It's a rainy Thursday here in the New York area, so nice of them to give us some golf to watch....
Shack's Fever Dream - Given the lack of traction the Prez Cup has demonstrated, it's long been obvious that it was the perfect vehicle through which the Tour could throw a bone (probably not the most sensitive analogy available) to the ladies, securing Jay's position at all the right cocktail parties.
The fact that this solution never got oxygen tells us all we need to know about Tour leadership, or perhaps we can just do that which we do in such situations, and blame Patrick Cantlay. Oddly, Geoff devotes his newsletter this week to rolling out this premise, and I call it odd timing because his effort to promote this idea comes at a time when the Tour is no longer Master of Its Domain. Here's his lede from Tuesday:
Nearly two years since the PGA Tour announced a long-overdue Presidents Cup format change, teams from the United States and the non-European world are descending upon Royal Montreal for the revitalized matches.USA Co-captains Jim Furyk and Stacy Lewis will send out lineups taken from their 16-player team and up against the International team fronted by Mike Weir and Karie Webb. Each side is bringing just four Vice Captains after a U.N. decree to limit the role of assistants in world team golf matches. And while some of the Presidents Cup changes will take getting used to, optimism is high for proceedings unlike anything else on the crowded golf calendar.
He even reimagined that logo above, which has the added benefit of guiding folks to the proper restroom...
When doing such a alternative history, I think it's important to stay as close as possible to the real world, so I think Geoff errs in imagining Jim Furyk as U.S. Captain, given that his face-plant captaincy in 2018 ensures that he would never be given such responsibility again. What? Really? Alas, Poor Furyk! as Captain of an actual team? Did they waive the IQ test again?Before highlighting signs of massive success before the tee shot is struck Thursday afternoon, here is a word about the team make-up in case you’ve been comatose
- The two squads are composed of six male and six female points qualifiers.
- Two captain’s picks per gender have bolstered each team, bringing the total to 32 players competing.
- Sessions over the Presidents Cup’s traditional four-day schedule will include mixed foursomes and fourballs on Thursday and Saturday.
- Friday’s sessions will consist of men’s and women’s foursomes matches
- A bold singles format will debut Sunday with only 12 of a team’s 16 players getting to play. The gender dispersion is determined in the chess match-style “snake draft” format long employed at the Presidents Cup but bound to make the role of Captains more vital than ever.
Each gender? Just how many genders are we planning on? And, isn't that a hate crime?
Kind of crazy how much thought he's put into this, and here's his acknowledgement of the source of his logo:
The online Presidents Cup Shop has already sold out all items featuring USA’s clever logo, a retro update of the former JC Penney Classic’s insignia that was put on rope caps, golf shirts, t-shirts and more. A robust bootleg market on Pinterest and eBay has forced the PGA Tour to issue an array of DMCA claims to little avail.
That JC Penney reference will go right over the heads of any readers under forty....
In Wednesday's post, Geoff has the "actual" pairings:
The match draft got off to a chippy start when Captains Mike Weir and Karrie Webb slow-played their opening pick by taking the entire three minutes allotted. Apparently going for some kind of dramatic effect, Weir announced a long-planned leadoff start for Canadians Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners.“Great to see you’re playing as fast as ever, Mike,” chirped USA Captain Jim Furyk. He countered with Nelly Korda and Patrick Cantlay, dashing some hopes of a leadoff combo featuring World No. 1’s Scottie Scheffler and Korda.
Lots of good stuff here, and it really works (at least for your humble blogger) because of a combo of great women's events (their Open at the Old Course and Curtis Cup, especially), plus the Caitlin Clark effect that has us imagining people actually watching women's sports.
But I'm guessing that Geoff's vision is a day late and a dollar short, because of Phil. The Tour is no longer self-financed, and those hoarders and kulaks require a return on their investment. I'd love to see the analysis underlying this:
SSG will invest up to $3 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises with an initial input of $1.5 billion for a valuation of over $12 billion. Players will receive equity into PGA Tour Enterprises; these grants, made over time, will be based on playing accomplishments, future participation and tour status.
Call me a cynic, but to get to $12 billion you'd have to believe a lot of things that aren't true or at least proven, and I'd guess you'd have to assign an inflated value to the Prez Cup (really, except for the fledgling TGL, what else is there to intentionally overvalue?). Geoff imagines a huge media reaction to the mixed format, but is he familiar with women's golf ratings?
