Or, if you prefer, the Victorian Vivisection....
A stunner if you believe the headers but, really, why should we be so surprised? The venue and timing of this event lent itself to an upset (see, rather obviously, 1998), and the U.S. team is hardly a juggernaut. Regression perhaps being the key word:
Tiger Woods grabbed the spotlight Thursday at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, which shouldn’t have been unexpected. But the International team grabbed the early lead, which was, frankly, wholly unexpected.
Call it the 1998 redux with the Internationals on fire and the USA misfiring. Not a good omen for Uncle Sam or Captain Woods.
A U.S. team hasn’t trailed in the Presidents Cup since early in the second term of George W. Bush, but when the Americans awoke this morning, they were staring at a surprising three-point deficit. A heavy underdog with seven rookies on the squad, the International team, behind the hot hands of Louis Oosthuizen and Adam Scott, forged its first advantage at the end of any session since the second day in 2005 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia. The Internationals had not won an opening session since taking foursomes on Day One the same year.
The captains' reactions were a tad curious.... First this:
Tiger Woods: 'Just because we lost the session doesn't mean the Cup's over'
Is somebody arguing that it is?
And that other guy?
“A little different from previous Presidents Cups. It’s a great start against an unbelievable team, said International captain Ernie Els, whose team forged its largest lead after an opening session, better the 3 ½ to 1 ½ International lead after Day One in 1998 at Royal Melbourne – the year of its only victory in the first 12 meetings. “We’ve got a long to go, but this is an unbelievable start. We haven’t had a start like this in many years. We’ll celebrate this little session victory and then we’ve got a couple more to go.”
A couple?
OK, so back to Tiger, here sounding appropriately challenging of his guys:
He needed more of himself spread around.
“This is a long four days. I mean, we have to go earn this cup,” Woods said after a tidy performance that included a deft chip-in from a scraggly lie right of the fifth green and birdies on the final two holes after the Internationals managed to hang around for much of the day. “Just because we lost the session doesn't mean the Cup's over. There's a long way to go. A lot of points available. The guys will regroup and we'll come out tomorrow ready to go.”
Fair enough... It is ironic, though, that despite having Mr. Table For One on his roster, he had a Team of One yesterday...
This, though, is that endearing sort of nonsense we always hear from players:
Woods made birdie on the first for the first red number of the competition, added another on the second hole, chipped in for another birdie on the fifth and closed out the match on the 15th hole with his sixth birdie as he and Thomas never trailed.
“It was important for us, the U.S., that J.T. and I went out there and partnered up well,” Woods said. “Got off to a quick start and got up on them early, and kind of held on from there.”
So silly... Conventional wisdom is that the lead group carving out a lead will inspire and/or free up the groups behind, a dubious contention at best. Given what game after Tiger, forgive me for questioning the importance of that lead the the U.S. team.....
The Villain - It's pretty funny how he's sucked all the oxygen from the room, no? I think the true effect of our Patrick on the team will only bee seen fully in the rear view mirror, not that we won't over-interpret every little thing between now and then. Evin Priest's header conveys his take on the matter:
Patrick Reed endured a villain’s reception at the Presidents Cup, but he’s given this event the juice it needed
For sure. Juice also is found in Tiger, both as captain and playing, and now the International's lead. But yeah, as Ian Poulter has long proven, these team competitions benefit greatly from a villain, creating that needed frisson.
So, how did Patrick's day go?
It seemed the golf gods were ironically punishing Reed for a two-shot penalty he incurred for improving his lie in a waste bunker during last week’s Hero World Challenge. On Thursday, Reed hit a shot into a bunker on each of the opening three holes at Royal Melbourne. That included his opening tee shot. You can’t make this stuff up.
Hey, there's a narrative need, so God is all in for us.... So, how were the fans?
On the 1st tee at Royal Melbourne, fans were heard yelling “Stay out of the bunkers,Patrick!” and “The excavator!” He was booed when introduced by the starter. Even a fan with an American accent ribbed Reed by asking, “Patrick, are you really going to make your caddie carry 14 clubs and a shovel?”
On the par-5 2nd hole, Reed’s second shot found a greenside bunker. When he got to the green, an Australian fan held up a plastic shovel and said, “Hey Patrick, you need this?” The fan, Anthony Roberts, is from Canberra, Australia’s capital, and he said he went to K-Mart specifically to buy the shovel for $2.
