A Week In Oz

Yesterday was the last of our powder days, so I felt the story could use another 24 hours of ageing....An interesting week for sure, so let's dive in.

First, the obligatory game story:

MELBOURNE, Australia – The USA’s might proved unconquerable. 

Finally arriving Saturday when they won three of four points in the afternoon foursomes

session, then taking full flight in Sunday’s singles action, the heavily favored Americans climbed out of a cavernous hole in the Australian Sandbelt to win the Presidents Cup. 

Down 6-1 at one point on Friday and trailing 10-8 to the underdog Internationals heading into the final day at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, the Americans won eight of 12 points in singles to pull out a 16-14 victory. 

In winning the singles session for the first time since 2009, the comeback victory increased the USA’s record to 11-1-1 in the series.

I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone compare it to that Poults-Rory match late Saturday at Medinah.  Though the Ints had trouble finishing off matches all week, which I assume would come back to haunt them eventually.

Golf Magazine's writers took time away from their eggnog (well, a couple of them might have been over-served) to opine on the broad picture:

5. Which statement do you agree with more: The International squad is a strong group of up-and-comers that will make the Presidents Cup competitive for years to come, or that they got lucky to keep it close with a U.S. team dealing with team drama (Reed) and missing key members (Brooks Koepka and Jordan Spieth)? 

Did you catch that question number?   Any guesses as to the subject of the first four queries?

Bamberger: Unfortunately, the latter. Quail Hollow Club, here they come. Ernie tried so hard. They all did. Twelve is by two too many. Thirty points, 10 players and maybe the Internationals could compete when the Americans are far from home. In the U.S., it will always be hard for the Internationals to win.

Sens: It was a gutty effort but the lopsided historical record is no fluke. The Internationals have some fine young players, but the U.S. has an even larger arsenal of young guns. As Michael alludes to, Royal Melbourne was a great equalizer this week. Put this same competition on a lush dartboard of a modern course, and the competition wouldn’t have been as close. Or as entertaining. 

Dethier: At one point on Friday, the International side was projected to take a 9-1 lead through two sessions. In some ways, that’s what made this a particularly gutting defeat: if they couldn’t win this one, when will they be able to? 

Wood: People are placing way too much weight on what happened at Liberty National. This Cup was in doubt until the last half hour, and 2015 in Korea was in doubt until the last minute. The American team has a lot of confidence and is experienced winners. Should the Internationals win one, things will change and the records could start evening out. Yes, America has won a bunch in a row, but they haven’t all been blowouts, and the International team will gain a lot of belief from this, even if the outcome didn’t go their way. 

Kerr-Dineen: The top of the order on the International team is usually quite strong — certainly strong enough to compare with victorious European teams from recent history. But the talent starts to run thin fast toward the bottom of the order, and with no true connective tissue that bonds players from far-flung corners of the globe, the story was ultimately the same. A series of strange events kept the contest closer than usual, but I’m not sure we can draw any bigger conclusions than that.

Am I the only one that thought this an especially weak Int team?  Especially when their alleged studs, Scott, Leishman and King Louis, so underwhelm.  But Dylan hit the point I made above, that failure to stomp on the Yanks when the opportunity presented, made their loss inevitable.

And on a similar theme:

7. Did this week change the public’s perception of the Presidents Cup? And if so, who do we thank for it? 

Bamberger: In the short term, yes. In the long term no. But for the short term, it did and that’s because of Tiger, Royal Melbourne, Abe Ancer, Ernie, Brandel’s Saturday-night commentary. Mssrs. Im, Pan and An. Great talents, bright futures, nice manners. 

Sens: It was a great Cup, but if anything, it stands to only harden the public perception that the Internationals don’t stand much of a chance. As for the factors, the energy this year was fueled, among other things, by Tiger as player/captain in peak form; Reed as buzz-generating villain; the performance of some compelling young International players, and, of course, Royal Melbourne itself. It’s golf writer cliche to say that the course was the star, but in this case, it’s true. How about we scrap Quail Hollow and keep it at Royal Melbourne for 2021? 