This event is a pleasant four days, but has unfortunately been bereft of buzz and drama. Of course, so was the Ryder Cup for fifty years, but I think the opportunity of the Tour to do the right thing may have passed.
Thursday Preview - The biggest difference between those two cups is in the header, specifically the Thursday play. It certainly makes the event more user friendly, that other Cup featuring more golf than any one human being can watch (or play).
Golf Mag has a roundtable, so shall we jump in?
1. Hey there, team. Below you’ll find Thursday’s four-ball matches. What’s the best one — and what’s your predicted Day 1 score?2024 Presidents Cup Thursday matchups, tee times (ET)Match 1 (11:35 a.m.) : Jason Day & Byeong Hun An (International) vs. Xander Schauffele & Tony Finau (USA)Match 2 (11:53 a.m.) Adam Scott & Min Woo Lee (International) vs. Collin Morikawa & Sahith Theegala (USA)Match 3 (12:11 p.m.): Sungjae Im & Tom Kim (International) vs. Scottie Scheffler & Russell Henley (USA)Match 4: (12:29)Taylor Pendrith & Christiaan Bezuidenhout (International) vs. Wyndham Clark & Keegan Bradley (USA)Match 5 (12:47 p.m.): Hideki Matsuyama & Corey Conners (International) vs. Patrick Cantlay & Sam Burns (USA)Dylan Dethier: I’ll take the electric duo of Sungjae Im and Tom Kim against the relentless ball-striking duo of Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley. A clash in personalities and styles of play? Bring it on. Looking forward to a gritty tie in this one as the Internationals jumping out to a 3.5-1.5 lead after the first session. This is a prediction mostly made on vibes (most of these are, to be honest) but I’ll take the International side in lousy weather on Thursday.James Colgan: I have seen the future, and it is an absolute fire-breather between The Australians (Scott and Lee) and The Netflixers (Morikawa and Theegala). Both teams have one steady hand and one streaky player, and ultimately I think it might be the pivot point of the whole first session.Nick Piastowski: James has the right answer here. Min Woo is my breakout pick on the International side, and Sahith for the American dozen. Should be fun. But to add another pairing to the mix, let’s go to the fourth match, where we’ll find Taylor Pendrith, the first Canadian out. If there’s home-country noise, it’ll be heard here. (And if there’s any lingering Patrick Cantlay thoughts, they’ll be voiced in the day’s final match.). And a prediction? Let’s gets nuts and say 3-2 … Internationals.
I expected more of a freak out about the non-pairings. Specifically, isn't breaking up Cantlay-Schauffele kind of radical? The same can be said for Scheffler and Burns, though they've not had any success together (admittedly a small sample size), and I'm not sure why Sam Burns is on the team excepting for his babysitting duties.
The Adam Scott pairing seems intriguing, though I do agree that that Im-Kim pairing will have to produce for Mike Weir. But did anyone see Russel Henley with the best player on the planet? To me, Furyk is pursuing high-risk pairings, which is more what we expect from underdogs? There can be some upside if it all pans out, but this is a man whose 2018 pairings were a dumpster fire.... so, I'm sure it will all work out.
2. Tom Kim was this tournament’s breakout star two years ago. Is there anyone who fits that description this time around?Colgan: In my mind, it’s not even close. Min Woo Lee is the exact kind of media-literate star the PGA Tour has been missing since Bryson, and while he’s got a ways to go before he’s Bryson’s caliber of player, this week could quickly vault him into Bryson levels of entertainer.Piastowski: Man, I need to answer these faster; James is spot on again. But it may very well be Sahith Theegala, who can low with the best of ‘em, isn’t bashful and will, outside of the Canadians, have as much support as anybody. The Theegala family and friends group will be out, and they’re a hoot.Dethier: He’s sitting the first session, so this could be a dumb prediction already — but Canadian Mackenzie Hughes is one of the best putters in the world. If he gets hot on the greens he could have a real moment on home soil.
Hard to get on a putting heater from the bench, Dylan. That's the thing about a four day event, the four guys sitting (Hughes and Si Woo Kim for Mike Weir, Homa and Harman for the Yanks) are quite obviously not in the circle of trust. After all, if you can't your own ball,. what are you doing on the team?