Who says journalists don't do shoe-leather reporting any more? But he might have buried his lede, because who knew there are K-Marts in Oz?
OK, forget the praise, the guy left the price tag on....
Alan Shipnuck has a mailbag feature up and, really, who can get enough of Patrick at this point?
What’s most likely: Reed intended to cheat? Him moving sand twice was an accident? Or just careless? Was Reed even aware of his own intentions? And — to what extent should the answer affect penalty on the course (and proverbial lashing off the course)? -@zuzanryan
This is more the province of a psychoanalyst than a sportswriter but allow me to wade in anyway. Given the extraordinary feel Reed has in his fingertips it seems impossible he didn’t know he moved so much sand… twice. And that he performed a large-scale excavation not once but twice makes it impossible to believe it was an accident. When you are at the top of the leaderboard in a glitzy event with a tiny field, and Tiger is lurking, you have to know every move you make is being watched and/or televised. It’s not like Reed was deep in the woods and thought he was perhaps hidden from view. Therefore, I don’t think he walked into that wide-open bunker with a camera crew a few feet away with a gameplan of breaking the rules to improve his lie. I think it just kind of happened in the moment. Something short-circuited in his brain… or his soul. Was it driven by a sense of entitlement? A ruthless need to win? An outsider’s longing to be accepted? A rascal’s desire to get over on the competition? I doubt even Reed can answer these questions.
I've been surprised at how many folks (Rory, Can Smith) have taken the position that Patrick could not have moved that much sand without being aware of it. I have no love for the man, but I can't go that far... If nothing else, I suspect we wouldn't have seen that second practice swing had the neurons sense the sand displacement with the first. But I'm not married to that position...
I do love Alan's bit about something short-circuiting in Reed's soul, though that accepts the premise that he has a soul in the first place.
And this:
Alan, Should Patrick Reed go full IDGAF mode and embrace the villain role or would hiring an elite PR firm be worth the time and effort? Here’s one idea of redemption: give all future annual Masters earnings towards revitalization efforts for the town of Augusta. Thanks. #AskAlan -@forearmshivers
Reed went rogue long ago. He answers only to Team Reed, which is to say, his wife and mother-in-law. The easiest feel-good move in the world would have been to donate his tainted winnings at the Hero to the various relief efforts in the Bahamas but Team Reed even whiffed that one. At this point we pretty well know who Reed is; would some glitzy P.R. campaign change anything? I think not. But to your point, Reed doesn’t make an entirely satisfying villain because of his martyr complex. Him playing the victim takes some of the air out of the whole thing. Poulter at least has the good sense to preen around and have a little fun with the crowd, even though deep down he is desperate to be liked, too.
Upon further review, Patrick went full IDGAF in Paris, if not back at the University of Georgia. Leopard, spots.
Did you catch the post-match interview?
“It’s exactly what I expected,” Reed said of the crowds. His partner, Simpson, added the treatment was “undeserved.”
I have Morning Drive on in the background, and Damon Hack is being especially hard on our Patrick. His basic premise is that Patrick is a cancer on the team, and that Webb Simpson, whose never in his life so much as harmed a small animal, is the innocent victim. Without using the term itself, he seems to attribute that interjection by Webb as attributable to Stockholm Syndrome.
We've got three more days, so stay tuned to this station.
The Path Forward - Ernie seems to know what logically lies in store:
Ernie Els is bracing for an American resurgence during the second session of this 13thPresidents Cup on Friday. He knows his International team might have stirred the heavily favored U.S. squad out of its slumber after taking a surprising 4-1 lead Thursday at Royal Melbourne.
“We have to keep our jets down. There’s a long way to go, and we know they’re going to come back strong,” said the International captain, who obviously was pleased with his team’s first-day effort, which he called “heroic against a strong American team.”
There's also that bit about the American's dominance in foursomes. Which they suck at in even-numbered years, but excel at in the odds.... Curious that.
So, what's Ernie got planned for us?
Interestingly, as historically effective as his team performed, Els stuck to his game plan and broke up every pairing from the first day with the format changing from four-ball to foursomes. It’s a bold strategy that is not without risk.Perhaps to quell an early U.S. uprising, Els is marching out his veterans in the first foursomes match, putting together Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen to counter the U.S. pair of Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar, who went 2-0 in foursomes two years ago at Liberty National and halved a foursomes match together here in 2011.
