Prez Cup Wrap

It was all over by Saturday Thursday evening, so I'll not even bother with a game story...  Though the funniest moment was NBC trying to inject drama into the moment when the Cup was secured, Steve Sands suggesting at one point that the video of Daniel Berger going dormie with Si Woo Kim would be on an endless loop:.  

Daniel Berger earned at least a half point in his match versus Si Woo Kim when he went 3 up with three to play (he later won 2 and 1) to push the Americans' point total to the 15.5 threshold it needed to beat the International team at Liberty National. 

The U.S. entered Sunday with a 14.5-3.5 lead, needing just one point to secure the victory. When it was all over, their margin was 19-11. 

Kevin Chappell and Marc Leishman led off singles matches Sunday, and they both made pars on the 18th to halve the match and earn a half point per side. 

Needing only a halve or a win to clinch, Berger, a Presidents Cup rookie, finished it. He was in the fourth pairing Sunday.

If you tuned in Sunday, and I suspect we'll hear that not many did, it wasn't for the drama...

Now I'll not pretend that this wasn't an unfortunate set of circumstances, but sports can be like that.  The Euros took it on the chin in the opening foursomes session, sleeping Thursday night with a 3 1/2- 1 1/2 deficit.  They proceeded to avoid winning an actual match until that last group out in Saturday's afternoon session, not a winning formula for sure...

Late Saturday Alan Shipnuck posted this mission statement:

We can pretend no longer: the Presidents Cup is dead. I'm sorry to have to deliver this painful truth. It is, in theory, a likeable event, bringing together most of our favorite golfers in a tried-and-true team format. But for years (decades?) the Presidents Cup has been a dreary slog, and this playing has been the most boring yet. 

Quite simply, a sporting event is not fun when the outcome is preordained. The Internationals never had a chance against this powerhouse U.S. squad and they looked defeated from the opening match on Thursday; this thing was all but over on Friday evening, with the U.S. holding an 8-2 lead. That has left us with two soul-sucking days of meaningless golf, during which fans, players and reporters will make a token effort but ultimately fail to convince anyone that they care.

Dead?  Doesn't that imply the existence of life at some point in the process?  So bear with me a second, because two years ago if a professional golfer, one of those guys with his name on his bag, makes a 3-footer then the Internationals would be the defenders and the narrative would be revenge.

I'll circle back to Alan's item, but our Tour Confidential gang did a daily quickie, and this was their Saturday night offering:

The Americans didn't let up on Saturday at the Presidents Cup, and it's simply a matter of time before they clinch on Sunday. In fact, this U.S. squad has been so dominating, we have to ask—is this the best golf team, ever?

 The answers mostly played to type:

Alan Shipnuck: Time will tell. It certainly has the potential to be. But this is like

winning the NFC Championship game—gotta dust the Euros next year in golf's Super Bowl and then we can have a serious discussion about it.

Josh Berhow: It's good, but you need a bigger sample size. And, nothing against the International boys, but they just haven't brought much this week. That makes it much harder to draw a comparison. That said, if you want to be a dominant force, you can't just squeak by the teams you should beat—you have to make a statement. And that's happening this week. So it's a good start.

But when I say playing to type, that was really setting up the great Travelin' Joe Passov:

Joe Passov: For the greatest golf team of all time, this old-timer is sticking with the 1981 Ryder Cup team, which included Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Raymond Floyd and Hale Irwin. Oh, and throw in multiple major winners Ben Crenshaw, Larry Nelson and Johnny Miller, plus past and future U.S. Open winners Jerry Pate and Tom Kite, respectively, and that year's British Open winner and player of the year, Bill Rogers, and you have the ultimate team. Bruce Lietzke was the 12th player—and he had already amassed three victories that season, on his way to 13 lifetime wins. It's no wonder they thumped Europe 18 1/2 to 9 1/2.

I think we can all agree that Joe is getting good value from his Premium membership in Google, because I for one had expunged the estimable Bill Rogers from my memory bank.

But, with the passage of 24 hours can we perhaps dial back the accolades, because the best team evah doesn't get dusted 7.5 - 4.5 in singles....  Evah!

Those same lads circled back to a similar question Sunday night after it was all over:

1. The U.S. thrashed the International side to win the 12th Presidents Cup, 19-11, marking the U.S.'s 10th victory in this competition in 12 tries. Was the rout more a

result of a superior American team or an underperforming International side?

Jessica Marksbury: I think it was a mix of both. The Americans were completely unstoppable in team play, and it seemed like they slowed down a bit in singles. Granted, the Cup was pretty much already in the bag on Saturday night. 

