Prez Cup Preview

Shack tries to build the drama in this week's Forward Press:

A lot is on the line at the Presidents Cup. 

Really! No really! 

The very relevance of Team USA vs. The World (Except Europe) is on the line at Incheon City, an uber-modern port city near Seoul. The Presidents Cup as an interesting, must-watch event in non-Ryder Cup years hinges on the play of International’s headliners (Jason Day, Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen, Hideki Matsuyama) and emerging talents (Anirban Lahiri, Danny Lee, Marc Leishman, Sang-Moon Bae). The matches don’t have to provide thrills comparable to the 2003 classic in South Africa, but need to be close enough that the Cup isn’t decided before Sunday singles.

What do you mean by a lot?  Similarly, what do you mean by relevance?  Though Shack also channels his inner Mahmoud Abbas and has this for the dead-enders at his own blog:

I know once the matches get going I'll get excited about watching the Presidents Cup. At least, until I fall asleep because it's on in the middle of the night.

So it's do or die, but we'll hold the event in the middle of the night?  I happen to think that the Prez Cup is a perfectly respectable event, far better than what passes for golf in the so-called Silly Season.  But it's not the Ryder Cup, and people simply can't seem to get past that...

But a short history lesson for those in need.  You know what else wasn't the Ryder Cup?  Yup, the Ryder Cup was a sleepy, non-event for the first five decades or so.... In fact, it was so inconsequential that when the Tournament Players Division split from the PGA of America in 1968, they made little effort to take the Ryder Cup with them, to Commissioner Ratched's ever-lasting regret.

It was only when the Euros got tired of losing and developed a few first-class a******es of their own, most notably Seve, that the event became blood sport.  But Suzann Pettersen isn't on the International Team and controversy and bad blood needs to develop organically, as Shack lays out:

But for the 2015 Presidents Cup to be memorable, the event needs the feisty, petty and peculiar melodrama that pops up at these cups. Word is that USA Captain Jay Haas isn’t particularly thrilled that International lead cart driver Nick Price got his way with a reduction in the number of matches, all with a closer competition in mind. Still, it’s hard to imagine these two All-First Team Gentlemen side-swiping their carts and throwing down their walkie talkies before breaking out in a fistfight.

If only Robert Allenby were still good enough to qualify, though he only punches down, taking it out on the caddies.  Joel Beall gives it the old college try by recommending five "reasonable ways to energize" the event, so shall we spend a moment and grade him?  First up, I guess because it hasn't made sufficient mockery of the MLB All-Star Game:

Fan Voting

Abolish the captain's picks and give the final say to the people.

True, if ungoverned, this could lead to the likes of John Daly ballots and Happy Gilmore write-ins. However, voting occurs in other sports, most notably in all-star games, and for the most part, fans get it right. To prohibit a Daly-esque issue, simply limit the candidates for election (similar to MLB's "Final Vote" campaign).

Have you stopped laughing yet?  So Joel, would Phil, sitting at No. 30 on the points list, have been on the ballot?  And do we think Japan and Korea might stuff the ballot box for their guys?  I'm assuming since he led with that, he thought that his strongest suggestion, but let's move on:

Unfriendly Confines

In the last 20 or so years, the Ryder Cup has transformed from an exhibition of the sport to, at times, a hostile affair. Cheers after missed putts, rowdy crowds distracting play, calls of unsportsmanlike conduct. Dispositions usually foreign to the game of golf.

And for that we say, good!

 This has always been an interesting question to me, but having nothing to do with this event.  Many folks, your humble blogger included, have long wondered whether quiet galleries in fact help golfers concentrate.  The issue is obviously that with the gallery shushed, one idiot screaming mashed potatoes or the click of a camera, has a far greater propensity to affect a player.

But for the crowd to be a factor, wouldn't there need to be some preexisting intensity?   No doubt I'm more excited about the PGA bringing a Ryder Cup to Bethpage than a PGA Championship, though I do worry that it not get out of hand.

Next:

Course Upgrade 

The Presidents Cup needs a boost in venues. Outside of Royal Melbourne G.C. and Muirfield Village, the host courses have lacked gravitas and pizzazz. In golf broadcasts, the course is just as much a character, if not more so, than the players' performances. We need a star at the center of this production.

Pine Valley G.C. is ostensibly a pie in the sky, yet, as it's hosted the Walker Cup as recently as 1985, it's a concept not totally out of the question. Other courses on our wish list: National Golf Links of America, Fishers Island Club, Cypress Point, and any of the Bandon Dunes offerings for the American submissions; New South Wales, Cape Kidnappers, Hirono G.C. for the Internationals.

To be completely fair, I'd add Royal Montreal and Fancourt to that first sentence, but otherwise, Amen, Brother.  I mean he's completely unrealistic about Cypress Point and the Bandon Courses, but venues are very important way to, channeling my inner political junkie, motivate the base.  But, lest you get your hopes up, the only future venues chosen are Liberty National (2017), Quail Hollow (2021) and Harding Park (2025).  

So, we can hope that Nurse Ratched will go to Cape Kidnappers in 2019, or we can assume that he'll cash the largest check on offer.  I know which way I'm betting...

I caught a bit of Golf Channel's Live From coverage last night, including an interview with Jordan Spieth.  He was asked about the venue and responded by saying, pretty much, that it's a typical Jack Nicklaus course.  Oy vey, that bad, Jordan?

This one is actually somewhat interesting:

Less is More
In its current configuration, each team has 12 members, with the event lasting four days. That's excessive on both accounts. Shorten the competition to three days, perhaps even two, and downsize the roster to eight players.
Part of the International club's historical struggle has been its depth, or should we say, the absence of such. Limiting the amount of contestants can make the Presidents Cup a more challenged affair. 

As for scaling back on time, the current four-day period seems to dilute the product. A two-day battle puts more emphasis on the proceedings, an important factor considering the Presidents Cup is going against playoff baseball and the behemoth of American football. At the moment, the Presidents Cup has a "Oh, that's still going on? Guess I'll flip over" feel.

This one has me tugging my chin, because I feel strongly both ways... There is no question that the Ryder Cup's 3-day schedule with double sessions on Friday and Saturday is part of its DNA, creating that unrelenting intensity that builds from start to finish.  But, it's more golf each day than any human being with a life can watch...

So I always thought that expanding to four days in the Prez Cup was a smart move, allowing fans to see far more of the event.

One last note about the Golf Channel Live From overage... by far, the most commercials were for....wait for it, The President's Cup.  Now wouldn't you think that viewers of Live From the presidents Cup would already be aware of the event and it's television schedule?  Surely Omega would have bought the time to create a few more assisted suicides from over-exposure to will.i.am?