Left field

Presidents Cup offers great golf, but not much of a competition

If the “group hug” that is the Presidents Cup ever hopes to be taken seriously as an important sporting competition it needs to develop a sharper edge.

The Presidents Cup lost more than a little bit of respect as a legitimate athletic event on Saturday when smiling International captain Greg Norman raced on to the green to embrace not one of his own men but American Steve Stricker, who had just drained a 26-foot birdie putt to put a stake through his team’s heart (click here for our report).

Welcome to the Presidents Cup, the friendly and fun competition where the biggest bit of controversy at a chilly and subdued Harding Park was the sight of U.S. team special assistant and cigar-chomping basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan lighting it up on the no-smoking municipal golf course.

The only hint of an argument the entire week was over who could lavish more praise on the other team. “You’re the greatest. No, no, you’re the greatest and your wives are the greatest too,” was as ugly as the trash talking got around the Harding Park clubhouse.

British Open proves elementary for Watson, tough on Tiger

Patrick Johnston

Jul 16, 2009 16:19 UTC

It is fair to say we all expected an American with a surname beginning with W to be soaring up the British Open leaderboard but everyone has been shocked that it is 59-year-old senior Tom Watson topping the strong field and not a certain Tiger Woods.

Whilst the world number one toiled in calm conditions at Turnberry’s Ailsa course on Thursday, five-times Open champion Watson was recording a bogey-free five-under-par 65 to take the early clubhouse lead.