The U.S. looks like a youthful juggernaut, Tiger’s here, the golf course is bad, the fans will be wild. It might not be close, but it should be fun, and it’s big-time golf in the fall. It works.
Hey, the other international team golf competition is back in the U.S. for the first time since Tiger Woods still reigned atop the golf world.
The 12th installment of the President’s Cup gets underway Thursday just across the waterway from Manhattan at Liberty National Golf Club with 12 players from the United States taking on 12 players, uh, not from the U.S. or Europe.
Here’s five storylines to watch as play gets underway today and throughout the rest of the week.
Do we still care about the Presidents Cup? Did we ever?
We’re now 24 years and 12 events into the Presidents Cup, and the event still hasn’t taken on the impact PGA Tour officials dreamt of at the tournament’s inception in 1994. The loose catch-all confederation of players on the “International” side has always felt clumsy and weird, and that’s before you recall the rest-of-the-world bunch has only managed one win in the event in 11 tries. The Ryder Cup has 90 years of history, the baked-in nationalistic rivalry between the U.S. and Europe, and real competitiveness. Our sample size is far smaller, but so far the President’s Cup has, uh, none of that.
Yet, maybe none of that’s the Presidents Cup’s fault, exactly. Perhaps we’re using the wrong barometer — of course it’s not going to measure to golf’s most thrilling event that has a ton of built-in advantages. There’s been no War on the Shore, or Brookline, or Medinah. I cover golf for a living and for whatever reason the only recent installment that pops out in my memory is the 2007 Cup at Royal Montreal, when Mike Weir beat Tiger Woods in Sunday singles for what’s probably the best modern moment in Canadian golf history. Other than that, meh. Most others have been forgettable.
Still, that doesn’t mean this event shouldn’t continue. Especially when the alternative is perhaps another run-of-the-mill, 72-hole stroke-play event. Golf needs format variety and events that pop out on the schedule. Even for all its shortcomings as a competition, the Presidents Cup is still one of those dates. This week’s crowd at Liberty National will assuredly be massive, raucous (read: very drunk), and fun. It’ll be fine.
The Presidents Cup, for now, is fine.
BIG CAT BACK! Kinda!
If you’d like to be sad for a moment, consider where we were the last time the United States hosted a Presidents Cup. Coming into the 2013 event at Jack’s Muirfield Village in Columbus, Tiger Woods had already won five PGA Tour events that season, led the tour in adjusted scoring average, sat atop the OWGR, ran away with the top spot for Pres Cup qualifying, and took home Player of the Year honors. Life comes at you fast, etc, etc.
After another year completely away from the golf course, Tiger returns to his role this week as national team assistant captain — one he seemed to enjoy last year at Hazeltine. He’ll be a bit player in helping various groups navigate Liberty National, though Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth were quick to credit Woods last year after the U.S. team’s Ryder Cup win.
For better or worse, the golf world will always be fixated on Tiger Woods when he’s around. That hasn’t been any different this week so far, and it won’t be any different through the weekend.
Some wanted more new faces on the U.S. Ryder Cup team last year. You’ll get ’em now.
With immense pressure to get things right after a run of embarrassing losses, things worked out for the U.S. team in Minnesota. But with younger, more exciting American golf talent emerging throughout the year, plenty of U.S. golf fans weren’t happy with the Davis Love’s roster. Brooks Koepka was the team’s only national team rookie to qualify on points, only four players under 30 made the team as a whole, and Love opted for Ryder Cup veterans like J.B. Holmes and Matt Kuchar over younger talent with his captains selections.
Still, it worked. But a clear shift in the makeup of the national team will start this week at Liberty National. The youth movement is here. Exactly half of this year’s American contingent will be Presidents Cup rookies and five players (Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger, Kevin Kisner, Kevin Chappell, Charley Hoffman) will be making their pro national team debuts. Matt Kuchar at 39 was the oldest player to qualify for the team on points, but the other nine were 33 or younger. Only two players on the roster are 40 or older — captains selections Hoffman and Phil Mickelson.
If for nothing else, tune into the Presidents Cup to see a stacked core of vibrant, fun, young American stars that are set to head to Paris for next year’s Ryder Cup. It’ll be fun.
