Australian Ogilvy was proud of the "passion and fight" shown by his team as they hung tough against the star-studded American outfit in Saturday's fourballs and foursomes sessions to lead 10.5 to 7.5 at Medinah Country Club in Chicago.
"We know what we're about," said Ogilvy. The boys are very passionate about this team and this event. They really love this tournament. … It's a really good team."
Former US Open champion Ogilvy is getting plenty of praise himself for astute decisions that have paid dividends as the Internationals seek a first-ever win on US soil.
It's only the fourth time since the biennial Presidents Cup began in 1994 that the Internationals have led going into the last day's 12 singles matches, and they need five more points to win.
Aussie sparkplug Min Woo Lee was at the heart of the Internationals' fightback as the Americans filled the leaderboard with red numbers early in both Saturday sessions, continuing his stellar campaign while featuring in all sessions.
Alongside Kiwi Ryan Rox, he delivered a crucial 3 and 2 win over Wyndham Clark and Sam Burns in the afternoon to help preserve the buffer.
But singles are traditionally an American strength and it will likely take all of the Internationals' resolve of the first three days to record a famous victory over their hosts, who have won the last 10 editions.
"The goal at the start of the week is to be leading going into singles," said Ogilvy.
"There's still 12 points on the board, though, so we've seen in these team events all sorts of different things can happen.
"We've got to put our heads down and play for a big opportunity tomorrow."
The Internationals are aiming to lift the trophy for the first time since 1998 - the year Lee was born.
"We're just trying to be disciplined," Lee said. "We know what our job is to do."
American captain Brandt Snedeker was quick to take blame for his team's surprise deficit, declaring: "I don't think I've held up my end of the bargain."
He has stacked his form stars at the top of the singles order in a bid to grab early momentum on Sunday, with Cameron Young (US) leading off against Ryo Hisatsune, followed by Wyndham Clark (US) v Tom Kim, Justin Thomas (US) v Corey Conners, Scottie Scheffler (US) v Nico Evhavarria and Sam Burns (US) v Sungjae Im.
They will be followed by Collin Morikawa (US) v Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Cantlay (US) v Adam Scott, Jackson Koivun (US) v Si Woo Kim, Jacob Bridgeman (US) v Min Woo Lee, Russell Henley (US) v Nick Taylor and Xander Schauffele (US) v Ryan Fox.
Australian veteran Scott copped a heavy 6 and 4 defeat playing alongside Im against Gotterup and Young in foursomes in his sole outing on Saturday, a day after partnering Bezuidenout to a foursomes win over Thomas and Young.
- With The AP
