Phil’s a team player? Don’t make me laugh
Congratulations to america’s Presidents Cup team on their overwhelming victory over the internationals in new York on sunday but honestly, we could happily have been spared all the insufferable guff that’s followed.
it’s been so over the top even President Donald trump, who presented the trophy and knows a thing or two about hype, struggled to keep up. ‘this team are so good they’ve ruined the Presidents Cup and now they’re about to ruin the ryder Cup for the next decade,’ opined one Sports
Illustrated shock jock, as if any sport, let alone this notoriously unpredictable one, was that easy to forecast.
Best of all was 1997 open champion Justin leonard announcing, in all seriousness, that Phil Mickelson is the greatest team player in golf’s history. that’s enough to make your cereal stick in your throat, isn’t it?
let’s say this about Phil. Making the team at 23 ryder and President Cups in a row is an incredible achievement. Qualifying by right for 11 straight ryder Cups is a testament to his consistency and longevity. on sunday he played in his 100th match and won to take his record in the last three contests — two Presidents Cups and one ryder Cup — to 8½pts out of a possible 11. remarkably, between the ages of 45 and 47, he’s enjoyed his best run of results.
But the greatest team player of all? ahead of seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria olazabal, lee Westwood, Colin Montgomerie or sergio garcia? lest we forget, it’s only three years ago that Mickelson humiliated his captain tom Watson at a press conference at gleneagles, in the worst act of public betrayal imaginable. or how about oakland Hills in 2004, when he demanded to practise on his own on an adjacent golf course to the one where the matches were being played? not much of a team player then, was he?
indeed, it could be argued one of the fundamental reasons why america was so bad at the ryder Cup for so long was the blithe indifference of tiger and Phil, their best players. While Europe’s best always led by example, it took america’s equivalent pair until their late 30s before they really gave a jot. so let’s admire Mickelson for what he’s brought to the party in later life — but you can’t possibly put him on the first page of the great team players.
What else did we learn from this Presidents Cup? Cut through the bluster and there’s no denying we’re at the start of a golden era for american golf. they have established pairings in rickie Fowler and Justin thomas, Dustin Johnson with Matt Kuchar for foursomes and Brooks Koepka for fourballs, and Jordan spieth and Patrick reed. they also look like they’ve unearthed another bulldog in Daniel Berger.
But let’s not forget the opposition were weak. the format over four days is so relaxed and that suits the americans. in France next year it will be a world of difference, and Europe have great pairings of their own: rory Mcilroy and thomas Pieters, Henrik stenson and Justin rose and the mouth-watering prospect of garcia with Jon rahm.
What a match it promises to be. and yes, if america win that one by a blowout margin, it will be time to acknowledge them alongside the greatest teams of all.