Couples: Job not done

The Americans may hold a commanding 13-9 lead heading into the final day of the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne but, reminded of the USA's Brookline Ryder Cup heroics in 1999, captain Fred Couples has warned the battle is far from over.

Twelve years ago the American team headed to Massachusetts for that Ryder Cup having been smashed nine months earlier by the International team in the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne 20.5-11.5.

And with only the singles matches remaining the home team trailed 10-6 meaning the Europeans needed only four-and-a-half points from the 12 singles matches to secure victory.

But an American team that included current Presidents Cup players Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk stormed home by winning the first six matches of the final day and taking eight-and-a-half of a possible 12 to sneak home 14.5-13.5.

With the format at the Presidents Cup slightly different and halves not possible in the singles, the International team need to win nine of the 12 matches to secure an unlikely victory, and Couples has let his players know there's still plenty of work to be done.

"We just matched up our players and we do have a nice lead," Couples said straight after he and International counterpart Greg Norman had completed the singles matches at the end of a long, miserable day in cold, wet conditions that followed searing heat and strong northerlies on Friday.

"But in reality these guys are all champions and I personally feel like they have all played so (well), these last two days have been kind of ridiculous on how hard they have been."

"When we get back there we will get the old guys, as we did get a couple of guys on the team bus to tell them, this is far from over and you need to go out and everyone needs to win a point."

"That's kind of the game plan but they are all such great players (and) once they tee off on No.1, they are pretty much on their own."

Furyk is the only player to have won all four of his matches so far having firstly combined with Mickelson for the first three and then with Nick Watney for the last of them, as he drew level with Woods on 19 Presidents Cup victories.

And like Couples he said it is far too early to be thinking ahead to the presentation ceremony.

"I remember at Brookline, one of the players on the other team making the comment that you know 'this is over' in the press room and that's actually the wrong attitude to have and maybe it's one of the reasons it bit them," Furyk said.

"I think we as a team have to realise tonight that we have to come out firing tomorrow and it's important for us to, each and every one of us of the 12 players, to go out there and work the hardest they can to get their point."

"We'll look forward to it, it's a good bunch of players on the other side and I think the attitude though is not to ... let your guard down."

"You keep trying to win another hole and that's what we need to do tomorrow."

"You need to keep that pedal down and try to win our matches."