Jeff Ritter: Agreed, Jess. The Internationals couldn't match the U.S. energy over the first three days, and it felt like for every spectacular shot the US pulled off, the Internationals would suffer a lipout or some other bad break. That said, if they staged this match 10 times, the Internationals might win once. 

Alan Shipnuck: Not even once, Ritter.

There's no disagreement that this American team came in deservedly heavily-favored.  In one of our preview posts I noted that the Internationals had lost the one that they really should have won, two years ago in Inchon.  Not only did they suffer from a lack of depth, but virtually none of their top players seemed to come in on form...  Think Hideki, Scott and Day in particular.

So, heroes and goats for anyone?  First, the TC guys:

Ritter: DJ won the most points and JT brought the most fire, but I'll give MVP to Phil, the team's heartbeat. Several options on the Internationals for goat, but Hideki Matsuyama's performance was the most out of line with expectations.

True enough, but then Hideki took down JT on Sunday.... Phil, of course, had quite the charmed week, especially the birdie on No. 18 on Thursday that might have been the most significant of the week.  Mind you, I thought the play in that match was particularly spotty, but a "W' is a "W", right?

And this:

Marksbury: Great pick, Jeff. It's always awesome when a captain's pick really delivers, especially when that guy happens to be Phil. I'll go with DJ, though. An undefeated performance deserves all the accolades. And as for the lower-case goat … I guess you have to go with poor Emiliano Grillo, the only player to be completely shut out of even a half point.

Sigh!  Why pick on the guy from whom nothing is expected and was only picked because Captain Price didn't know how to pronounce the names of the other contenders?  Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama played poorly enough to get themselves benched,  but pick on the guy from the place where no one plays golf.

Alex Myers takes his shot at winners and losers as well:

Winner: Phil Mickelson

Remember when Phil called out captain Tom Watson at the 2014 Ryder Cup at the most awkward press conference in golf history? Well, since that time, he's now a ridiculous 8-1-3 in team competitions following his win over Adam Hadwin on Sunday. If this is the 47-year-old's last Presidents Cup, he went out with a bang. And he got a great family photo on the 18th green to use as this year's Christmas card.

Don't go there, Alex....  By all means credit the man for his play, but that presser was disgraceful....

But this?

Winner: Liberty National

Yes, you probably got sick of NBC showing shots of the NYC skyline and the Statue of Liberty. And if you were playing a drinking game around that, you definitely got sick. But you can't deny that it was a spectacular setting all week. Or that the often-critiqued course presents a compelling match-play venue with a variety of holes and a plethora of water hazards. We just hope the next time Liberty National gets a crack at hosting a team competition that both teams actually show up.

Really?  OK, the views were spectacular, especially since the weather was so good...  I thought the TC guys got this one about right:

Ritter: It took nothing away from the show, and there were some fun holes, especially

the opener where guys frequented the pond. The par-3 closer wasn't bad, either. 

Marksbury: I never got tired of those skyline views. The course looked awesome on TV, and the weather really cooperated. I loved the driveable par 4 and closing par 3. What more could you ask for from an exhibition match-play event? 

Shipnuck: At the majors (and every stroke play event), the players are battling the course. At the Cups, you're trying to beat the other guys, so the course takes on less importance. Liberty National was a perfectly fine venue and I agree it looked awesome on TV.

 But this one from Alex I find bizarre:

Winner: Rules situations

In a week devoid of drama, the Presidents Cup delivered odd rules scenarios on a daily basis. There was Anirban Lahiri being DQ'd from a hole for taking a practice shot on Friday, Jordan Spieth having to concede a hole for scooping up an opponent's moving putt on Saturday, and then there was what happened to Kevin Chappell on Sunday. The American managed to find a TV tower with his tee shot on No. 10, wound up dropping in a hazard, and then being assessed a penalty for grounding his club in said hazard, which prompted a spirited conversation with rules official Steve Rintoul.

He's pulling our leg, right?  I fear that if these guys ever learned the rules that my blog would go dark....

So back to Alan and his miracle cures for the deceased event:

1. Take the Cup on the road. Permanently.

I'm thinking Mongolia, Siberia, Greenland and places like that. If the point is to grow the game, let's be more creative in the venues. Because the only time the Internationals have a chance is when the Americans are forced to fly halfway around the world to play golf for free, which seems to have a dispiriting effect on these capitalists.

