Johnson was stunned to hear that Dustin Johnson hasn’t played in these team events in three years, until he gave it some more thought.

“It’s surprising to a degree,” he said. “It’s just an illustration of how deep and how good the PGA Tour is.”

Hunter Mahan was in seven of the last eight team competitions _ he only missed Medinah in 2012 _ and wasn’t even part of the conversation this year. Mahan struggled with a growing family and his game and missed the Tour Championship for the first time since the FedEx Cup began in 2007. He ended last year at No. 22 in the world, and now is struggling to stay in the top 50.

Keegan Bradley made an auspicious Ryder Cup debut in 2012 with Phil Mickelson, played on the next two teams and is fading from view. Bradley hasn’t won a tournament since the Bridgestone Invitational three years ago.

Webb Simpson missed his first team this year since 2010.

Tiger Woods has been dealing with his own set of circumstances, mostly injuries that have kept him out of the game or kept him from playing the game like he once did. He was last seen in team uniform at Muirfield Village two years ago with Sammy the squirrel on his shoulder. Woods missed a big chunk of 2014 recovering from back surgery, and he made the cut (with only one top 10) in the 11 tournaments he played this year.

It was no less gratifying for the big-hitting Johnson when he checked in at the team hotel Sunday night after his long flight from Los Angeles, stuck his head in the team room to catch up with the rest of the Americans and then dress in uniform for a practice round that included Jimmy Walker, Chris Kirk and Patrick Reed. Those are three guys with whom Johnson has never played in a team competition.

The turnover isn’t that great from the U.S. team that lost at Gleneagles in the Ryder Cup with only three new faces _ Kirk, Bill Haas and J.B. Holmes, who replaced Furyk.

Perhaps more changes are coming.

“It’s hard to make these teams,” Zach Johnson said. “Saying that makes it that much more impressive what Phil has done.”

Mickelson has played in every Presidents Cup since it began in 1994, and he has qualified for them all except for being a captain’s pick the first year and this year. He has qualified for every Ryder Cup team since 1995. The last time Mickelson was not in U.S. uniform, Deane Beman was the PGA Tour commissioner.

Furyk is not far behind. This is only the second team event he has missed since 1997.

With more young faces in the pipeline, that kind of longevity will be hard to repeat.

INCHEON, South Korea – Adam Scott only has three months left before the method used for his long putter is banned.

He saw no need to wait.

Scott used a conventional putter for a practice round Monday at the Presidents Cup, and the 35-year-old Australian said this time he won’t be going back. Scott spent the last five weeks practicing with the new putter and a cross-handed grip that feels as comfortable as the long putter he had used the last four years.

“I think it was a good time to make a change and spend some time working on it,” Scott said. “It’s a similar amount of time, actually, when I switched to the long putter, that gap of five weeks between events. It took shape quickly, and I feel the same will happen with this. It’s kind of refreshing to have to make a forced change because my putting stats are not that impressive this year.”

Scott’s putting has never been a strength, though this season his No. 158 ranking in the key putting statistic was his worst since he last used a conventional putter in 2010.

Golf’s ruling bodies adopted a new rule effective Jan. 1 that bans the anchored stroke used for longer putters. Scott switched to a long putter in 2011 and won the Masters two years later.

He showed up at Doral at the start of this year using a conventional putter and tied for fourth. But he missed the cut the following week at the Valspar Championship, finished 13 shots out of the lead at Bay Hill and went back to the long putter.

“I didn’t take any time going into that,” he said. “I just did it with no thought and open mind to see how it went. It went well, really, but maybe I got a little jumpy as I neared the Masters without a little practice and went back. But this is a more permanent move. I think I’ve got to stick with it now and get good at it.”

Other players who won majors with an anchored putting stroke – Webb Simpson, Keegan Bradley and Ernie Els – already made the switch. Scott got more attention than the others because his performance in the majors improved shortly after going to a long putter, even though he was ranked out of the top 100 in putting all but one year.

