The 11th edition of the biennial Presidents Cup Matches commence Thursday at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in South Korea. A team of 12 Americans captained by Jay Haas will take on the International squad that is led by three-time major champion Nick Price. The Presidents Cup features better ball (fourball) and alternate shot (foursomes) matches during the first three days. Action concludes on Sunday with individual matches.
The Presidents Cup first began as a Ryder Cup-style alternative for world class golfers such as Greg Norman, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and Price, all of whom were ineligible for those matches because they were neither American nor European. However, during the course of the first 10 matches, the Internationals have struggled to a 1-8-1 record. Because of a lack of depth coupled with a lack of cohesiveness, the Internationals have historically been overwhelmed.
Yet this time around things could be far different. The International squad features Jason Day, Adam Scott, Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen, all major title holders, as well as a bevy of linksters who are well known on the PGA Tour or who are playing well of late. Fully half of the International team was among the top 30 playing in last week’s Tour Championship. Day had a career-defining season with a PGA Championship win and a recent world No. 1 ranking to his credit. Danny Lee, Sangmoon Bae and Steven Bowditch all won on the PGA Tour this year. Marc Leishman and Louis Oosthuizen lost to Zach Johnson in the British Open playoff, and Branden Grace should have/could have won the U.S. Open.
As I have done for the past half-dozen years, I decided to get some high quality team golf advice from Johnny Pott, who currently lives in Hidden Valley Lake. Pott is from golf’s golden era and among his triumphs on the tour in the 1960s were wins over Sam Snead at West Palm Beach, a wire-to-wire triumph over Arnold Palmer at Firestone, and a playoff victory over Billy Casper and Bruce Devlin at Pebble Beach. Pott was a member of three victorious Ryder Cup teams and the best way to describe his Ryder Cup experience is to simply identify his three captains by their first names. His captains were Arnie, Byron and Ben. That’s pretty heady stuff.
When I met with Johnny Pott earlier this week, he came fully prepared for our conversation. He had taken copious notes and was fully aware of the golfing exploits of all 24 competitors at next week’s Presidents Cup. Right off the bat, Pott stated that although the matches have not always been competitive in the past, he had the inclination to lean toward the International team this time around. Pott stated there is “no intimidation factor” this time around. He contended that the International team was young and fearless and was going into the Presidents Cup matches playing well.
Pott stated that nowadays so many of the Internationals play in America as tour members or in the majors and the World Golf Championships that they all know one another. He added, “I see no real weakness on the International team. How are you going to play someone like Jason Day? I’d hate to bet against Adam Scott. I think Sangmoon Bae will want to make a statement since he’s not only playing at home, but he’s also going to start his two-year military commitment after the matches conclude.”
Pott added an interesting point to his assessment. He feels that this time around the Presidents Cup matches “might be more important to the Internationals. They seem to have a better attitude about this type of competition than the Americans.” While Pott contended that he thought “it’s going to be a hell of a match,” he felt that the Internationals had an edge because of the home field advantage and because the Jack Nicklaus Course won’t be all that likeable to the American team. The Nicklaus Course has hosted an Asian Tour event and Bae won it in 2013 and 2014.
The three-time Ryder Cupper did acknowledge that “on paper, Team USA looks pretty good. Their lowest-ranked golfer is 28th in the world. However, the United States has some issues with some of its team members.” Pott specifically mentioned that Phil Mickelson has not had all that great a season and that Bubba Watson and Patrick Reed have shown streaks of inconsistency of late. Chris Kirk, a Presidents Cup rookie, is in new territory.
I asked Pott about the value of the team captain, especially in light of Phil Mickelson’s diatribe directed at captain Tom Watson at the conclusion of last year’s Ryder Cup matches. While Pott acknowledged that he had the benefit of outstanding captains when he played for Arnold Palmer, Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan, he did feel that the captain is not all that crucial in light of the fact that “all 24 golfers are such accomplished players. After all, golf is not a rah-rah sport where you need to give a player a pat on the back to motivate them to play better.”
Pott mentioned that when he played on the Ryder Cup team for the taciturn Ben Hogan, winner of nine major titles, the captain told his team that “I don’t find all this so challenging.” Hogan was very clear with his 1967 Ryder Cup squad when he told its members “I don’t want to lose. I don’t want to be known as a losing Ryder Cup captain.” Yet in spite of Hogan’s statements, Pott found him to be a great captain because he simply paired the golfers together based on playing styles, and then left them alone. “The control golfers were partners and the bombers were partners.” As an aside, Pott was paired with fellow bomber Bobby Nichols and they won both of their alternate shot matches and their one better ball match. Pott also won his individual match to go 4-0.
The biennial Presidents Cup matches begin Thursday in South Korea and conclude on Sunday. Historically an underdog, the International team is led by Jason Day and just may have its deepest squad ever. There are a total of 30 matches with 30 points up for grabs, so the winning team must accumulate 15½ points to win the cup. Team golf is an entertaining diversion from the world of 72-hole stroke play golf, and yet the 24 world class golfers competing next week are playing for country, for pride, and for their own golfing legacy. By a week from Sunday we’ll know who gets to keep the cup for the next two years. Former Ryder Cup golfer Johnny Pott believes that this time around the International team will prevail over the American squad.