Dethier: I think this was an awesome week for the Presidents Cup; fun Down Under, primetime TV, great course, interesting cast of characters and a nail-biting result. All those things could happen in the future, too, and golf fans will continue to enjoy it. The Cup’s biggest problem with a broader audience is still a basic one: it’s a confusing event to wrap your head around. The U.S. versus the rest of the world — minus Europe? But still I loved this edition. 

Wood: Too early to tell, but it certainly felt different to us. It was a hell of a tournament. I wish there were more courses we played tournaments on like Royal Melbourne. It’s truly one of the best. It’s like playing an Open Championship and the Masters at once. There were so many options, so many different ways to play holes, so much strategy and planning into every shot that anyone could play well there. At many courses and tournaments, the No. 1 defense of a course is length, and in today’s modern game, distance isn’t a defense at all. It just isn’t. Wind, fast fairways and firm greens are everything, and it shows you don’t need an 8,000-yard course to challenge the best players in the world. Royal Melbourne won the week. 

Kerr-Dineen: I think it did, actually. It showed what potential this contest has when one of the teams is actually capable of beating the other. Let’s hope it continues into the future.

I'm wouldn't know how to characterize the status quo ante, so assessing the change is impossible.  It's always seemed to me that those who deride this event expect it to replicate the intensity of a Ryder Cup, clueless as to the fact that the Ryder Cup wasn't the Ryder Cup for decades.

Dave Shedloski informs that things had to break right for the Yanks, including this GMTA moment:

1. AMERICA OWNED THE 18TH HOLE. 

Four key putts on Thursday and Friday either won the U.S. a full point or earned a half. It kept the International team, which gained confidence from an impressive 4-1 first-day lead, from pulling away. The last of those, by Tony Finau in the final four-ball match Saturday morning, kept the U.S. within four points going into their favorite format—foursomes, where the Yanks own a monstrous 50½-20½ advantage throughout the history of the event. Sure enough, the U.S. won three points, and almost won four. That scenario set up the Sunday comeback, the first in Presidents Cup history. “Absolutely, that was something. I wouldn't say we totally lost momentum, but it was, to me, I felt it was a bit of a blow," Els said. "The team didn't react in that way which I was really proud of, but me as captain, and I didn't reveal it to them, but I felt we had them right in the headlock, and we didn't quite finish it off on that particular time.”

Yeah, that had to be Ernie's biggest frustration.  

6. THE COUPLES FACTOR

No one gives this much thought, but Fred Couples has been captain or assistant captain every year since 2009. If he is not the coolest 60-year-old since Frank Sinatra, then he is definitely the coolest 60-year-old golfer. Although Steve Stricker, the winning Presidents Cup captain in 2017, was the acting captain whenever Woods picked up his clubs as player, there is no more calming influence than Couples, the laid-back former Masters champion, who like U.S. rookie Gary Woodland was first a team sports athlete—and a good one—who seems to understand what being a manager or coach is all about. “When Tiger asked me to be captain, it was like all the players, it's an honor. But it's pretty edgy,” Couples said. “And he kept saying to me, ‘How did you do this, how did you do this?’ I said, ‘You've got to keep watching and the points are going to come, and you're just got to believe in every one.’ ” Wise words. Woods repeatedly said the last few days, that he had “trust” in his players.

You're kidding, right?  I didn't realize Fred came from the Chauncey Gardner school of captaincy... 

Ernie gets it:

International captain Ernie Els actually had mixed feelings at that stage. On the plus side, his team had achieved a pre-match target: 10 points by Saturday night. But nagging at the 

South African was a feeling that the 10-8 advantage should have been bigger, never mind An’s missed putt. Els' mind went back to Friday’s play when, already up 4-1, the Internationals were ahead in all five foursomes. A 9-1 lead—what would have been a “knockout blow,” according to Els—loomed.

“That was probably the difference,” the four-time major champion said of what turned into a 6½-3½ scoreline. “We had so much momentum. We had so much going for us. But at the end they won the 18th hole twice and halved it once. That's 2½ points, and we came up short by 1½. 