“There was a bit of a letdown and some frustration,” Scott said. “I didn’t putt well knowing I had to make the change in the back of my mind, and now there’s a clear path going forward.”

Scott has gone 14 consecutive years winning somewhere in the world, a streak that now is in jeopardy going into his final six tournaments of the year. He has had only two top 10s since March – a tie for fourth in the U.S. Open and a tie for 10th in the British Open – and didn’t make it beyond the opening event of the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Turns out that extra month off proved useful.

Scott said he always felt as though a cross-handed grip would be the best style. He worked with his coach and the Scotty Cameron putting studio to find the right putter, and he showed up at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea feeling good about the rest of the year.

“I’m more confident putting it into play this week,” he said. “Playing with it early in the year I didn’t know what to expect. This week … there has to be a week where I start, and it might as well be here. I’m confident I can make myself one of the best putters on tour with a short putter.”

Along with a conventional putter, the other difference with Scott was the tape on his right middle finger. He said he damaged it earlier in the year – he’s not sure when or even how – and it began to aggravate him around the PGA Championship. He discovered a torn ligament from the repetitive stress of hitting golf balls, but the time off helped and Scott said it has healed enough for him to play.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Jordan Spieth was voted PGA Tour player of the year Friday, giving him a sweep of all the significant awards.

The PGA Tour does not disclose how many votes Spieth received from the players, though the 22-year-old Texan removed any suspense last week with his four-shot victory in the Tour Championship to win the Fed Ex Cup.

Spieth had five wins this year, including the Masters and U.S. Open. He is the youngest player since Tiger Woods (21) to win the Jack Nicklaus Award as player of the year. Spieth also won the Arnold Palmer Award by topping the money list with a record $12 million, and the Vardon Trophy for having the lowest adjusted scoring average.

Daniel Berger was voted rookie of the year. He was the only rookie to qualify for the Tour Championship.

Since the FedEx Cup began in 2007, Woods is the only other player to sweep the awards, win a major and capture the FedEx Cup and its $10 million bonus.

Just two years ago, Woods received the Jack Nicklaus Award for a record 11th time. He was presented the trophy at Torrey Pines to start the 2014 season, and he shared the stage that day with Spieth who was the 2013 rookie of the year.

Spieth looked over at Woods’ trophy and said, “Now it’s time to chase this other award.”

It didn’t take long.

Spieth set the 36-hole record at Augusta National and tie Woods’ 72-hole mark at 18-under 270 with his wire-to-wire victory. He became only the fourth player since 1960 to win the first two legs of the Grand Slam when he won the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. And he was tied for the lead at the British Open through 70 holes until a bogey on the 17th hole. He finished one shot out of a playoff and was runner-up to Jason Day at the PGA Championship.

Woods and Nicklaus are the only other players to not finish worse than fourth in all the majors.

Day got into the conversation late in the year by winning four out of six tournaments and reaching No. 1 in the world. He also had five victories, making it the first time in 42 years that the PGA Tour had two players with at least five wins.

The majors swung heavily in Spieth’s favor, however, along with his scoring average and record earnings. He also led the tour with 15 finishes in the top 10.

Spieth won the award over Day, British Open champion Zach Johnson and Rory McIlroy, who won twice this year but was sidelined for two months with an ankle injury from playing soccer with friends a few weeks before the British Open.

Spieth previously won the PGA of America’s points-based award for player of the year. Because of a bonus for winning two majors, Spieth clinched that award in August.

Berger had two runner-up finishes, losing in a playoff to Padraig Harrington at the Honda Classic and finishing six shots behind Day at the BMW Championship during the FedEx Cup playoffs. Because points are quadrupled in the FedEx Cup playoffs, that runner-up finish was enough to get Berger into the field for the Tour Championship.

He won the award over Justin Thomas, who finished at No. 32 in the FedEx Cup and missed the Tour Championship by five points; Tony Finau, who featured on the weekend at two majors; and Nick Taylor of Canada. Taylor was the only rookie to win this year, but that was at an opposite-field event last fall when the top players were in Shanghai. Taylor was No. 101 in the FedEx Cup.