Why wouldn't he stick with his plan at this point? I think the U.S. has certainly under-estimated that in that other team competition, how else could you rationalize putting Phil out in this format?
So, shall we look at those matches?
Friday Foursomes
Match 6: Louis Oosthuizen/Adam Scott (INT) vs. Dustin Johnson/Matt Kuchar (USA), 11:02 a.m. Australia/7:02 p.m. ET Thursday
Match 7: Adam Hadwin/Joaquin Niemann (INT) vs. Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay (USA), 11:15 a.m. Australia/7:15 p.m. ET Thursday
Match 8: Marc Leishman/Abraham Ancer (INT) vs. Webb Simpson/Patrick Reed (USA), 11:28 a.m. Australia/7:28 p.m. ET Thursday
Match 9: Byeong Hun An/Hideki Matsuyama (INT) vs. Justin Thomas/Tiger Woods (USA), 11:41 a.m. Australia/7:41 p.m. ET Thursday
Match 10: Sungjae Im/Cameron Smith (INT) vs. Gary Woodland/Rickie Fowler (USA), 11:54 a.m. Australia/7:54 p.m. ET Thursday
Now, this is a little curious:
Haotong Li is the only player on either team to be omitted from the first two sessions, but Els said he’ll be ready to go when called upon.
Wow, not exactly a vote of confidence.... I assume we'll see him in one session Saturday, but reminiscent of 1999 when Mark James left three players on the bench until Sunday Singles.
Tiger had this to say about going later in the proceedings?
Woods, the playing captain for the U.S., waited until the fourth foursomes match to venture out again as a player, rejoining Justin Thomas, the only winning pair on the first day. Woods is 11-4-1 in foursomes in the Presidents Cup. They face Byeong Hun An and Hideki Matsuyama.
“As far as the timing of when I went out there, it was based on what we thought would be best for the guys leading off playing in foursomes. We've had a thought process of this kind of going into it,” Woods said.
OK, I understand each and every word used, yet haven't the slightest idea what point he might be making....
Other Players - Hard to find any discussion of how guys played, and the GC coverage was necessarily a bit jumpy. Lots to cover, so hard to really get a feel for who's striping it and who's struggling.
I'm listening to those GC talking heads, who have just chosen to emphasize that the U.S. lost yesterday's session on the greens. Not only is that virtually always the case in these events, but it figures to be especially so at this venue. That said, it also needs reminding that this not a particularly strong U.S. team at the art of putting, so perhaps we shouldn't be so surprised.
For the Internationals, I was especially struck by the strong play of Sungjae Im, King Louie and Abe Ancer. Also C.T. Pan, and also struck with how tiny he is.... though he is on the bench today. Ernioe must not like him in the format, I'm guessing.
Sungjae Im's strong play will exactly no one that has seen his play on Tour. But wassup with that band-aid over his left ear? I googled it and came up empty....
Joaquin Niemann seemed especially overwhelmed by the moment, or at least didn't play very well. He'll warrant closer scrutiny today as a result.
As for the Americans, it's a short list of those deserving mention. Tiger looked very sharp, and JT I'll not worry myself over. But a long list a Yanks that played quite poorly, including....well, most of them. Patrick had a moment or two, but otherwise I dare you to name a non-Tiger moment in the day.
None worse, of course, than that final DJ-Woodland pairing. This header from prior to kick-off caught my eye:
Presidents Cup 2019: Dustin Johnson not worried about knee. 'As good as I can be' he says
Perhaps that's the issue?
U.S. fortunes will likely depend upon that list of DJ, Woodland, Finau, Webb and the X-Man/Cantlay team (which I liked at the outset) turning on the jets and contributing. Thing is, it's really hard to find your game in foursomes....
But the lead by the Internationals is very much what this event needed. Now we get the watch the Empire Strike Back. Popcorn, ready.
The Venue - No argument with this:
How good is Royal Melbourne? Nick Faldo, the persnickety Englishman, once said,”The West Course might just be the best golf course in the world. Period.” Yet the Composite Course being used for this Presidents Cup is even better, cherry-picking six of the best holes from the East Course, which is tighter and tougher. The West features the gorgeous bunkering and flummoxing greens of the good Dr. Alister MacKenzie. The East was built by Alex Russell, the champion of the 1924 Australian Open who studied under MacKenzie.