“I wouldn't say we totally lost momentum, but it was, to me, a bit of a blow,” Els said. “The team didn't react in that way, which I was really proud of. But to me as captain—and I didn't reveal it to the players—I felt we had them right in a headlock, and we didn't quite finish it off. There's not many times when you get a team like that [all 12 Americans are ranked among the world’s top 24] under the pump like that. It was great, but it could have been unbelievable.”

Not just Saturday, Ernie....  Just couldn't get enough of those matches to the clubhouse, but that's golf.

So, who impressed?  Alan Shipnuck gives letter grades to each player, including this shocker:

Tiger Woods (player): A+

What a thrill it was to watch two GOATs tangle — Woods and the good Dr. Alister MacKenzie, each highlighting the artistry of the other. Would’ve loved to have enjoyed Tiger for at least one other match but he gave us everything he had.

Don't we need to knock that down a tick for Saturday's unexcused absence?  I still don't get that, unless those damn glutes didn't activate.

Bob Harig thinks he was the best player in the event:

MELBOURNE, Australia -- As he played the Royal Melbourne course again on Sunday, leading his U.S. Presidents Cup team to victory first as a player before settling into his

captain's role, it was difficult not to yearn for a circumstance in which Tiger Woods could play this Sandbelt gem in a stroke-play tournament. 

So on form was Woods through the three matches he played in Australia that it was yet another reminder of his golfing genius, his ability to think and plot and imagine his way around one of the game's great layouts, a course far more about brains than brawn.

He looked totally in control, but why would we be surprised?  Health concerns aside, he's long been the best iron player on the planet, and that's a perfect fit for this venue.

I have my quibbles with Alan's grades, including giving JT a full "A" despite an especially weak performance in his singles match.  This one also seems to low:

Tony Finau: C+

The gentle giant brought home 1.5 points the hard way by going 0-1-3, but his halve in the second singles match, versus Hideki Matsuyama, was crucial as Big Tony fought back from being 4-down at the turn.

Did anyone make more putts?  And while the outcome of the singles session seemed preordained, that comeback against Matsuyama in the second match out was huge.

We'll get back to this guy later, but apparently Alan wasn't impressed with his singles win:

Patrick Reed: F+

A victory in singles doesn’t wash away all the poor play and bad mojo that preceded. The one-time Capt. America (lolz) proved yet again that dysfunctional people make for bad teammates. Reed better play his way way onto every future American team because it’s hard to imagine he’ll ever be gifted another captain’s pick ever again.

But we said that after Paris...

Hard to argue with this grade:

Haotong Li: F

No wonder he played the bare minimum of two matches … losing both.

Cause, effect?  

Here we er Alan's captain grades:

Captain Woods: B-

He couldn’t have known his pick Reed would become embroiled in a cheating scandal the week before the Cup, but choosing him was always a monumental gamble, and Reed cast a pall over the whole event. And Woods the captain benching his hottest player (Woods) on Day 3 was a buzz-kill and eminently second-guessable. Otherwise, Tiger pushed all the right buttons.

Excuse me, Alan, but Patrick Reed is by now a known quantity.  Tiger couldn't have known the particulars, but that Patrick will be Patrick should surprise no one.

Captain Ernie Els: B+

His team had a palpable cohesiveness and his top-secret Moneyball approach to the pairings seems to have paid dividends. Keeping the Cup close and making it entertaining is a major moral victory.

The Moneyball stuff seems quite overstated, but Ernie got more from his ragtag band than I expected, so I'd have given him some kind of "A".

That TC panel was asked about regrets:

6. Which one decision do you think each captain would like to have back? 

Bamberger: Picking Reed, for Tiger. Not importing rough, for Ernie. 

Sens: Reed for Tiger. For Ernie? I’m not sure it would have made much of a difference, but sitting Haotong Li for the first two days couldn’t have done much for his confidence. By the time he got on the course on the third day, he looked entirely out of sorts. But maybe he would have anyway. I’m reaching here. Given the team he was up against, second-guessing Els feels like nitpicking a captain who pretty much made all the right moves. 

