MELBOURNE • The end for the Internationals came about halfway through a mostly cloudy afternoon at Royal Melbourne yesterday.

They kept it close, but ultimately the result was the same - another defeat for them against the United States at the Presidents Cup - the eighth in a row and 11th in 13 tries at the biennial tournament.

"We were right there at the end. I thought we could do it again, just a couple of matches didn't work our way," captain Ernie Els said after the US completed a 16-14 win.

The Internationals had led 10-8 going into the final day's 12 singles matches, and now have the distinction of being the only team to lead going into the final day and lose.

The only time they have won the Cup was at Royal Melbourne in 1998, although the teams shared the trophy in 2003 in South Africa after a 17-all draw.

There were only two International wins yesterday - South Korean Im Sung-jae's 4 and 3 success over Gary Woodland and Australian Cameron Smith's 2 and 1 victory over Justin Thomas.

Their other two points came from halves - Hideki Matsuyama against Tony Finau, Adam Hadwin against Bryson DeChambeau, Marc Leishman's tie with Rickie Fowler; and Louis Oosthuizen's all-square with Matt Kuchar.

But while they were defeated 8-4 yesterday - their first singles session loss since 2009 - Els insisted he had nothing but admiration for his players, the youngest International team assembled, tipping them to be a major force against the Americans in the future.

They had seven rookies, and Im, compatriot An Byeong-hun and Mexican Abraham Ancer were standouts, handling the pressure well and securing crucial points.

Smith also held his own despite becoming involved in a row with 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed, whom he called a cheat over an incident in the Bahamas last week.

Chile's Joaquin Niemann also performed well, as did Taiwan's C.T. Pan, and the only one who struggled was Li Haotong. China's first Cup player was overlooked by Els for the opening two games and lost the only two matches he played.

The 50-year-old South African, who also hinted he could return as the team's captain for the 2021 Cup at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, claimed that despite coming up against the "absolutely stacked" Americans, they were "getting closer".

Asked whether the future was bright, Els, who has now finished second to Woods on eight occasion, including four times in Majors, said: "Absolutely... We feel we came a long way this week.

"It was a just a collective effort of these great people. We had a lot of young players in the team, a lot of first-timers, nine regions around the world represented. It's our diversity that got us together, and I'm really proud of them.

"We've just got to keep it up... You know, our team is not as deep as the US team... They have Major champions. We're building on that."

Veteran Adam Scott, playing in his ninth Cup, also agreed that there were plenty of positives, despite the painful loss.

"It's hard to digest. At the moment, it's incredibly disappointing, but generally the positivity and being optimistic are what's happening, and I like where this team is going," the Australian added.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, ASSOCIATED PRESS