Woods, who turns 44 at the end of the month, was like Bradley Cooper in “A Star Is Born,” earning kudos for both his direction and individual performance.

Matt Kuchar, who clinched the victory for the Americans, said, “It was really cool being part of this team and having Tiger as captain in that you get Tiger to speak up a little more.”

Kuchar, whose 5-foot birdie on the 17th hole gave him a 1-up lead against Louis Oosthuizen, guaranteeing the United States at least a half-point for the match, added, “We had a room full of some of the greatest golfers in the world, and when he speaks, we all listen.”

Kuchar played the penultimate singles match. Woods sent himself out first because he wanted to finish early so he could spend the bulk of the day spurring the rest of the team around the fast, firm course.

But as he acknowledged afterward, he also jumped at the chance to pair himself against Ancer because he stated in an interview last month that he’d love to go up against Woods in singles.

Be careful what you wish for. Woods produced six birdies in the 16 holes.

Woods sent out Patrick Reed third, against C.T. Pan, but not before he smoothed Reed’s path, working the officials as adroitly as any N.B.A. coach.

On Saturday, after Reed, who partnered with Webb Simpson, was handed a third consecutive loss, Reed’s caddie, his brother-in-law Kessler Karain, got into a physical altercation with one of the scores of hecklers who had been hounding Reed all week. They had called him a cheater and a disgrace because of an incident in Reed’s previous start, in the Bahamas, in which he was assessed a two-stroke penalty for clearing sand directly behind his ball during practice strokes.