Despite dominance, Cup is relevant
USA won 10 of first 11 events, though gap is closing
Considering the lopsided nature of The Presidents Cup — the USA has lost only once in the previous 11 matches and won the last six events by a whopping average of 3.5 points — is the biennial match play tussle with the Internationals teetering on the edge of relevance?
“We’re not there yet,” Phil Mickelson said.
No one would know better than Mickelson, who has played in every Presidents Cup and the last 11 editions of the Ryder Cup. He knows there was a time when the Ryder Cup’s relevance was also questioned during a period of domination by the Europeans. And then the USA turned its fortunes around. The Internationals, Mickelson said, could do the same.
“We know once the door opens how good the players are on the international team,” he said. “So we’ve got to continue to be ready, play sharp and play our best, be- cause if you look at the talent on their team, it is strong and it is deep, and if we open the door and give them an opportunity, it will bite us.”
The USA nearly got bit in 2015 in South Korea. A missed 4-footer by the Internationals’ Anirban Lahiri on the last hole in a late singles match against Chris Kirk proved pivotal and Bill Haas closed out the USA’s 15½-14½ victory on the last hole of the final match. Despite the loss, Internationals captain Nick Price said the 2015 Presidents Cup is exactly what the event needed.
“What happened in South Korea two years ago really was a shot in the arm for guys like Adam Scott and Louis (Oosthuizen) and Jason (Day), who have never been on a winning team,” Price said. “After the result in South Korea, the guys’ interest is a lot more piqued than it was before South Korea. I think it’s going to be very closely competed for this week.
“These guys have all been excited for a while now. … The guys are ready. We have eight guys on the team that played in Korea. They sort of explained and told the guys, the rookies, how big a week this is for us and what to look forward to and how much fun it is.”
Still, the Americans are a huge favorite to improve on their 9-1-1 record (they lost in 1998 and tied in 2003). They are playing on home soil at Liberty National Golf Club. All 12 players are ranked in the top 30 in the world while only six Internationals are in the top 30. The USA has four players ranked in the top 10, the Internationals one.
“On paper, we are not the best team. The Americans are,” said Day, the only member of his team to be ranked in the top 10. “I don’t think we’ve got a lot of pressure, because I think a lot of people are kind of writing us off already, and we’re all solid players. On our weeks, we can beat anyone, and that goes throughout the whole team here. ...
“I think we’ve got a really good shot at winning if we play well. We come into this week feeling a lot better about ourselves, knowing that we do have an opportunity to beat the American side in 2015, even though it’s been one-sided throughout the years. I mean, last time we won was 1998. If we can pull off a win here, this is going to be one for the ages for our team.”
Scott said the 2015 loss rekindled excitement for the event.
“I think surely people enjoyed watching that. It definitely took a step in the right direction,” Scott said. “Just personally, it was a tough loss, because for a moment there on Sunday I thought we might squeak out a victory, and not just for The Presidents Cup overall, but certainly for me and the other guys on the international team who have been on a few losses now.”
Well, the USA wants to tack on one more loss.
“They’re definitely not looking at us as a team that they can’t beat,” Rickie Fowler said. “They’ve got a strong team, and by no means are we looking past them thinking that we are necessarily favored to win this. When it comes down to match play, the favorite doesn’t always win.
“Golf is a funny sport. We’ve got our work cut out for us. Yes, we are a very talented team. We’ve had a lot of success this year top to bottom. But it all comes down to this week. Doesn’t matter what we did the last 10, 11 months.”
Or the last 23 years.