Presidents Cup Finally Showed Relevancy
- Dan Hauser
- 12 Oct, 2015
In the (very) early hours of Thursday morning here on the East Coast of the United States, it appeared that, despite the rules changes to prevent it, we were in store for yet another boat race for the Americans in the Presidents Cup.
The U.S. side, lead by captain Bill Haas, won four of the five opening foursome matches to take a 4-1 lead after day one and continue the tradition of the Presidents Cup being the antithesis of the Ryder Cup. In fact, I couldn’t help but wonder if another blowout by the Americans would be the end of the biennial matches against the Internationals.
As the famous saying goes though, “that’s why they play the game”.
The Nick Price lead International side took three of the five fourball matches on Friday, halving another one and suddenly we were heading into the weekend with a one point lead for the Americans at 5 1/2-4 1/2.
From there it was a boat race all the way down to the wire with each side going shot for shot and point for point.
Ultimately the United States won again when Bill Haas’s birdie putt on 18 was conceded by Sangmoon Bae in the final match, but this time it felt different. The Presidents Cup, for the first time in a long time, was relevant.
While it wasn’t the outcome Price had hoped for, there was no hiding a sense of measured accomplishment over the International team’s best showing in more than a decade in the Presidents Cup.
“I think it was 1983 when Europe lost by a point, Seve [Ballesteros] was in the locker room, and all the European players were down in the dumps and they were very depressed that they had lost,” Price said. “He looked at them all and said, ‘No, no, don’t be depressed. This is like a victory for us. We only need one more point.’”
You could tell that the International side was much more vested this time around then in the past. Earlier in the week Danny Lee swiped his putter in disgust after missing a putt and on Sunday both Anirban Lahiri and Bae were both visibly upset after misses they made, the Bae chunked chip on 18 ultimately ending the chance at a tie for the International team.
“There’s no doubt this team was much more invested in this event than any team I’ve ever been on before,” said Adam Scott, who was playing his seventh Presidents Cup. “They made the right decisions, and the proof was in the pudding today with how it all panned out.”
After that 1983 one point loss in the Ryder Cup, the European team won or tied the next three Ryder Cups and 11 of the next 15. While this year’s Presidents Cup could be a one off, this one point loss could also be the same catalyst for the Internationals the way the ’83 Ryder Cup was the catalyst for the Europeans.
If the Presidents Cup in the near future becomes the must see tv event that the Ryder Cup has become, we can all look back on the 2015 edition as the one that changed the landscape.
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About Dan Hauser
As an avid golfer and sports enthusiast, Dan has had a passion for sports starting at a very young age. Dan’s other passion has always been writing. Since the time he could write, he has always enjoyed sharing information with people and telling stories through writing. In middle school he combined his two loves by joining the school newspaper in the sports department.
