12-1-1. Looks impressive. Is impressive. But do you know what the numbers mean? Well, many would find it familiar if not recognize it at first sight. But no worries, for we’ll tell you. The figures represent America’s record at the Presidents Cup. Quite an alluring set of numbers. Moreover, it also paints an accurate picture as to which side had the best experience at the biennial event.
Although the American team boasts the best figures at the event and thereby a lot of glorious moments, it’s not as if they have not experienced the bad side of it. Curious now? It would be surprising if you weren’t since the U.S. squad would have had many such instances, good and bad, throughout the 30 years that the contest has taken place.
Memorable & peculiar moments for the U.S. at the Presidents Cup
1. The 2003 Tiger Woods-Ernie Els playoff: Call it the best Presidents Cup ever or even the most entertaining, for the majority of the golf community will agree with you. And this is despite the tournament ending in a tie with not even a single player from both teams going undefeated. Thursday saw the Gary Player-led International squad leading 4-1. Then Friday came and the U.S. hit back to make it 9.5-6.5.
Fast forward a day into Saturday and we see the Internationals sweeping all six matches leading 12.5-9.5. Sunday, however, packed the most entertainment when the American squad won seven matches while losing four and tying one. The score? A scintillating 17-17, and the two teams send Tiger Woods and Ernie Els for a playoff. However, when the match went on till the third hole, the two skippers had a heart-to-heart and decided to end it with a tie. Truly a GOAT moment!
2. Water vs the U.S. team? Of course, America!: It was the Friday Fourball session of the 2007 edition of the tournament. Woody Austin, paired with David Toms, found his tee shot landing on the greenside lake. Off went his socks and shoes in an attempt to splash it out. And off he went as he slipped on a rock to fall in the water face-first while attempting to do so.
Unfortunately for the duo, they had to concede the hole to go two down and give the point to Rory Sabbatini and Trevor Immelman. But falter again. They did not, for Woody ‘Aquaman’ Austin redeemed himself by carding three birdies in a row to tie the match, allowing the U.S. to clinch a 19.5 to 14.5 victory.
3. The playing captain Tiger Woods down under: Only two times has the U.S. had playing captains on the team and both times, the squad has emerged victorious. What then, makes the 15-time major champ’s 2019 win different? Well, Woods had chosen himself as a captain’s pick and led his team to triumph. That too not in America but in Australia, unlike Hale Irwin in 1994.
The golfer was named the captain of the biennial event. But when the Masters came, he claimed the top spot at the major, followed by a Zozo Championship win later on in October. The rest is history as the athlete became a playing skipper for the first time after 25 years and carded figures of 3-0-0. Yes, a whopping three victories to surpass Phil Mickelson’s record of 26 wins.
4. The Patrick Reed Saga: Although the year 2019 was highlighted by the 82-time PGA Tour champ’s scintillating record and captaincy, it stood out for another reason, and sorely so. Enter Reed and his 2019 Hero World Challenge controversy. The golfer had, back at the Woods-hosted tournament, been slapped with a two-stroke penalty. The reason? He tried to improve his lie before playing his third shot on the par-5, 11th-hole sand bunker.
But how does it connect to the Presidents Cup in Melbourne? The Aussie fans made sure to dish out their best heckling talents as he became ‘Mr. Sandman’ in their eyes. However, too much heckling got on Reed’s caddie, Kessler Korain’s nerves, causing him to get into a confrontation and a physical altercation with a fan on Sunday. The looper was then removed from caddie duties for the day’s play. Although the now-LIV Golf Pro did win over C.T. Pan, the moment remains nothing short of embarrassing.
5. The Phil Mickelson blunder: One would rarely mistake the Presidents Cup for the Ryder Cup. But something along those lines is exactly what the Lefty ‘accidentally’ did as he mistook the latter’s rules for the former in 2015. For a bit of clarity: the professional, during day 2 of the competition, was playing alongside Zach Johnson at the par-5, 7th hole in the Fourballs. He then decided to switch to a firmer golf ball for his second shot.
Sounds unproblematic? Dead wrong! For the Presidents Cup, unlike the Ryder Cup, a ‘one-ball rule’ is present where the golfer has to use the same spheroid throughout the round. And Mickelson received a one-hole adjustment for his inadvertent decision to switch the ball. This caused the duo to halve with Adam Scott and Jason Day of the International team. Unlucky!
6. The lone American defeat: With a dominant figure of 12 wins over their rivals, it wouldn’t have emerged as a surprise if the lone defeat was termed an embarrassing moment for the U.S. team. Even more so since the squad consisted of some of the best golfers in the world, including Fred Couples, David Duval, Davis Love III, Phil Mickelson, Mark O’Meara, and Tiger Woods. “The greatest collection of golfers in the world,” said Peter Thompson, the International team captain.
The event, however, was so lopsided that Nick Price secured the winning point on Sunday even before the food was finished serving for breakfast. The International squad won with a dominant figure of 20.5-11.5, marking it as the lone win for the American team’s rivals in the 30 years it has played out.
These are but some of the best and worst moments that the U.S. team experienced and suffered, respectively over the years at the Presidents Cup. Do keep an eye out, for the upcoming event at the Royal Montreal Golf Club might just add to either of the two!
