Extinction, Postponed

It's crack of dawn Friday, and I've just finished the second round matches on tape....This will need to be an abbreviated post, as there's fresh snow (it snowed all day yesterday) and I'm headed somewhere early to ski.

Not sure where, because famed mogul skier Zack Simpson is in town.  Yeah, this guy:

So, an interesting day 2, for sure:

For a while, it was hard to imagine a better start for the International team, or a worse one for the Americans. The Internationals hadn’t led after any session since 2005 before their surprising 4-1 opener on Thursday. On Friday, they looked even more dominant,

holding the lead in all five matches at one point. But a late stand by the U.S. side led to a 2.5-2.5 split, highlighted by match-winning birdie putts from Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay. Those replaced Reed as the enduring images, even though the Internationals lead 6.5-3.5 heading to the weekend.

But the Americans found some hope in the battle waged in the second match between Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay versus Adam Hadwin and Joaquin Niemann. Neither side ever went more than 1-up, but when Hadwin poured in a five-footer for birdie at No. 14, the International team held the lead in all five matches.

They found more than just "some" hope, they actually kept themselves in this.

And while this one didn't have the 18th green dramatics of Cantlay or Thomas, it might be equally significant:

Heading to Saturday’s double session, both teams have something positive to draw on. The U.S. side can take solace in their late charge and the fact that they’re still in this thing. The International team has something far more tangible: a three-point advantage.

 Because of how far down they were....

This hot take remains silly, at least the header:

What a difference two years make! This Presidents Cup has been a beauty

Liberty National had=s become a tired trope.  Not only does the International team not get credit for their convincing win in Sunday singles, but only two years before that they should have won the event.  Anirban Lahiri gagged on a short one on the final green, to hand it all to Chris Kirk and the Yanks.

Two days in, with two days to go, let it be said: This Presidents Cup has been fantastic.

The primitive demands of the golf course at Royal Melbourne. (The ground game lives!) The astounding quality of the golf from players you might not know well. (Who would now be surprised to see Abraham Ancer as an Open contender come June? Or July, for that matter.) The unexpected U.S. turnaround late in the second session (led by Tiger Woods and his fiery wingman, Justin Thomas). The excellent commentary of Justin Leonard on the Golf Channel (always a prickly player, he has been so direct and economical). Plus Patrick Reed, the two captains and the Australian fans.

About those fans....well, hold that thought for just a sec.

Are you enjoying the golf course?  There's nothing more exciting than watching a golf ball on the ground, and one guy instinctively knows how to handle it: 

Every great artist needs a setting that inspires and captivates and allows their genius to be 

expressed. Monet had Giverny. Ansel Adams had Yosemite. And now Tiger Woods has Royal Melbourne, a vast canvas on which the American playing-captain produced a masterpiece during the first day at this Presidents Cup. 

It took all of two swings for Woods to send a charge through the Sand Belt. Having sent himself out in the first match — alongside Justin Thomas versus nervous rookie Joaquin Niemann and homegrown hero Marc Leishman — Woods mashed a 339-yard drive off the first tee to the right edge of the fairway, leaving himself the perfect angle to a back-left pin on a short, dangerous par-4. From 57 yards out he clipped a little cut wedge into the sloping green, feeding his ball off a ridge and then letting it trickle to within three feet for a birdie that won the hole. It was a shot that took touch, imagination, nerve and an intuitive feel for how to play a course that is anything but the paint-by-the-numbers Woods sees every week on the PGA Tour.

I did hear a Hoylake reference on the broadcast, and that's appropriate.  Mostly, in any event, because there it completely took driver out of play.  RM is far more balanced in its demands of the player, but those were some pretty extreme conditions in Liverpool.

It seems that we're at an interesting juncture, where the trend line is obscured.  This header sums up the issue for Captain Els:

Presidents Cup 2019: Ernie Els remains positive, even after 'what might have been' slips away

They should be ecstatic at the lead, and yet one suspects that there's gnawing fear that they failed to step on the Yanks' throats.... 

For Captain Tiger, it has a bit of the feel of Poulter at Medinah?  Late Saturday, that is....  And he saw improved play from many of those suspects I listed yesterday, guys like DJ, Woodland and the PC/XS team....  

Presidents Cup Day 3 four-ball matches (ET) 

MATCH 11: 3:02 p.m. (Friday): Justin Thomas/Rickie Fowler (USA) vs. Marc Leishman/Haotong Li (INT) 

MATCH 12: 3:16 p.m. (Friday): Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay (USA) vs. Sungjae Im/Abraham Ancer (INT) 

MATCH 13: 3:30 p.m. (Friday): Webb Simpson/Patrick Reed (USA) vs. Hideki Matsuyama/C.T. Pan (INT) 

MATCH 14: 3:44 p.m. (Friday): Matt Kuchar/Tony Finau (USA) vs. Adam Scott/Byeong Hun An (INT)

Some thoughts in no particular order....

