A clutch birdie putt from Anirban Lahiri has prevented the Presidents Cup from being won almost 24 hours before honorary chairman Donald Trump's scheduled final-day visit in New Jersey.
The US team needed a victory in Kevin Chappell and Charley Hoffman's match against Internationals duo Lahiri and Si Woo Kim to clinch the Cup before the Sunday singles matches for the first time in the event's 23-year history.
But India's Lahiri drained a crucial putt at Liberty National's 17th and converted a one-up win to ensure the final day of matches aren't dead rubbers.
However, the host nation raced out to a 14.5-3.5 lead courtesy of taking 6.5 points from eight matches during the foursomes and four-ball sessions on day three.
"I just told (Kim) we have to keep our head down and try to not look at the (big screen) TVs," said Lahiri.
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With US government helicopters practising take-off and landing drills over the New York harbour on Saturday, President Trump's visit is set to go ahead.
But Trump may not be able to watch much of the action, with the Americans requiring just one point from 12 singles matches to win a seventh straight Cup.
Chappell and Hoffman conceded Lahiri a short par putt on the last and the act of sportsmanship has left the Internationals with a tiny chance of winning all 12 singles for an unlikely victory.
"That's the spirit of the game," said Lahiri, who missed a short putt on the final day of the 2015 Cup, when the Americans stole a one-point win.
"We're looking at a mountain in front of us, but we've got nothing to lose."
The three Australian members of the Internationals had another forgettable day, with Jason Day, Marc Leishman and Adam Scott losing four matches between them.
"We just didn't capitalise coming down the stretch. We had legitimate chances to put pressure on, but I guess we just have to go and (almost) play an exhibition match now," Day told AAP.
Day and Louis Oosthuizen fell 2-and-1 to world No.2 Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed, despite being gifted a hole courtesy of a controversial ruling against Spieth to lead the Americans with four holes remaining.
Oosthuizen's eagle putt at the 12th ran well past the hole and, with Day already in for birdie, Spieth picked up the ball with his putter while it was in motion and was penalised with a loss of the hole.
Leishman and partner Branden Grace were dusted 3-and-2 by world No.1 Dustin Johnson and US Open champion Brooks Koepka.
Internationals' top-ranked player Hideki Matsuyama and Jhonattan Vegas shot out to a three-hole advantage early in the match only to be reeled in by FedEx Cup champion Justin Thomas and Daniel Berger.
