Presidential

This is not a story about the upcoming U.S. presidential election, or Donald Trump, or Hillary Clinton or any of the other candidates that have spewed their venom over these past several months at fellow party members at their massively contested debates, or at the opposing party candidates in some good old fashioned political mud slinging. God knows we’ve heard enough crap from all of the candidates from BOTH parties to make us sickened to our stomachs and that election is still over 12 months away.

No, this is about that reasonably recently created (about 20 or so years ago) golf competition known as The Presidents Cup that just finished over this past weekend. The Presidents Cup was started as an excuse to have something similar to a Ryder Cup that would allow players from the rest of the world (not including the European players that made up their Ryder Cup team) to play the same basic team the U.S. put together for those Ryder Cups.

It gave all of the players a chance to play for their country (or their World?) in a match play event that could hopefully bring out the very best in competitive golf for all the players, very much the same way that the Ryder Cup matches often produced THE BEST competition golf could humanly produce. Even though most of the golfers were millionaires that didn’t really get paid for playing, EVERYONE always seemed to want to be in on these match play events.

Because of the amazing success and fiercely contested events, The Ryder Cup was always the undeniable king of these events, the first violinist in the orchestra, and The Presidents Cup, no matter how hard the players tried, always seemed to end up being “just the second fiddle.” The Presidents Cup really, really wanted to be as good as the Ryder Cup, but the “World Team” could never seem to get its act together to compete with the American team (the way the European teams do) in their big event. They just wanted the matches to mean something in the world’s eyes. They just wanted the Presidents Cup to matter.

That may have changed this year. The World team, after a slow start in which they were trailing 4 to 1 after the Foursomes phase of play, actually outplayed the U.S. team the rest of the way. The matches, which in previous years had always seemed to be blowouts in favor of the U.S., were incredibly close this year. For those that care a lot about who won, it was the U.S. team in a very hotly contested contest, and by the narrowest of scores, winning 15 1/2 to 14 1/2. At one point it was tied 14 1/2 to 14 1/2, with either side having a chance to win that final match and take the Cup.

The golf quality was exquisite, every bit as solid as a Ryder Cup. Chips going in, Sand trap shots going in. Players holing out from 80 yards out. Every single match turned out to matter, for if any of them had gone the other way, with a World player winning instead of losing, they would have won the match by the same score. If any two of the tied matches had gone just a bit more favorable for the World team, they could have won it that way too. Golf is a game with funny bounces sometimes. In this case, they could have easily gone the other way and caused a different result. It was that close.

And some of the players really emerged as stars also.

The Stars

Brandon Grace of South Africa was 5 and 0. You cannot play any better than perfect. This hardly ever happens at either Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup. He was top five at the last two majors. Casual golf fans now know – he is officially a WORLD CLASS player.

Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa was 4 – 0 and one tie, gaining that half point on the final hole of his singles match. Oosty and Grace, childhood friends and competitors from South African junior days, were an unbeaten 4 and 0 as a team. Any two Euro Ryder Cuppers want to take them on? Sergio? Poulty? Rory?

Phil Mickelson – USA – The captain’s pick and previous year’s Ryder Cup villain (to all Tom Watson fans) showed he still had some top notch match play skills as he went 3 – 0 and a tie (including a final day’s singles victory) to help his team win the Cup. Maybe he was right about what he said re: team play at the Ryder Cup.

Zach Johnson – USA – The British Open winner showed again that he is as tough as nails as a competitor. Teaming with Mickelson and also winning a singles match on the final day (against Jason Day no less), he showed how high up the world ladder he is as an elite golfer. I want this man on my team whenever it plays.

Jordan Spieth – USA – Already a “star,” Spieth played well at times and was off a bit at times as he went 3 and 2 during the event. He lost his singles match at a time when his side REALLY needed him to win, but his contributions in the team events were better than average and strong enough to help his team to the win.

Chris Kirk – USA – The tall Presidents Cup rookie was engaged in a key match down the stretch after several of his fellow U.S. players faltered in their final day singles matches. If he had lost his match, they would have lost the Cup. All he did was hit a GREAT putt on the final hole to win his match (and pretty much set his team up to win it on the very last hole of the tournament). One great putt for the U.S. golf team, one GIANT leap for fankind (okay, one giant leap in the eyes of the world’s golf fans).

Bill Haas – USA – All he did was play in the final anchor match as the man that HAD to win to win the Cup. All he did was face the most intense pressure in golf and handled it with the calmness and coolness that the U.S. has been lacking in Ryder Cup events against Europe. All he did was handle the pressure… and won.

The Presidents Cup – This was one of the best “Cup” matches ever. Great play, high drama. This year’s competition had to be good or the event risked losing relevance (as the U.S. had dominated for the past ten years or so). The World team was supposed to be crushed by the heavily favored U.S. The World team played great and almost won. The event delivered. Also, the human interest angle was off the charts.

Think of it this way. The event was held in golf crazed South Korea. The event comes down to the wire, tied, with a final match to determine the winner. The World team was anchored by South Korean golfing hero Sang Moon Bae. The U.S. team was captained by Jay Haas. His son Bill was the final match and ended up having all the pressure on him to succeed for his team to win the competition. Haas ended up winning his match to clinch the Cup. A father and a son, having a moment for a lifetime. Sports do not get much better that this.

The Presidents Cup was a big winner this week. It gained the RESPECT of the golf world again. At a time when it was threatening to become irrelevant, it jumped back up and became relevant again. Became meaningful again. The Presidents Cup had always wanted to be seen as an equal to The Ryder Cup.  It seemed like it was merely Senatorial before this weekend.  Now it seems like it is Presidential again.  It still matters.  And for that, the sport of golf is a big winner once again.