Seeking an eighth triumph over the Internationals in the 10th edition of the biennial team competition, the Americans won four of the five encounters and lost the other at a rain-soaked Muirfield Village Golf Club.
That put them ahead by a commanding 10-1/2 points to 6-1/2 going into Saturday afternoon's foursomes, which were all but certain to spill over into Sunday following three successive days of lengthy weather interruptions.
"Conditions are wet and the ball is not going very far on the green, but we are still seeing some phenomenal golf out there," Internationals captain Nick Price said.
"The U.S. has really been unrelenting. They have just played superbly the last three days. Any slip-up from us, and we find ourselves one or two down very quickly.
"My guys have played great. Honestly, I can't criticize anybody. They played their hearts out so far."
Bill Haas and Webb Simpson made 12 birdies between them and never trailed before earning the first point of the fourballs with a commanding 4&3 victory over Argentina's Angel Cabrera and South African Branden Grace.
Mickelson and Keegan Bradley then followed suit in the top match, beating South African Ernie Els and Zimbabwe's Brendon de Jonge 2&1 after clawing their way back from two down through seven holes.
Chants of "USA, USA" rang out as the Americans birdied eight and nine to get back to all square and Mickelson, red-hot with his putter, sank birdie putts from eight feet at the 12th and from 10 feet at the 13th to put them on track for the win.
Australian Jason Day and Canada's Graham DeLaet put a valuable blue number on the board for the Internationals with a 2-up victory over Steve Stricker and Jordan Spieth after a nip-and-tuck encounter that had been all square after 15 holes.
TURNED TIDE
Cup rookie DeLaet effectively turned the tide by rolling in a seven-foot birdie putt at the 16th and he and Day secured the win with a conceded birdie at the par-four last.
"It was very stressful out there," Day said after he and DeLaet had won their second match out of three together. "Strick and Jordan played great.
"We gave ourselves a lot of opportunities on the greens, and, oh, man, this guy (DeLaet) is clutch on 16 again."
Brandt Snedeker and Hunter Mahan, in the fourth match out, beat South Africans Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel two-up and never trailed as they piled up eight birdies between them.
The Internationals had been pinning their hopes on another point from the bottom match where Masters champion Adam Scott of Australia and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama were one up on Woods and Matt Kuchar after 12 holes.
But the Americans birdied 13 and 14 to go one up before Woods hit a stunning second shot to within five feet of the flag at the par-five 15th before crouching down and pumping his right fist to celebrate what later became a conceded eagle.
The American duo preserved their unbeaten record together in three matches this week when Kuchar rolled in a 16-foot birdie putt on the 18th green to clinch a one-up win.
Earlier in the day, the U.S. split the delayed opening foursomes matches 3-3 to hold an overall one-point lead.
Woods and Kuchar again dovetailed well to beat Oosthuizen and Schwartzel 4&2, while Stricker and Spieth triumphed for a second time together with a 2&1 win over Grace and South Africa's Richard Sterne.
Cabrera and Australian Marc Leishman earned the first point of the day for the Internationals with a closely contested 2&1 victory over Simpson and Snedeker before Scott and Matsuyama recorded a 2&1 win over Zach Johnson and Jason Dufner.
(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes; Editing by Julian Linden)
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