The International team has a better shot than you think
If you’re reading this, you’ve won as many Presidents Cups on U.S. soil as the International team has in its history. The team’s lone win ever came at the team’s effective home base at Royal Melbourne in 1998. Let’ just say, uh, the Sandbelt’s a hell of a contrast from a former Superfund site across from Manhattan filled with Bud Light-powered New Yorkers. Probably gonna be a juuuuuuust a bit more hostile.
Take the Americans’ clearly superior roster, the home-course advantage, and the Internationals historical futility in this competition, and it’s easy to arrive at the conclusion we’re set for a beatdown this week. But, perhaps, maybe not.
Despite all the losses, there’s reason to believe this week if you want the Americans to take an L at home. The Internationals just nearly missed in 2015, with the event coming down to the final hole in the final match. This year’s roster looks to be in improving form, too. Hideki Matsuyama won more events in 2017 than anyone in the world. Jason Day seems to be rounding back into form to close the year after a rough season. Marc Leishman was brilliant in the FedEx Cup. They certainly won’t be the favorites against a U.S. team that looks like a juggernaut, but it’s not a forgone conclusion the Americans run away with this.
Liberty National is a bad golf course. That’s OK.
Here, let’s not mince words. Liberty National is not a good golf course. In fact, it’s a bad golf course! The Superfund site-turned-$250 million project has breathtaking views of the New York skyline and the Statue of Liberty you can’t beat anywhere in the world of golf. It was also described as a project that ruined a perfectly good toxic dump when the course made its tour debut for the 2009 Barclays. It was voted the worst track on Tour by players in 2012. It’s generally regarded as overly penal and exaggerated, a fun-house mirror’s interpretation of a golf course by Bob Cupp and Tom Kite totally out of line with more minimalist courses appreciated in today’s world.
Listen, I’m far from a course architecture snob, but you’ll find few in the golf world that will die on a hill for Liberty National. It’s been redesigned since its early terrible reviews, and some of the dissent has lessened, but it’s not going to be confused for Pine Valley anytime soon. That’s a shame, because the location’s still one of the best in all of golf.
But good news: It’s still a fine venue for a match-play competition. The nature of match play and the unique style of the event make it more suited to bring quirky golf courses into the fold. This week, it’ll be fine for the purpose it serves.(sbnation)
Hey, the other international team golf competition is back in the U.S. for the first time since Tiger Woods still reigned atop the golf world.
The 12th installment of the President’s Cup gets underway Thursday just across the waterway from Manhattan at Liberty National Golf Club with 12 players from the United States taking on 12 players, uh, not from the U.S. or Europe.
Here’s five storylines to watch as play gets underway today and throughout the rest of the week.
Do we still care about the Presidents Cup? Did we ever?
We’re now 24 years and 12 events into the Presidents Cup, and the event still hasn’t taken on the impact PGA Tour officials dreamt of at the tournament’s inception in 1994. The loose catch-all confederation of players on the “International” side has always felt clumsy and weird, and that’s before you recall the rest-of-the-world bunch has only managed one win in the event in 11 tries. The Ryder Cup has 90 years of history, the baked-in nationalistic rivalry between the U.S. and Europe, and real competitiveness. Our sample size is far smaller, but so far the President’s Cup has, uh, none of that.
Yet, maybe none of that’s the Presidents Cup’s fault, exactly. Perhaps we’re using the wrong barometer — of course it’s not going to measure to golf’s most thrilling event that has a ton of built-in advantages. There’s been no War on the Shore, or Brookline, or Medinah. I cover golf for a living and for whatever reason the only recent installment that pops out in my memory is the 2007 Cup at Royal Montreal, when Mike Weir beat Tiger Woods in Sunday singles for what’s probably the best modern moment in Canadian golf history. Other than that, meh. Most others have been forgettable.
Still, that doesn’t mean this event shouldn’t continue. Especially when the alternative is perhaps another run-of-the-mill, 72-hole stroke-play event. Golf needs format variety and events that pop out on the schedule. Even for all its shortcomings as a competition, the Presidents Cup is still one of those dates. This week’s crowd at Liberty National will assuredly be massive, raucous (read: very drunk), and fun. It’ll be fine.
The Presidents Cup, for now, is fine.
BIG CAT BACK! Kinda!