A special place for sure, and a perfect segue back to Shippy:
Why is the Presidents Cup still an event? -@TheGhostOfHogan
Hey, I enjoy bagging on the Cup as much as anybody, but the bottom line is this: would you rather enjoy two dozen of the best players in the world engaged in match play at Royal Melbourne or be forced to watch something vapid and pointless, like football? I, for one, am happy we have compelling golf during an otherwise dead time of year.
And if not for this event, when would we see this spectacular venue? Really, the only people that react this way are those that don't realize that the Prez Cup is a remarkable facsimile of the Ryder Cup pre-Seve.
Team match play and some good venues, what more do we need?
I do like this story about the speed of the greens:
Like MacKenzie’s Augusta National, Royal Melbourne’s primary defense is the wicked greens. Of a long-ago Australian PGA, Sam Torrance said, “I had a 15-foot putt and I smoked normal cigarettes then — not rollups — and I threw [my cigarette] down on the green and the next thing it’s rolling right down the green. They were the fastest greens I have ever seen.” Tom Watson, after winning the 1984 Australian Open, said, “Those greens scared the daylights out of me.” With modern agronomy, they have only gotten firmer and faster.
So, penalty for testing the line, right? Many years ago friend of the blog Wally tossed his cigarette on the 17th green at Willow Ridge, and we watched the wind roll it towards the hole, taking the break perfectly. Good times.
To me, it's going to be fascinating watching the guys adjust to the venue, specifically the reaction of the ball on the green.
Alan also had this, somehow adding to our understanding above and beyond those on site:
Royal Melbourne looks to be in suburbia/a neighborhood. What’s the vibe down there? -@BrianChipper
The Sand Belt has become such a mythologized corner of the golf world it is jarring to discover it is, in fact, smack in the heart of suburbia. But Royal Melbourne is a sprawling property, with two sprawling courses, a huge clubhouse and large range. So once you’re on the property it feels quite immersive and you have no sense of the burbs all around you. But Royal Melbourne’s location does affect the competition: one of the primary reasons the Composite Course is used is because a busy roadway bisects the West Course, separating the 13th-16th holes from all the others. When the boys and I played Royal Melbourne in November an older gent in his car actually flipped us the bird because apparently we were too slow crossing the street. It was hilarious. By including holes from the East Course into the Composite there is no need to cross that road, thus reducing the chances of an international incident.
Big deal, Alan, pretty much all of Europe has at one time or another flipped you the bird.
And do not miss this Mike Clayton piece on Royal Melbourne, in which he analogizes the iconic venue to....well, Cindy Crawford. No, seriously:
Cindy Crawford earned fame and fortune from her extraordinary face and the little, dark mole just above her top lip.
Not even perfection was perfect.
A mole? I never noticed, but perhaps my line of sight was lower....
And this epic comment from legendary architect Tom Simpson:
Tom Simpson, the great English golf course architect, thought golf courses ought to show off the occasional Crawford-like imperfection.
Writing at the height of his powers in the early decades of the last century Simpson suggested of a new course he was building, “We therefore intend to include one thoroughly amusing but bad hole for the sake of variety and a brief interval of mental tranquility.”
Big deal, I know architects that include many more in their designs....
Anyway, Clayts has some thoughts on the holes used for the Composite Course, and finds some issues....That said, it's really not much of a case and, as the mole metaphor conveys, those minor flaws are quite easy to ignore. In fact, I shall commence ignoring them in 3,2,1....
About Those Unis... - No sooner was Tiger named Maximum Leader, than the Sunday outfits of red and black were rolled out... But red on Thursday? Didn't see that coming...
Am I the only one that found the shade of red off-putting? And with white-white pants? So white that you could see the red shirt and pockets through the fabric? An unforced error, and perhaps only the guy that picked them could play well in them?
Black and khaki for Ernie's guys I liked better. It's an underrated combo, and only that green accent color might warrant a quibble.
As for that logo? Well, it was one thing with the flag:
But kind of silly adorning shirts and the like:
If they lose, one assumes it'll be one and done. But if they win, it'll be with us forever. Couldn't we just make up a flag for them?
The next three days should be good fun.
One last non-Prez Cup bit before we go, quite possibly the best golf headline ever:
Tommy (Two Gloves) Gainey arrested in Florida prostitution stingYeah, the jokes, they write themselves....
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