The Presidents Cup: different year, same result. Should we expect more?

Each week, we ask our panel of writers, PGA members and golf industry experts to weigh in with their views on the hot topics of the day.

During last week’s Presidents Cup, the International Team gave us hope on Friday when they rebounded from Thursday’s shellacking to even the match at 5-5. However, the team was clearly not on par with the talent laden U.S. Team and over the final two days that clearly showed. What are your thoughts on the Presidents Cup? The good, the bad, the ugly and anything you think needs to be addressed.

Jim Deeks, Fairways Magazine (@jimdeeks): Well, clearly the Internationals aren’t quite up to an equal-footing basis with Team USA, as the Europeans are in the Ryder Cup.  One might have thought that after twenty-odd years, that difference would’ve been narrowed, but clearly, it hasn’t.  I still thought the Presidents Cup was entertaining, but if there hadn’t been three Canadians on the team, and if it hadn’t been played in Canada, I might find myself watching other programs on TV over the weekend.  (Although, truth be told, I’m currently in France, playing very badly in a senior amateur golf event.  I could only watch French coverage of the Presidents Cup each evening and found myself craving the US broadcast!)   So, what needs to be done to bring the Presidents up to the Ryder?  Well, I’ve said it before (like, here last week) but I wish they’d just adapt and combine the two events into one: Team North America vs. Team Euro/International… or to appease American pride, Team USA vs. Team Everybody Else (including Canada, Mexico, Asia, UK, Europe).  The trouble with that idea is, Team Everybody Else might be too dominant over the U.S., and Americans would never stand for that.  So, I guess we’ll just stumble along with the status quo, or maybe let the Presidents Cup die a quiet death. In a perfect world, Team USA (with defectors like Koepka, DeChambeau, and DJ), vs. Team Everybody Else (with Cam Smith, Jon Rahm, Joaquin Niemann) would truly be the Best of the Best.

Craig Loughry, Golf Ontario (@craigloughry): I thought the President’s Cup provided some good moments. But it was flat overall and has been for 30 years. It may be another 30 years to match what the Ryder Cup brings to the table (no matter how hard the PGA Tour tries to make it so now). Some really good golf was played, however, with incredible shots. There were chip/pitch-ins, hole-outs and long putts made every day.  But the US Team is and was simply too deep to lose. Not a single person I knew gave the Internationals a chance at winning, I kept hearing ‘let’s just hope they make it close”.

Michael Schurman. Master Professional / Hall of Fame Member, PGA of Canada: What we have is a gigantic mess brought on by the greed of the PGA TOUR based on the success of the Ryder Cup. The entire concept of USA vs anyone every other year is not only arrogant but diminishes the appeal of the USA players due to over-exposure. Not only that, think about the burden placed on the top 5 or 6 who serve on both teams. The pride of representing your country only has an appeal for so long.

I probably did what 10M other people did. I watched with a sinking feeling on Day 1 and turned on Day 2 just to say I’m a true golf fan. OMG what a thrill! Day 3 was incredible until the reality of the World Rankings kicked in. The best at anything do it for 18 holes; the others only have 16 to 16.5 maybe 17 holes in the tank. Day 4 produced some amazing shots and incredible excitement but once again the razor-thin edge the USA has took charge. During the matches, you could actually see result-changing breaks/shots. The matches were a lot closer than the scores. We need a Seve to tell the players “We can win”.

And now, (I know you expect it from me) the President’s Cup should include LPGA players. If the business plan is to invade the success of the Ryder Cup, then at least put a different look to it.

Hal Quinn, Freelance Writer, Vancouver: Jim you had the right idea: head to France not la belle province during this one. Sure, there were highlight moments — as in any tournament — and happily some drama thanks to Friday’s play, but the pettiness and the gallery at times doing an impersonation of Bethpage Black mouth breathers (Nancy Lopez — Nancy Lopez??? — said fans acted like they were born in a barn. Who on the planet cares what she thinks, and how does she know how people act when born in a barn?) was too un-golf like. As noted here last week, and to Michael’s point about the Americans being too much for us, the Yank’s team should include non-Ryder players and /or the women should be invited. As either or both won’t happen, time to lay down the shield.

Peter Mumford, Fairways Magazine (@FairwaysMag): It went from excruciating to thrilling to puzzling to what else is on. The INTs are clearly overmatched, but I don’t see anything changing. The PGA Tour is in full control and the lopsided outcome panders to their most important stakeholders: American sponsors and American fans. Without real competition, it’s not much of an event, and should probably be put out of our misery.

Many are suggesting that International Captain Mike Weir made a critical error in sending the same guys out for both rounds on Saturday. In Weir’s defence, these were the same guys that got 5 points on Friday. Did Weir blow it for his team? Are captains and their decisions really that important?

Deeks: Captains and their decisions are good for announcers to focus on, and pundits to analyse and criticize afterward, and the rest of us to argue about over the watercooler.  But in the end, clubs and putters do the talking.  I wouldn’t criticize Weir for sending out the same guys, but I would criticize him for not leading the event with Canadians on Thursday.  Optically, it would have emphasized to the world that three Canadians (should’ve been five, though) had made the Canadian-themed event, and it could have really fired up the crowd from the get-go, with possibly better results at the end of that day, and into the weekend.  The three Canadians played pretty well over the four days, but if anything was clear, it’s that Canadians are still not day-in, day-out, top tier professionals.

Loughry: It’s easy to criticize after the fact, but I didn’t like sitting Day out, he should have used more of his players. But the players have to deliver, full stop. Captains can really only provide some inspirational words for the team and include them in some decision-making, if the players don’t play well, they can’t win no matter what the Captain’s decisions are.

Schurman: Mike Weir disrespected Canadian golf when he bypassed the #11 and 12 players replacing them with #13 and 14, particularly on Canadian soil. However, he was abandoned by the fans on Day One who sat on their ‘mains’ and said nothing. As far as the top players appearing too much, playing that much golf is a bit tiring but the mental and emotional toll would be something few are conditioned to. Nobody played poorly, just not well enough. Also, let’s not forget, that some of the USA players play this same team format every year, partners join each other, their families get to know each other and subtle advantages are learned like who plays better in the AM or PM. At least it’s not called the World Series where the USA winner never plays off against Japan.

Quinn: Well-put Michael, as always. Weir’s real brain stroke happened before the matches started: so much for merit and home course advantage. And once Saturday’s painful dose of reality was administered, it was clear that mixing up the squad may not have changed anything, but it at least would have made sense. (No less an authority than Rich Beem said so, yes that Rich Beem!) Captain’s decisions are only seen to matter if they succeed or fail. Keep the laurels and darts ready. It was a great commercial for Montreal tourism and Royal Montreal but did nothing for this faux event.

Mumford: It’s a given that in team match play you can hide your weakest players in four-ball, but they should be sitting during foursomes. Leaving Jason Day and Min Woo Lee on the bench Saturday afternoon was a Captain’s error and may have cost the team any chance of evening the score. A tired squad on Sunday had no chance.