Victorious US skipper Fred Couples hailed star player Tiger Woods after he inspired the US team’s mauling of the Internationals in the Presidents Cup.

Woods, the world No.1, had heavyweight back-up in the shape of the world’s No.2 and 3, Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker. And the awesome trio did Couples proud at Harding Park Golf Course by going a combined 13-1-1 for the week as the American team coasted to victory by 19.5-14.5 points.

Top-ranked Woods went a perfect 5-0-0, only the third player to do so in the biennial competition, while he and Stricker became the first partnership to win all four matches in the same week.

“It was a fun thing to have Tiger and Steve beat up on everybody because I wanted Tiger to win every match,” Couples said after his side won for a sixth time in eight editions of the competition.

“That was important to our team. Every tournament Tiger plays, everyone wants to know what he’s shooting and where he’s at, and the Presidents Cup is no different.

“So for him and Steve to win every match, we basically shut their team down from saying: ‘Hey, we have them where we want them’. We won every time and that was a big boost to us.”

Woods earned his fifth point of the week by crushing South Korean YE Yang - the man who beat him for the PGA Championship title -in the last-day singles 6 and 5. His birdie putt on the 13th green clinched the trophy for Couples’ team. And Greg Norman, who captained an Internationals side drawn from everywhere in the world except Europe, had to be philosophical in defeat.

“That’s what you expect out of your number one player in the world,” said the Australian. “You need your big gun, and he is their big gun.”

Left-hander Mickelson beat South African Retief Goosen 2 and 1 after winning twice and halving once with three different partners in foursomes and fourball matches - which impressed his captain.

“Phil and Anthony Kim played well at Ryder Cup, so we tried that,” Couples said. “And then Phil and Sean (O’Hair) hooked up.”

Basketball great Michael Jordan, appointed as an honourary assistant by Couples, applauded Mickelson for lifting O’Hair’s confidence after the duo posted one win and a half point.

“Phil was able to take guys who had not really been successful on certain days and gave them confidence to rebound,” Jordan said. “That, to me, symbolises what a team is all about."

Couples, a former world No.1 himself, rated his successful Presidents Cup captaincy as the high point of his career. “It was way better than any golf tournament,” he said.