Yeah, but we tend to forget that those International players all live in Orlando and Scottsdale as well.  I get that their win and tie (and also 2015's near-miss) all came in home games, but time zones are a bitch in the world of TV ratings...

6. This is the Presidents Cup, so let's gerrymander the teams

Clearly the rest of the world is not enough, so let's give the Internationals two wild-card picks from Europe; how much more fun would this be with Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter in the mix?

There's so much wrong with that last bit, including his lack of civics knowledge, as it's Congressional districts that are gerrymandered....

I was going to channel my inner Jack and suggest that we let them include Continental Europe  as well.  But while he's having fun with it, he missed the most obvious fix, and his TC colleague put in the rebound:

Ritter: As Shipnuck wrote Saturday, anything and everything should be on the table. Gotta say I like the idea of making it a coed match, with six men and six women on each squad. Coed partners for foursomes and four-ball would be cool, wouldn't it? And the Korean women could swing the balance of power back to the International side. At the very least, the powers that be should shave off one day of competition and a few matches in an effort to keep it closer entering Sunday.

That would actually be fun, but we shouldn't hold our breaths....

 Jeff Ritter gives the guys letter grades, some of which deserve comment:

JORDAN SPIETH (3-1-1) – A

Never gave an inch while partnered with Patrick Reed. Raised game even higher Saturday after goofy rules controversy. 

PATRICK REED (3-1-1) – A

Captain America improved to 8-3-1 when paired with Spieth in team events. The legend grows.

Quite the team for sure, but can somebody please explain where they were on Sunday?  I think the biggest question after this week is whether you send these guys out in all four team sessions in Paris?

But clearly we're grading on the curve:

KEVIN CHAPPELL (1-1-1) – B+

Came off bench on Friday with hair on fire, making three birdies in first nine holes. Halved singles match to guarantee U.S. would keep Cup. 

BROOKS KOEPKA (2-2) – B

Indestructible with DJ but didn’t offer much else. 

CHARLEY HOFFMAN (1-2) – B-

Other half of cool “bash brothers” celebration with Chappell. Went bananas after Saturday chip-in. Failed to clinch Cup in second Sunday singles match.

How many balls did Charley put in the water on Sunday?  But this guy deserved a better grade for sure, and I was very happy for him:

ANIRBAN LAHIRI (1-1-1) – B-

Sure, he suffered a disastrous 6-and-5 Friday loss (with Charl Schwartzel), including a rules gaffe that had him DQ’ed from playing a hole. But saved face by drilling key late putts to win a Saturday point, preventing his team from enduring the humiliation of losing the Presidents Cup on Saturday. Picked up another .5 point against Kiz on Sunday. Not bad for a much questioned captain’s pick.

In a curious way, that Saturday match reminded me of the Poulter-McIlroy match at Medinah.... I know, but it set the tone for Sunday, which our clueless commentators couldn't see coming.

And this might have been the best player on their team:

JHONATTAN VEGAS (1-4) – C

Played with passion but dragged down by poor partners. Beat Spieth Sunday. Better than his record. Did Venezuela proud.

His 0-4 record in team play is the most distorted record to be found, as he played well for most of the week.  

Unfortunately we can't leave without a couple of Tiger stories....  Did you see the arm candy?

While golf fans are familiar with many of the wives and girlfriends of the U.S. Presidents 

Cup team, assistant captain Tiger Woods has been accompanied by a lesser-known face this week. 

Erica Herman, 33, was spotted walking alongside Woods Thursday and Friday at the Presidents Cup wearing a “player spouse” credential, which is generally reserved for a wife or girlfriend of the event’s players and captains. In February, a post on tigerwoods.com identified Herman as the general manager of The Woods, a Woods-branded pop-up restaurant at the Genesis Open.

other reports characterize her as Tiger's girlfriend, and I'll just note my relief that she doesn't conform  to his type.  Nice to see some personal growth...

6. During the assistant captains' press conference, Tiger Woods said he "definitely" could see a scenario in which he doesn't return to competitive golf. Could you see that scenario? 

Ritter: If it wasn't possible, I doubt Woods would even open the door. He'd obviously be missed on the course, but there are many ways he can still have a huge impact on the game in an elder-statesman role. Weeks like this one are the tip of the iceberg. 

Shipnuck: I'm sorry to say but I think we're already there.

Well, can't blame Alan for being down, as Mike and he are working on the sequel to The Swinger....  But a brunette and some actual honesty, not a bad week at all...

Time for you to get on with your day....  Mine involves an outing to Stanwich, so please don't hate me.