1.  There's virtue in sticking to a plan, but let me just query what would it take to break up that Patrick - Webb team.  A near miss on Day One, but they got beaten up yesterday.  Fact is, Patrick is a horrible fit in Foursomes, and should this go badly for Team USA, that's a decision of Tiger's that screams for second-guessing.
2. I almost did an update to yesterday's post when I realized that Finau was benched in Foursomes.  I wasn't in love with him as a pick, but can't we at least play him in the format the best suits him?  
3. That Im/Ancer team could be a juggernaut, words one never expects to type.  How great is this?
4. Tiger sitting is no surprise, but sitting in fourball might be...  But I agree, his game fits the more difficult format, and as captain he's doing the right thing.  Plus, this figures to be the one moment when pairings have to be doen with players still on the course, so it all makes sense.
5. Haotong Li finally gets to peg it.... I don't get sitting any player both of those first two days, just as an expression of confidence.  

Of course, we can't leave with revising our hero of the week, Patrick Reed.  Did you catch the awkward lad's attempt to have some fun with the crowd?  

After receiving a two-stroke penalty at last week’s Hero World Challenge, fans at Royal Melbourne this week for the Presidents Cup have been heckling Patrick Reed over the

first two rounds of play. 

During Friday’s (Thursday night in the U.S.) foursomes, Reed addressed his error and mocked himself a bit after a birdie putt on the 11th hole.  

Playing with Webb Simpson in the alternate shot format, Reed made a clutch birdie putt from just inside six feet to tie the hole and keep the match at 2 up for the Internationals.

When a fan in the gallery yelled for him to miss, Reed looked at the fan, stuck his hand to his ear and then proceeded to mimic a shoveling motion.

And how about this from the Tour's social media wiz kids?

Maybe it would have been fun, but.....

The Americans would lose the next hole and fall 3 down with six holes to play.

Poor Webb, he in no way deserves this....Shack had some harsh words as well:

Reed, fresh off cheating at the Hero World Challenge, has been hearing it from fans so even though he made a putt just to halve a hole and keep his match at 2 down, the hubris and rage kicked in. The PGA Tour social account, perhaps encouraged by Team USA’s kid-gloves treatment of Reed, gave it a light spin and the commenters were not amused. Golfers, I’m pleased to say, are not embracing the nebulous behavior of Reed despite efforts to sugarcoat his actions.

I've been reluctant to use the "C-word", but that's of course not binding on others.... 

Before getting the the fans, Shane Ryan has this imagined sequence about Ernie setting up his pairings:

Els: I’m thinking of putting Cam Smith opposite Reed if the opportunity comes. If not him, maybe Scotty, to get the home crowd lined up and ready to kill. 

Geoff Ogilvy, smoking a pipe and looking thoughtful: You could do that. Or you could learn from history. Consider Reed at Hazeltine, against Rory. Consider how he rose to the moment, embraced the energy, and took down the best golfer of his generation. Consider Gleneagles. Consider the boos when he shushed the crowd, and consider how he floated on air that week, buoyed by the hatred. Consider how he loves the energy, the confrontation. Consider how he rises to the contentious battle, how he almost needs it. But consider this, too: Can a man like that thrive without conflict? 

Els: What are you suggesting? 

Ogilvy: Put him against guys who won’t give him an ounce of juice to match, who will barely pump a fist if they make a 40-foot eagle putt. Suck the adrenaline from the course, and let him languish in the boredom. 

Els, nodding sagely: I know just the fellas.

Coulda happened just like that... In fact, i hope it did.  

So, have you noticed that there seem to be quite a few American fans present?  Turns out, per Shane Ryan via Geoff, that all is not as it appears:

Cover your children’s eyes. This could be jarring.

GolfDigest.com’s Shane Ryan wrote about the Presidents Cup first tee scene Thursday and subsequently reported that the group of red-white-and-blue “American” fans seated there are…Australians.

Worse, Ryan says they are part of The Fanatics group, and likely paid by event organizers to act as crazed, noisy, red-blooded Americans. Other outlets are noticing his Tweets, in order starting from the bottom up.

WTF?  Anyway, here's Shane breaking this story:

Probably easier for you to just read the tweets on Geoff's post....

I'm off to figure out my day.  I don't know when I'll be able to blog, so we'll all just play it by ear.  It should be good fun for sure....