With its 19.5 to 14.5 victory on Sunday, Team USA now leads the Presidents Cup series 6-1, with one tie. Team International hasn't won since 1998.
International captain Greg Norman will take renewed heat for his choice of Adam Scott as a captain's pick. Scott, in a major slump almost all of 2009, went 1-4. But captains always get too much credit for their team's win, and too much blame for their team's loss. Scott didn't lose the cup for the Internationals, he just didn't do anything to win it. Neither did Camilo Villegas (0-4 and the only player on either team to fail to win even half a point), Retief Goosen (0-3-1) or Angel Cabrera (1-3). The Internationals went into this Presidents Cup cold, and they stayed that way.
Except for 18-year-old Ryo Ishikawa, who went 3-2-0 with a singles win over 49-year-old Kenny Perry on Sunday. Ishikawa is the real deal.
Announcers Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller were nearly as cold as the Internationals, however: The NBC pair kept referring to the USA's opposition as the Europeans. And both of them, and Hicks in particular, wouldn't shut up about Tim Clark's 5-foot-7 height, consistently referring to him as the "little guy." Give it a rest, fellas. No wonder people can be sensitive about their height. I kept expecting Randy Newman's "Short People" to show up on the soundtrack.
In much better form were Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, each of whom went undefeated. Woods was 5-0-0, just the third player to win all five of his matches in Presidents Cup history. Mickelson was 4-0-1. When Woods and Mickelson contribute 9.5 points to the team's score, there's not much hope for the other side.
Comments
I’m glad someone said it! Thanks Brent.
That “European” call was giving me the…..well, it was annoying.
We should be talking about the rudeness the Americans showed toward our guest. The drunks and “get in the hole” on the drive of a par 5 shows what a bunch of jerks attend these tourneys.Why can’t we be like the the English at the Open with a nice soft applause and not act like BAFFOONS.The whole world is watching us make fools of ourselves.
What about Greg Norman referring to Tim Clark as his “tiny pitbull” when introducing his players at the opening ceremony?