The Presidents Cup should be one of the best events of the golf year. Ennui is a good word for it – they certainly are not as tense as they get for the Ryder Cup, which could be a good thing. We haven’t experienced the low yet when it comes to the Presidents Cup and that’s going to work to our favour, whether it’s Danny or Sangmoon. And there’s a reason for that. The last time it beat the Americans was in Australia in 1998 when Day was just 10 years old.
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They walk taller. They worry less.
Lahiri, who skipped the last two events of the Web.com series, is all set to play for the global Team at the Presidents Cup. “Or maybe he wants me to go out early and get a point up”, Day said. He has qualified for every Ryder Cup team since 1995.
“For us it’s kind of do-or-die”, Day said. “It’s an honor for us to represent our country”.
“Golf is so huge in Asia and the people here just love taking photos, I don’t think there’s any other way to put it”.
“It would be nice to finally get that win against the Americans”, said Day, who begins this week as the worldwide team’s on-course leader at No. 2 in the world.
The unlucky worldwide duo of Danny Lee and Marc Leishman will have to come up against the formidable pairing of Team USA’s Spieth and Johnson.
The Presidents Cup belongs.
But there really hasn’t been much suspense at all. Ever since a tie in South Africa in 2003, the Americans not only have won the last five times, they have won by an average score of 19-15.
That hasn’t been an issue at the Presidents Cup, where the United States has become adept at keeping things in perspective when it comes to the biennial bout with the rest of the world.
“For Jimmy to be here is incredible, he and his wife, to fly all this way”, Couples said.
Members of the worldwide team pose for a photo ahead of the Presidents Cup at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon on Tuesday.
PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem is confident the Presidents Cup has a bright future despite the overwhelming dominance of the United States over the years and said bringing the event to South Korea was a milestone in the development of Asian golf. Els didn’t qualify and didn’t feel worthy of a pick, so he is out for the first time since 2005.
An hour later, the global team started practice.
What might give these matches a little edge is a debate over the number of matches, which were reduced from 34 to 30 this year in a decision that left neither team happy.
It’s actually a question of depth, which the worldwide team has always lacked relative to the American side. But with the new points structure, hopefully that makes it a lot closer.
“We’re having… not issues or anything like that, but more thought involved to do it the right way”.
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I can’t see the Internationals winning this week but in what is shaping as a David and Goliath battle there might be the opportunity for the home side to at least to make this a greater contest than many are predicting.
