Furyk facing Tiger dilemma
Tiger Woods wins again and the world goes crazy. It’s red shirt day. White men in khaki shorts throng the plains of Georgia and hold up their phones in tribute to the invisible god. Rejoice and touch the hem of his garment.
But one man is not counting his blessings. Jim Furyk, ol’ blue collar Jim, the captain of America’s Ryder Cup team, went out of his way to play Tiger down. Furyk knows only too well that America have been at their Ryder
Cup best in the previous 21 years when Tiger has not been part of the playing squad.
Woods was injured in 2008 and America won by five points under the captaincy of Paul Azinger. Woods was a non-playing vice captain two years ago and America won by six points under the captaincy of Davis Love III. The Ryder Cup starts in Paris on Friday and Furyk does not want Tigermania swamping an American team trying to win in Europe for the first time in 25 years.
And so Furyk gently said of Tiger’s victory, ‘‘It is a nice buzz for our team. Not that this event needs that much more energy bringing to it. He won yesterday as an individual and I know how much that means to him and how important it was, but he’s flipped that page pretty quickly and is really excited to join his team-mates and move forward.’’
The captain of USA needs to get away from Tiger talk, but is that possible? The story in golf right now is the renaissance of Tiger, not the Ryder Cup. That will change over the next few days, but heck, even Tommy Fleetwood, a member of the European team, tweeted, ‘‘We’ve just witnessed the greatest comeback of all time! What a time to be alive!!!’’
This is the nonsense of the Kardashian age when hyperbole is de rigueur. Or maybe it’s just the excitement of youth. But Tiger’s admirable win at East Lake cannot touch the comeback of Ben Hogan.
In 1949 Hogan’s Cadillac was in a headon collision with a greyhound bus. The impact caused the engine of the Caddie to plunge the steering wheel into the driver’s seat.
Just before impact Hogan had flung himself across to shield his wife. It saved his life.
Hogan ‘merely’ suffered a double fracture of the pelvis, a fractured collarbone, a broken ankle and a fractured rib. They laid a sheet over him at the scene, thinking he was dead. In hospital Hogan developed life-threatening blood clots and surgery had to be performed that would affect his circulation for life. From that day Hogan’s legs would swell every time he walked.
Yet 16 months later Hogan would win the US Open at Merion. Back then they played 36 holes on the final day. Hogan’s legs were bathed and bandaged. But with seven holes to play they went into spasm. Hogan stumbled and nearly fell. His playing partner was picking the ball out of the hole for him. A hole later he nearly went down again.
Legend has it that Hogan said he couldn’t go on and his caddie said he didn’t carry for quitters and would see him on the next tee. Hogan made it through and hit a 1-iron on the 18th hole that took him into a playoff and history. On the drive back to the hotel Hogan threw up from the pain. The next day he won the playoff and the US Open.
That at least has a claim to be the greatest sporting comeback of all time. But we live in the here and now. The deeds of Hogan have become quieter over the years. The deeds of Tiger are echoing around the world.
And so how does Furyk still the noise. How does he spell team without the me of Tiger. There is an answer and it will be fascinating to see if Furyk chooses it. I don’t think he will, but Furyk is man enough and smart enough to do it.
Furyk doesn’t play Tiger in the opening fourballs. He asks him to reprise his role of vice-captain of two years earlier and to encourage his team-mates on that first morning.
Furyk tells Tiger that five matches is too much for a 42-year-old man coming back from multiple spinal surgeries. He wants him at his best every time he tees it up.
So Tiger starts the Ryder Cup as supporter to his playing team-mates. It’s not as if Furyk is short of options. He has six of the top 10 players in the world. He can send out Spieth and Reed, Mickelson and Fowler, Thomas and Watson, and Koepka and DeChambeau.
Furyk then asks Tiger to go out with rookie Tony Finau in the afternoon and pull him through. It’s a role Seve used to perform superbly for Europe and Tiger has done it before. Woods won 4 and 3 in partnership with Chris Riley in 2004.
Typically Woods gets to play with experienced players and often to no good effect. His partnership with Phil Mickelson in 2004 was a disaster. At Woods’ last appearance in the Ryder Cup, he played with Steve Stricker. They lost all three matches together.
And who can forget Tiger’s opening tee shot at the 2006 Ryder Cup in Ireland when the great one duck-hooked a 3-wood into a pond. Furyk won’t have forgotten because he played with Tiger that day and had to carry him for the opening seven holes.
Colin Montgomerie, Europe’s captain in 2010, is already playing mind games. Monty said recently, ‘‘If I’ve gone to bed knowing I’m playing Tiger Woods, I tell you what, I haven’t slept as well as if I’d known I was playing anyone else.’’
Monty knows full well that Tiger has a significantly losing Ryder Cup record at fourballs and foursomes. He knows full well that Tiger has only been on one winning American team at Brookline back in 1999. He knows that Tiger has lost four of his last six matches on the opening morning of the Ryder Cup.
Europe want Tiger with a target on his back. It has been a big part of their success. That means that Furyk should think the unthinkable and bench Tiger on the opening morning. Make him one of those Parisian landmarks that Bubba has such trouble identifying. The arch, the big tower, that guy.
Perspective. The Ryder Cup isn’t all about Tiger. It’s way bigger than that.