I've made that point about Haotong Li as well.  When you sit them for days on end, you're telliong them they're not good enough, so why are we surprised that they play down to that standard?

Dethier: For Tiger, sending Simpson and Reed out for a third match certainly didn’t pan out. As for Els, it’s hard for me to imagine him doing a much better job short of injuring Woods during one of their media appearances, though I like the two suggestions above. 

Wood: It’s a rare result when I’m not sure either captain would change any of their decisions. I don’t mean to sound pollyannaish, but I thought both captains did a hell of a job. I commend Ernie so much for willing to make big changes to the way the International team did things. All the way from a new logo to using statistics more to telling players who they were playing with rather than making them feel good letting them play with who they wanted to play with, he was an awesome captain. He looked at how things have gone and took some risks, used new strategies, and like he said gave the U.S. team a hell of a fight. 

Kerr-Dineen: Having to deal with the Reed nonsense all week. Ernie shouldn’t look back with any regrets. He captained this team superbly.

Can we all just agree to never discuss that logo again?  

Ready to go full Patrick?  OK, back to those early questions from the TC gang:

1. Thanks to a well-documented rules infraction at the Hero World Challenge, Patrick Reed came into the Presidents Cup with controversy already swirling around him — and then things got worse. He made a curious shoveling gesture on the green, went 0-3 teamed with Webb Simpson and even had to use a backup caddie on Sunday (his only win) after his regular looper, brother-in-law Kessler Karain, was banned due to an altercation with a fan. After creating drama for the second straight team event, is Reed now permanently on the captain’s pick blacklist? 

Michael Bamberger: No, but he would have to reconstitute his life. 

Josh Sens: Never say never. But Reed is sure making a strong case against himself. Maybe even more telling than his sand-shoveling at the Hero was his lack of contrition afterwards. He could have said, “I lost it for a minute there. I’m not sure what I was thinking but I messed up badly and I’m very sorry.” There was none of that. Just tedious defiance and victimhood. But the fact that I wouldn’t pick him doesn’t mean that an actual captain won’t. 

Dylan Dethier: A year ago, my colleague Josh Sens wrote the following sentence after the Ryder Cup: “In the longer term, Captain America likely won’t top the list of America 

captain’s picks, should he ever need one.” Remember that? But Reed got hot at the right time and captain Woods gets along well with him and there he was on the list of picks. Never say never is right. In my mind, the more interesting question is whether the continuing backlash will have long-term effects on Reed’s play. As good as Reed has been historically at channeling fire into strong performances, taking grief from the fans ALL the time has to wear on you. 

John Wood: No. Captains all have different reasons for their picks, and you never know what a future captain might want to fill out his team. Youth and passion? Experience and calmness? Camaraderie and a good fit? Of course you want someone in good form and playing well, but you have to factor in intangibles when it comes to captain’s picks. That’s why they exist in the first place, otherwise you’d just go 1-12 on points. Patrick has a passion for these events and sometimes maybe it can overwhelm a bit in ways he may not even be conscious of. I think as he grows and matures he’ll understand how to keep the passion and lose the controversy. 

Luke Kerr-Dineen: Yes, absolutely. This guy shouldn’t be anywhere near any U.S. team until there are some serious changes. His scorched-earth policy on whatever team chemistry he came across used to be worth it, but now he isn’t even winning anymore, and his baggage has only gotten worse. He’s become an embarrassment to the U.S. team, and fans — and his peers — deserve far better.

Dylan, go easy on Josh, we all wrote words to that effect.... Anyone know how Strick feels about the guy?  But, seriously, before any future captain adds him to team, he better have a damn good idea about who he's be paired with.

From here the gang segue's to Patrick's Mini-Me:

2. Reed’s caddie, Kessler Karain, was banned for Sunday singles after an altercation with a fan on Saturday. In a statement, Karain said a caddie’s job is to protect your player, but he said he’d “had enough” when he jumped out of his cart and pushed a fan whom he says yelled an expletive at Reed. “I don’t think there’s one caddie I know that could blame me,” he said. Do you think Karain’s actions warrant a suspension from the Tour? 

