Left field
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Memorial offers pointers to Pebble Beach contenders
This week’s Memorial tournament, an elite PGA Tour event in its own right hosted by golfing great Jack Nicklaus, is sure to offer several pointers toward the likely contenders at this month’s U.S. Open.
Many of the game’s leading players are making their final appearances on the circuit before switching focus to the second major of the year, which takes place at majestic Pebble Beach from June 17-20.
Two of the big guns — world number one Tiger Woods and second-ranked Phil Mickelson – have more than a few question marks hovering over their form at the moment. Woods, whose private life spectacularly unravelled at the end of last year, is returning to the tour after three weeks on the sidelines to defend his title at the Memorial.
The 14-times major winner has not competed since he was forced to withdraw from the final round of last month’s Players Championship in Florida because of neck pain. An inflamed joint made it difficult for Woods to execute his swing and his driving accuracy, never his strongest suit, was woeful in his last outing at the TPC Sawgrass.
Mickelson, who delivered a ‘feel-good’ moment for the game when he clinched his fourth major title at the Masters in front of his wife Amy who is recovering from breast cancer, has also struggled off the tee. The American left-hander missed his first PGA Tour cut in more than a year at last week’s Colonial tournament, where he would have replaced Woods he had he triumphed.
A short-game magician who thrills the fans with his creative shot-making, Mickelson has averaged less than 50 percent in driving accuracy this season to languish 185th in the tour’s standings. Given that U.S. Opens place a high premium on accuracy with their traditionally tight fairways flanked by thick rough, Mickelson will be banking on a major improvement in this area of his game.
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.
The Presidents Cup need not turn into a blood bath but simply a hint of bad blood just might inject some badly needed spice.
This was the third straight Cup in which the Internationals have been spanked by the Americans, accepting the outcome with smiles and masochistic delight while promising to do better next time.
The event attracted sell-out crowds all four days but more tension was to be found during highly competitive practice rounds or even, so it’s said, the table tennis games in the off-limits team room.
I am glad to see another share similar sentiments regarding the “group hug that is the Presidents Cup.” In recent years, the event seems more like a friendly exhibition then a competitive match. The absence of “bad blood” and animosity between teams is personally disconcerting. I yearn to see patriotic and nationalistic sentiments make the Presidents Cup fiercely contested. Instead the players compete with a certain type of amiable apathy. What causes this complacency? I completely agree with your assertion that “part of the problem with the Presidents Cup is that the Americans can wave their flag while the Internationals are a team without a home — although most have an American address…That sense of camaraderie and purpose is lost in a mix of language and cultures.” Before the match commences, the United States already has a significant advantage because they can rally behind the American flag. On the other hand, the International team is comprised of a multitude of countries including Korea, Australia and Argentina. Their diversity is likely detrimental to team unity. Communication problems are surely abundant when some players struggle to speak English. For example, International team members Y.E. Yang, Ryo Ishikawa and Angel Cabrera all primarily speak another language. The inability to adequately communicate constrains the International team’s capability to formulate strategy and motivate each other. How can an event with ample potential like the Presidents Cup be remedied? I accede that the matches must first become more closely contested. It is an understatement to say that the United States has dominated the Presidents Cup. The International’s sole victory occurred in 1997 at Australia’s Royal Melbourne golf club. In order to attain some competitiveness the International team must stop “accepting the outcome with smiles and masochistic delight while promising to do better next time.”
However, we must realize that the Presidents Cup is still young and we should give it time to mature. The Ryder Cup, for instance, was initially dominated by the United States. It did not become competitive until 1979, some fifty years after its inception. Further, International players are certainly becoming more skilled and abundant. According to the Official World Golf Rankings, twelve of the top twenty-five players are non-Americans. This is clearly promising for the future of this event. Currently the “Presidents Cup is all hugs and hot chocolate,” but it certainly could grow into something much more.
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Resident Left Field Expert
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