Where's the passion? Not at Presidents Cup
If there is hype, it is of the manufactured variety. If there is ill-will between the competitors, it does not resemble the authentic stuff of the Ryder Cup. And if there is to be relevance, it is going to take some time.
Oh, the Presidents Cup will be a lively competition beginning Thursday in South Africa, which no doubt has been clamoring for the event. It has brought together nearly every big name outside of European golf, nine of the top 10 in the world, and could produce a must-see singles match on Sunday between Tiger Woods and Ernie Els or perhaps Woods and Vijay Singh.
But if a few of the top-notch American players seem off their games at the Links Course at Fancourt, it is understandable.
The Presidents Cup is an idea meant to pounce on the popularity of the Ryder Cup, but with a twist. The growing list of international players from outside of Europe had no avenue for such a competition. Hence the Presidents Cup was born in 1994, to be played in non-Ryder Cup years.
The problem, of course, is that the Americans are expected to participate in these team-play events every year, and the team is largely comprised of the same players who lost to Europe at The Belfry just over a year ago. After the emotion-packed atmosphere of the Ryder Cup, this copycat event can't generate the same level of enthusiasm.
One reason is that there was some concern that Tiger Woods, the world's No. 1 player, would not participate.
Woods will be in South Africa, as will Davis Love III, Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson -- players who might wonder if and when such events will become too much.
"I think it's already gotten there,'' Love said earlier this year.
"The first few Presidents Cups in Washington were a lot of fun, but then we had to start taking the show on the road and it wasn't quite as much fun and there's where this discussion came from. 'Hey, wait a minute, this is turning into a big to-do.' It's a great event ... it's going to be fun. But it's a long way to go in November.''
OK, here's your chance to insert a spoiled American line. Yes, it may seem a bit petty when millionaire golfers (we're not picking on Love here, it could be any of them) complain about taking their game on the road once in a while.
| The Internationals' approach |
|---|
 As part of a one-on-one Q&A session with ESPN.com, assistant captain Ian Baker-Finch sounded off on how the International team will approach this week's Presidents Cup.
"I think they all want to play the best they can and really win for their team. Everyone is pretty fired up about it. In fact, I've heard a number of the American players say they prefer this style to the Ryder Cup. The Presidents Cup is just a great golf rivalry, not a war, like the Ryder Cup often is.
"(International team captain) Gary Player and I really want to encourage the fact that we are a team. We don't have that one flag to fly, like the U.S. team does. The Americans are a team playing for their country. The Internationals get together once every two years to play together as a group. So we try to encourage team spirit, while at the same time allowing their individual personalities." |
And it makes them look worse when international players like Ernie Els and Retief Goosen trot around the globe all year and embrace an event such as the Presidents Cup.
That said, these are professionals who get paid for their time. If they play a tournament now, it likely affects a tournament somewhere else. Playing these tournaments often means missing out on the rank-and-file PGA Tour events. Fans complain when the top players don't show for those tournaments, too. It's a lose-lose situation -- yet they are all but obligated to play in an event of this stature. "I don't believe that,'' said PGA Tour player Scott Hoch, who is not a member of the U.S. Presidents Cup team but played in last year's Ryder Cup. "We play so much now. And it is a burden on the U.S. players, because we have this every year, whether it's the Presidents Cup or the Ryder Cup. And we don't have an off year like the other guys do.
"I don't think anybody should be obligated. ... I realize it's a world championship and it needs to be spread around. But you have 22 of the 24 guys who play here in the U.S. on our (PGA) Tour. Shoot, why don't they have it in Orlando? Half of them live here. It would make things a lot easier.''
Further, players such as Singh, Els, Mike Weir, Nick Price and Goosen are all PGA Tour members. So are Robert Allenby, Peter Lonard, Staurt Appleby, K.J. Choi and Adam Scott. Kind of hard to build up animosity toward guys you see every week.
That has long been the beauty of the Ryder Cup. The European team is made up of players who do not necessarily frequent events in the United States. The blood boils during Ryder Cup week. As Paul Azinger once said, "I'd rather play a bunch of guys I don't like, like it used to be.''
Not so at the President's Cup.
"The atmosphere is relaxed and loose, but when the competition starts, both teams want to win,'' Furyk said.
He was talking about the President's Cup, not the Ryder Cup, where the competition is anything but relaxed and loose.
It has been suggested that the winner of the Ryder Cup take on the International team in the President's Cup the following year, at least giving the Americans a break in years they lose to the Europeans.
But you know that's not going to fly. The PGA Tour runs the Presidents Cup. It isn't going to put on event without half its marquee players, especially Woods.
So the solution is either to live with an event that, at least for now, does not come close to matching the intensity of the Ryder Cup, or to kill it. Any way you slice it, you're left with an inferior product.
Bob Harig covers golf for the St. Petersburg Times, and is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at harig@sptimes.com