Bamberger: Absolutely, because the next incident could be worse. I think you learn in kindergarten to keep your hands to yourself. 

Sens: Agreed. Having “had enough” is not a good excuse. It’s juvenile. Put him in timeout for a bit with the other misbehaving kids. 

Dethier: Caddies and players are exposed out there, and I appreciate the difficulty of facing down a hostile crowd. I can actually think of a ton of situations where a caddie shoving a fan would be warranted. But Karain’s strange non-apology basically boiled down to, “I got frustrated and fed up, so I shoved this guy.” No bueno. Hopefully the Tour will get the full story (we really don’t know much for sure, thus far), but based on his own story he should sit out a couple of events. 

Wood: There is a lot more to the story, and the Tour will decipher everything that occurred. Nobody feels worse about this than Kessler, I promise you that. He’s a good man and a good caddie, and he made a mistake and knows it. I’ve said it in the past regarding Presidents Cups and Ryder Cups, that there are a certain number of fans on both sides who go way over the line. Banter and cheering bad shots and partisanship is great and should happen when you play an away game, but nobody should have to endure personal insults, which happens at every Cup — in the United States, in Australia, in Europe. It’s getting tougher and tougher out here to ignore. I burn for these events and try to keep an even keel out there, but there were more than a few times this week I felt like responding to hurled insults. As caddies, we instinctively want to protect our players, and we want to defend ourselves. Now, Kessler knows you can’t go over the line and be physical. But after being called expletives and being told you suck and much worse all week (that was my experience, I can only imagine what Kessler had to hear) at some point you respond. That’s being human. It’s not being a bad caddie or a bad person. I’m not defending his actions and saying what he did was right, but I certainly understand it. Just put yourself in his place. You’re at work, doing your job the best you can, and all day people are hurling insults and cursing at you and calling you awful names, and maybe your wife is out watching, or worse, your kids are there watching and hearing all this. It becomes pretty difficult to ignore and turn the other cheek. And again, I’m not blaming this on just the Australian fans. Most of them are awesome and give a good bit of banter, just as most European and American fans do. But there are always a handful who want to be part of the show. They want to be clever and throw out all their faceless false bravado knowing you can’t respond. Frankly it’s embarrassing. And unoriginal. When someone yells something that’s funny or unique, even if it is an insult, we kind of laugh at it. But the same thing yelled over and over and over is boring and it gets under your skin. I’m not saying what he did was right, I’m just saying I understand. 

Kerr-Dineen: Without doubt. Suspension may even be too lenient. I wouldn’t blame the Tour if they threw him out entirely. What are we doing here if we’re taking incidents like this — against fans, no less — lightly. This was a mess of Reed’s own making, and further evidence that he shouldn’t be anywhere near this team for the foreseeable future.

I like John Wood a lot, and he's a great addition to this panel.  But compare the stinging simplicity of Mike Bamberger's response to the tortured inconsistencies of John's.  But the most curious aspect of it might just be the contention that "Nobody feels worse about this than Kessler", because the basis for that statement eludes me.  In fact, Kessler thinks he has the full support of the caddie yard, so what say you to that, John?

Fact is, that Karain has followed his boss' playbook to the letter, and Team Read does not do contrition.  In fact here's his official statement, and perhaps someone could point me to the apology:

Oh, you had had enough?  I'm sorry, that changes everything....  

We all understand that fans can be boorish and outrageous, and I actually think the Tour comes dangerously close to promoting such behavior with their Live Under Par™ nonsense.  But you don't need to be a voice of reason to know that the professionals need to comport themselves like, well, professionals.  If you can't take the heat, Kessler, maybe another line of work?  Or another client, one that doesn't intentionally draw the heat.

The Tour's reaction will be interesting, though I'd advise Kessler to stay away from jet-skis.....  I know, that's inside baseball but, like Tiger, I trust my readers.

Perhaps the best rebuke came from Ernie:

ERNIE ELS: I just want to say one thing about the crowd. I've played in many Presidents Cups. I've played in the U.S. many times. If you look back at New York and how these players were treated in New York, this crowd is pretty quiet.