If you’d like to be sad for a moment, consider where we were the last time the United States hosted a Presidents Cup. Coming into the 2013 event at Jack’s Muirfield Village in Columbus, Tiger Woods had already won five PGA Tour events that season, led the tour in adjusted scoring average, sat atop the OWGR, ran away with the top spot for Pres Cup qualifying, and took home Player of the Year honors. Life comes at you fast, etc, etc.
After another year completely away from the golf course, Tiger returns to his role this week as national team assistant captain — one he seemed to enjoy last year at Hazeltine. He’ll be a bit player in helping various groups navigate Liberty National, though Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth were quick to credit Woods last year after the U.S. team’s Ryder Cup win.
For better or worse, the golf world will always be fixated on Tiger Woods when he’s around. That hasn’t been any different this week so far, and it won’t be any different through the weekend.
Some wanted more new faces on the U.S. Ryder Cup team last year. You’ll get ’em now.
With immense pressure to get things right after a run of embarrassing losses, things worked out for the U.S. team in Minnesota. But with younger, more exciting American golf talent emerging throughout the year, plenty of U.S. golf fans weren’t happy with the Davis Love’s roster. Brooks Koepka was the team’s only national team rookie to qualify on points, only four players under 30 made the team as a whole, and Love opted for Ryder Cup veterans like J.B. Holmes and Matt Kuchar over younger talent with his captains selections.
Still, it worked. But a clear shift in the makeup of the national team will start this week at Liberty National. The youth movement is here. Exactly half of this year’s American contingent will be Presidents Cup rookies and five players (Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger, Kevin Kisner, Kevin Chappell, Charley Hoffman) will be making their pro national team debuts. Matt Kuchar at 39 was the oldest player to qualify for the team on points, but the other nine were 33 or younger. Only two players on the roster are 40 or older — captains selections Hoffman and Phil Mickelson.
If for nothing else, tune into the Presidents Cup to see a stacked core of vibrant, fun, young American stars that are set to head to Paris for next year’s Ryder Cup. It’ll be fun.
The International team has a better shot than you think
If you’re reading this, you’ve won as many Presidents Cups on U.S. soil as the International team has in its history. The team’s lone win ever came at the team’s effective home base at Royal Melbourne in 1998. Let’ just say, uh, the Sandbelt’s a hell of a contrast from a former Superfund site across from Manhattan filled with Bud Light-powered New Yorkers. Probably gonna be a juuuuuuust a bit more hostile.
Take the Americans’ clearly superior roster, the home-course advantage, and the Internationals historical futility in this competition, and it’s easy to arrive at the conclusion we’re set for a beatdown this week. But, perhaps, maybe not.
Despite all the losses, there’s reason to believe this week if you want the Americans to take an L at home. The Internationals just nearly missed in 2015, with the event coming down to the final hole in the final match. This year’s roster looks to be in improving form, too. Hideki Matsuyama won more events in 2017 than anyone in the world. Jason Day seems to be rounding back into form to close the year after a rough season. Marc Leishman was brilliant in the FedEx Cup. They certainly won’t be the favorites against a U.S. team that looks like a juggernaut, but it’s not a forgone conclusion the Americans run away with this.
Liberty National is a bad golf course. That’s OK.
Here, let’s not mince words. Liberty National is not a good golf course. In fact, it’s a bad golf course! The Superfund site-turned-$250 million project has breathtaking views of the New York skyline and the Statue of Liberty you can’t beat anywhere in the world of golf. It was also described as a project that ruined a perfectly good toxic dump when the course made its tour debut for the 2009 Barclays. It was voted the worst track on Tour by players in 2012. It’s generally regarded as overly penal and exaggerated, a fun-house mirror’s interpretation of a golf course by Bob Cupp and Tom Kite totally out of line with more minimalist courses appreciated in today’s world.
Listen, I’m far from a course architecture snob, but you’ll find few in the golf world that will die on a hill for Liberty National. It’s been redesigned since its early terrible reviews, and some of the dissent has lessened, but it’s not going to be confused for Pine Valley anytime soon. That’s a shame, because the location’s still one of the best in all of golf.
But good news: It’s still a fine venue for a match-play competition. The nature of match play and the unique style of the event make it more suited to bring quirky golf courses into the fold. This week, it’ll be fine for the purpose it serves.(sbnation)
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