Frustrating finish to a great Presidents Cup day for Graham DeLaet

A day that started out with such promise ended with the International duo of Graham DeLaet and Jason Day standing in near-darkness, barely hanging on by their fingernails.

Day Three of the Presidents Cup began with another solid performance by the Canadian and the Aussie as they scored a valuable point for the struggling International side in the four-ball competition. Things got even better in the rain-soaked afternoon as they could do no wrong in opening up a big lead over the American Presidents Cup dream duo of Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley in the foursomes event.

At one point, it appeared the duo might spare viewers the sight of Mickelson and Bradley doing their geeky-white-guy-jive-highfive-fistbump routine and the annoying sound of a well-refreshed crowd shouting, "U.S.A., U.S.A." (Where's Gary McCord when you need somebody to rightly call the gallery "a mob"?)

But after going up by three after only five holes, the Canadian and the Aussie promptly coughed it up with a series of hiccups coupled with some solid golf from the Americans. By the time the day ended, called prematurely because of darkness after yet another rain delay, the two sides were all square.

The darkness may have been the best thing that could have happened to DeLaet and Day. With Mickelson and Bradley on a roll and the gallery behind them, things were looking pretty dark for the International side's best pairing.

Maybe a night's sleep and some dry socks will get them back on track Sunday, or Monday, or whenever this soggy tournament ends.

But for most of the day, DeLaet and Day were the talk of the International side. They started with an impressive 2-up victory over the American duo of Steve Stricker and Jordan Speith. That gave them a 2-1 record for the tournament and made them the stars of the International side, accounting for almost one-third of the team's points thus far.

The two sides engaged in a classic see-saw battle. After the Americans took an early lead, DeLaet squared things with a birdie on the fourth hole while Day birdied the ninth to give the Aussie-Canuck duo the lead. But Stricker squared it on the 12th with a birdie. That's when DeLaet stepped into the spotlight by rolling in a seven-foot putt for birdie at 16. He and Day maintained that lead until the 18th, when Day birdied to clinch things.

Once again, Day had praise for his Canadian partner.

“We gave ourselves a lot of opportunities on the greens, and, oh, man, this guy [DeLaet] is clutch on 16 again,” he said.

DeLaet's first taste of the Presidents Cup has produced a lot of that kind of comment. NBC's Johnny Miller pointed out Saturday that the Weyburn, Sask., native hasn't won a tournament yet but that it's only a matter of time. He also had plenty of praise for his shot-making abilities.

In the foursomes, DeLaet and Day stunned the unbeaten American duo in the early going with some great shot-making.

They took advantage of Mickelson sending his tee shot to a watery grave on the first hole to go up by one. They went up by two on the third when Day sunk a birdie putt and added to that total on the fifth when DeLaet made birdie.

But the Americans started their comeback on the eighth when Mickelson holed a 20-foot birdie putt. Mickelson brought them within one with a superb approach shot on the 11th.

DeLaet and Day then missed two straight opportunities to increase their lead. After Mickelson muffed a bunker shot on the 12th, DeLaet came up short on his putt and allowed Mickelson to halve the hole with a bogey.

Things got worse on the 13th when DeLaet missed an eight-foot putt for bogey and allowed the Americans to square the match. Things ended a few minutes later with both sides on the 14th green.

That's where they'll pick up on Sunday morning, hoping that a good night's rest will get them back on track.