3. Give me your highest point-earner for each team.Dethier: On the U.S. side I’ll take Xander Schauffele; he’s built for these. And gimme Adam Scott for the Internationals, mostly because he’s been open about how badly he wants to play well this week and watching him get, say, four points would be immensely satisfying. (Value plays: Henley and Pendrith.)Colgan: Patrick Cantlay for the Americans, Tom Kim for the Internationals. We always undervalue the value of prior history in these events. Both of those guys have done it before, and they’ll do it again.Piastowski: Dylan going with Xander is undoubtedly my favorite part of these exercises. It’s paid off this year, for sure. But I’m liking either Collin Morikawa, who’s shown good form over the summer, or Wyndham Clark, who played two weeks ago in Napa. On the International side, let’s go with Jason Day.
As Nick hints at, a lot of these guys haven't played since East Lake. Sound familiar? That was an issue for the Yanks in Rome, those it may well be true for both sides. Hard to account for the relative rustiness of the two squads, give that they're all U.S.-based.
4. Everyone on both teams has now come through the interview room. What’s something you’ve seen or heard from in there that piqued your interest?Dethier: I was fascinated to hear Tony Finau talking about being a parent. The gist was this: Growing up, Tony’s family didn’t have much in the way of money or built-in opportunity. His son, on the other hand, will have plenty of both. Tony’s life and career have been defined by his grit; now it’s clear he thinks a lot about how to instill that into his son. I thought that was fascinating.Colgan: Min Woo Lee told me he stumbled into a barbershop in downtown Montreal and requested to have INT etched into his head. TEN minutes later, he walked out with a fresh haircut. He has more faith in a barber he’s never met than I do in my car.Piastowski: I asked Kevin Kisner if he’s going to follow through on a tweet where he said he’d go tarp off if Max Homa were to hoop one (editor’s note: that means he’d take his shirt off if Max Homa were to hole out from the fairway) and he said he would. So there’s that.
Have your eyes stopped rolling yet? Would someone please tell Kevin Kisner that he's not playing or announcing this week, and therefore he's not of interest to us? Is he so clueless as to not understand that such a reaction can only work when it's spontaneous,. and that planning it make shim te4dious?
5. Who has the most at stake this week?Dethier: U.S. captain Jim Furyk. He has a lot riding on this week, especially after his Ryder Cup captaincy in Paris ended in defeat. Look, he’s hardly the only one to lose an away Ryder Cup, so he’s hardly alone there. But it’s been a quarter-century since the U.S. lost a Presidents Cup. It won’t necessarily be his fault if they do lose, just like it wasn’t necessarily his fault in France — but he’s the guy at the helm. That means big-time pressure.Colgan: Weirdly, Scottie Scheffler. I don’t expect he’ll play poorly, but the World No. 1 has struggled mightily in each of his last two starts in team events. If he makes it three, the questions could get louder about his match play makeup.Piastowski: Any of the six U.S. captain’s picks. It’s still stunning to me that Justin Thomas, who lives for team golf maybe more than any of the 24 players here, will be watching on TV.Dethier: That’s wild to me, too, Nick!
As for Scottie, this is a strange time to drop the Tiger references... We expect the top player to be the top player, but an 18-hole match is a coin flip. Tiger was a match-play force of nature, until he turned pro.
Obviously the takeaway is that their answers are 100% on the American side. The International Team has little at stake because nothing is expected of it, which could make them dangerous, no?
I agree about Furyk, though I'm having trouble caring or even understanding why he got the gig. We're allegedly using the Prez Cup for Ryder Cup battle prep, yet our Prez Cup captains seem to be more about mulligans for Ryder Cup failures (Davis Love, anyone?). Jim Furyk will never be a Ryder Cup captain again, so the purpose in having hi captain this team is what?
I would have answered the question with either the PGA Tour or SSG. This event has to produce revenues and buzz, and another U.S. blowout would be a very bad thing.
6. Okay, gimme a final score.
Dethier: The analytics favor the road team, but let’s get crazy: I think this is the year for the Internationals. This team’s extremely cohesive. Adam Scott is setting the standard. I like their entire leadership team. The U.S. team has its weak spots. And if Quebec’s finest hockey fans show up ready to tear down the visitors, it could happen. Let’s ride with the home squad. Internationals, 16-14.
Colgan: U.S. wins. Again. 17-13.
Piastowski: Having walked all 18 this week, having stuck my foot into the water where Woody Austin face-planted here in 2007, it’ll be the team that birdies the most. Scores will be low. That favors the US of A. Make it 16.5-13.5.
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