updated 12:02 a.m. ET Sept. 26, 2005

GAINESVILLE, Va. - 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 Friday. Furyk made the putt that won their Presidents Cup match.

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 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.

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“It only hurts when I swing,” he joked after the 3-and-2 victory over Stuart Appleby and Mark Hensby.

Furyk, who on Thursday lied face down in the grass to receive a back massage from LaFountain, received no treatment 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 Friday, U.S. 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. 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.

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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.”

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