The United States landed the Presidents Cup for the sixth straight time with a dramatic 15.5-14.5 victory over the International team at the Jack Nicklaus Club in South Korea.

After a thrilling final hour of play, it was American rookie Chris Kirk’s 15-foot birdie putt at the par-five 18th that retained the cup for Jay Haas’s side.

And it was Haas’s son and captain’s pick Bill, who scored the winning point in the final match with a two-up victory over local hero Sang-Moon Bae.

The US led 9.5-8.5 going into Sunday’s singles and won five matches plus two halves to seal a ninth victory in 11 Presidents Cup matches.

Unfortunately for the home fans, Bae, who was playing for the final time before he starts mandatory military service, duffed his tricky chip in front of the 18th green before eventually conceding the hole to Haas.

“I wanted to make the winning point for the team, but at the end of the day, our team lost,” said Bae, the only South Korean in the event. “So I was very sad and disappointed about it.” The Americans dominated the opening foursomes to lead 4-1 after Thursday, but the International side fought back to trail 5.5-4.5 after Friday’s fourballs.

The sides shared a win and two halves apiece in Saturday’s foursomes and claimed two wins each in the penultimate fourball session to set up Sunday’s dramatic finale.

The guests took the early initiative and had early leads in nine matches, but the Internationals began to turn things around. Marc Leishman took his first lead against Jordan Spieth on the 15th hole and made a seven-foot putt on the 18th for a one-up victory, before Hideki Matsuyama won the 18th hole with a birdie to beat JB Holmes.

Louis Oosthuizen then eagled the 18th to tie his match with Patrick Reed, while Thongchai Jaidee did likewise against Bubba Watson, despite driving into water and escaping with par at 18.

American Dustin Johnson took care of International rookie Danny Lee with a 2&1 victory, but fellow rookie Steven Bowditch made amends for the Internationals with a two-up win over Jimmy Walker.

The Americans then started to turn the screw once again as Phil Mickelson went unbeaten (3-0-1) for the third time in the Presidents Cup when trouncing Charl Schwartzel, and Zach Johnson shocked Jason Day with a comfortable 3&2 triumph.

The shortest match belonged to Adam Scott, who won six straight holes against American Rickie Fowler for a 6&5 thrashing.

The one shining light for the International team was Branden Grace, who became just the second International player in Presidents Cup history to win all five of his matches following a 2&1 win over Matt Kuchar.

The 15.5-14.5 margin was the slimmest since the famous tie in South Africa in 2003. Not since 2005 has the Presidents Cup been decided by the final match.

European Tour : Portugal Masters : Martin Kaymer at 10/1 to win PGA Tour : Frys.Com : Brooks Koepka 16/1 each way GC2 Simulator: Custom Fitting Bookings now being taken for the use of our new GC2 Simulator,play the Ryder Cup course at The Belfry. 9 hole and 18 hole packages available.

Also book the room for your own practice session,recording and printing all your personal data on clubs/distances etc-Special Deals for October sessions This software package is now being used by all the leading golf club manufactures such as Callaway , Ping, Titleist,Cobra, Mizuno etc. for all their Custom Fittings Golf Lessons : available in our new indoor studio For more details call the pro shop on 028 66325250 Check www.thegolfcabin.co.uk for all the latest deals on golf equipment etc.