Presidents Cup: Momentum back with team US after some magic on the 18th

Tiger Woods's team fight back to cut down International team's lead at Royal Melbourne

US team players Justin Thomas and Tiger Woods celebrate during the second day of the Presidents Cup in Melbourne on Friday. AFP

The United States will breathe easy and return to Royal Melbourne with a spring in their step after some brilliance at the 18th hole turned the tables at the Presidents Cup on Friday.

Tiger Woods's team trailed in all five foursomes matches early on but hit back to share the points on day two and hold the Internationals to a 6.5-3.5 lead.

Cup debutant Cantlay started the fightback when he drained a 14-foot birdie on the 18th to grab a point with Xander Schauffele.

Justin Thomas later sank a birdie putt from 17 feet on the last to clinch victory with Woods, before Rickie Fowler secured a half-point for the Americans with a five-foot putt for par, also on the 18th.

Until the final hour, the US team were "getting beat up" all day, said Patrick Cantlay.

"I looked up on the board and we were down in almost all the matches all day. Being able to flip the whole deal, we're going to go to bed tonight feeling great and we're going to have the momentum going into tomorrow," he added.

"We are still down but there are a lot of points up on the board for tomorrow ... I really thought this afternoon was huge and I think it's going to be a big paradigm shift going forward."

The United States have won the last seven Presidents Cups, but have not trailed after day two since 2005.

Rickie Fowler of the US team and Gary Woodland at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club. EPA

There are four fourball matches in the morning on Saturday and four foursomes matches in the afternoon, which means eight points will be up for grabs and that could prove decisive.

US will will have to attack the morning without playing captain Woods who has elected to sit out of the fourballs after winning both his matches with Thomas.

Thomas will instead team up with Fowler, while Woods has decided to persist with the pairing of Patrick Reed and Webb Simpson after they slumped to a second successive defeat.

Reed has been heckled by spectators throughout the event after Internationals players criticised him for his bunker penalty in Bahamas last week where he was docked two strokes for improving his lie.

Woods said Reed and Simpson had handled the situation "extremely well".

"Unfortunately they just haven't won points. But they have done all the little things right," added the captain. "It's just a matter of having things go your way, and that's part of playing these team sessions."