I mean, we just get treated the same wherever you go as an away game, there's some heckling going on and we all know that, and you prepare for that, and that's just the way it goes. 

We shut up and we get on with things. That's what we did in New York. So it's part of the game. And I'm with Tiger; I absolutely, I'm against heckling. I'm against crowds being disrespectful to the players, but it happens. We as professionals, we move on. 

I think Tiger is one of the ultimate professionals that's ever played the game. I've played with him where he's been heckled in U.S. Opens and a lot of other places. He's taken it on the chin and he's moved forward. He's been an example. 

Same has happened to me. It's happened to a lot of players. But I must say, this Aussie crowd, okay, they got a little bit boisterous this afternoon with a couple of beers, but which crowd doesn't. You take it and you move on.

You take it and you move on....  Not our Patrick, which is why the correct path is to move on from him.

 I'm going to finish with a long rant by Geoff about the event:

The Internationals came up just short at Royal Melbourne. Outside of the Team USA inner circle and some fanboys granted a media pass, this will not be remembered as a

satisfying win by the Americans.

Maybe I’m dead wrong. Perhaps there will be dancing in the streets of Jupiter and residents of Quail Hollow will awake to some overturned cars. A White House visit could include Captain Tiger Woods declaring this better than all of his major championship wins combined.

But I doubt it.

Good lede.... I especially liked the overturned car bit.

Even though the USA’s 16-14 Presidents Cup win left fewer-than-usual feel-good vibes, that sense will not take away from the often-remarkable golf played by both sides. The sensational Royal Melbourne will also rise above the weeks’ strange vibes, as will the effort by the many rookies in a high-pressure team golf event. The matches were immensely satisfying to watch. All involved should be proud.

And yet the ultimate takeaway from Team USA’s 16-14 win will be one of apathy thanks to the inclusion, embrace and pitiful presence of Patrick Reed.

But.... Captain America and all....

While Woods played beautifully and carried himself with great class, his captaining left much to be desired. Not only was the Reed selection confounding in the wake of 2018’s Ryder Cup boondoggle, where Reed had the audacity to complain about getting saddled with Woods as he posted what would have been a score in the low 80s, Reed’s place on the team was so unnecessary in a year of major American depth.

But, Geoff, unnecessary isn't really the point.  Tiger actually seems to have a soft spot for the man, and therein lies the issue.  I'd love some reporter to ask, but that would be the last question they ever ask.

Yet Woods rode Reed through three losses before finally benching him Saturday afternoon. A dust-up involving his caddie less than 24 hours after a peculiar 2-down, post-putt mocking celebration only reinforced that Reed is a supreme point-misser who has not learned lessons from past mistakes. Patrick Reed is the guy who over-celebrates after a dunk when his team is down by 30.

Reed’s past “body of work” and complicated presence meant he should not have been rewarded with a Presidents Cup team selection. In a “grow the game” world, Reed’s inability to grasp the very basics makes him capable of doing real damage to the reputation of professional golf.

When Reed cheated in last week’s Hero World Challenge, Woods was left with a dilemma. Leaving him off the team last minute was not feasible, but rewarding him with three starts alongside nice guy Webb Simpson left a bad taste in the mouths of American fans wanting to see a reward for class and quality. Simpson ultimately will regret protesting the “undeserved” heckling Reed received.

Maybe time will heal and wipe away memories of the Reed taint on these matches. Or the strange embrace by both Woods and the PGA Tour of the game’s ultimate 24/7, First Team, All-Conference example of Conduct Unbecoming. For now, this Presidents Cup will be remembered for being won by a team embracing a toxic figure beyond repair. And that’s why even many Americans will not feel good about the outcome.

Heck, I'm more worried that his singles win will rehabilitate him.... I also wonder about how he came to be put against C.T. Pan.  Did Tiger have to find him a soft target?  Because Captain America should take on the other team's stud, no?  

Tomorrow is a travel day, so Ill see you later in the week.