MONTREAL (AP) – Facts and figures for the seventh Presidents Cup matches:

Teams: United States against an International team of players from everywhere but Europe.

Dates: Sept. 27-30.

Venue: Royal Montreal Golf Club.

Length: 7,153 yards

Par: 35-35–70.

Points needed to win: 171/2.

Captains: Jack Nicklaus (U.S.) and Gary Player (International).

Defending champion: United States.

Series: United States leads, 4-1-1.

Last time: With the matches tied going into Sunday singles, Fred Couples provided the emotional boost by defeating Vijay Singh, then Chris DiMarco delivered the winning point with a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole of the final match to beat Stuart Appleby. The Americans won 181/2-151/2 to remain undefeated at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, and presumably to send Jack Nicklaus into retirement as a winner. Alas, Nicklaus agreed to return as captain one more time.

Format: Six alternate-shot matches Thursday. Six better-ball matches and five alternate-shot matches Friday. Five alternate-shot matches in the Saturday morning and five better-ball matches Saturday afternoon. One point is awarded for each win, a half-point when the match ends in a draw. Singles matches that end in a tie go extra holes until one team has 171/2 points.

U.S. team: Woody Austin, Stewart Cink, Jim Furyk, Lucas Glover, Charles Howell III, Zach Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan, Steve Stricker, David Toms, Scott Verplank, Tiger Woods.

International team: Stuart Appleby, Angel Cabrera, K.J. Choi, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Trevor Immelman, Nick O’Hern, Geoff Ogilvy, Rory Sabbatini, Vijay Singh, Adam Scott, Mike Weir.

Tale of the tape: The U.S. team has nine players who have combined for 17 wins this year, including two majors. The International team has six players who have won eight times, and one major.

Notable: Eight of the top 10 players in the world will be at the Presidents Cup.

Quotable: “I think our team is a little more relaxed.” – Jim Furyk, on why the Americans have not lost the Presidents Cup since 1998, but has not won the Ryder Cup since 1999.

Television (all times EDT): Thursday, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m, TNT Sports. Friday, Noon to 6 p.m., TNT Sports. Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., NBC Sports. Sunday, Noon to 6 p.m., NBC Sports.

AP-ES-09-20-07 2059EDT