Presidents Cup 2007

From Sports Illustrated

Dave Stockton, who captained the U.S. Ryder Cup team to victory in 1991, says the key to winning in team golf is chemistry. “It’s not who’s the hottest golfer,” he says, “it’s who fits in the best.” SI asked a dozen other past and present Ryder and Presidents cuppers what they thought were the keys to victory and came up with this list of laws.

I. Thou Shalt Be Compatible
This sounds too simple to be important, but it was the No. 1 factor given by the players and captains for what makes a good pairing. You don’t have to be best friends, they said, but you have to be friendly and communicate. “You have to be comfortable,” says Jim Furyk. “You need to be excited with your pairing and say, ‘Gee, I can’t wait to play this match.’” Gee, if it’s that straight forward, how come we had to endure Woods-Mickelson last time around?

II. Thou Shalt Find the Right Partner for Tiger
Woods has a disappointing Ryder Cup record (5-10-1) in team matches, partly because he hasn’t found a soulmate while burning through 10 partners. The Americans think they found the answer — Furyk — at last year’s Presidents Cup, during which the pair was unbeaten in three matches. “Tiger and Furyk go about things similarly,” says Jerry Kelly. “They don’t talk much. They simply play their game. Furyk is seething to win. So is Tiger.”

III. Thou Shalt Embrace and Master Foursomes
It’s no secret as to where the Americans fall down and can’t get up. It’s in alternate shot. The U.S. has an 11-17-4 record in that format over the last four Ryder Cups. It’s a pressing problem. Or maybe it’s a problem of pressing. “In four-ball you can mess up, and your partner can still win or halve the hole,” says Bernhard Langer, Europe’s winning captain in 2004. “In alternate shot, every shot counts. It’s the ultimate pressure.”

IV. Thou Shalt Not Worry About Style of Play
Logic says to make pairings the way Noah loaded the Ark — two of a kind. Pair crooked hitters, straight shooters, bombers or short knockers, but never mix and match. Wrong. “The biggest thing I’ve learned is, don’t worry about the style of game,” Davis Love III says. “Don’t think, This guy doesn’t hit it straight, so he can’t play alternate shot. You have your 12 best players. Put them together, make them happy and try not to micromanage their games.”

V. Thou Shalt Not Surprise
Captain Hal Sutton played his cards so close to the vest in 2004 that his players could only guess at their pairings. “We didn’t know very far ahead of time,” says David Toms. “Knowing definitely helps. In ‘02 I played every practice round with Phil [Mickelson], so I knew I was playing with him.” In 1995 Brad Faxon made a bogey putt, and partner Peter Jacobsen, putting for par, picked up because he thought Faxon had made par. They lost the hole and, flustered, the match.

VI. Thou Shalt Not Insult, Anger or Otherwise Inspire Your Opponent
When Ben Hogan introduced his team as “the finest golfers in the world” at the 1967 prematch dinner, it wasn’t bragging. The U.S. won 23 1/2-8 1/2. When Raymond Floyd paid homage by repeating the line during the 1989 introductions with a team that included Chip Beck, Ken Green and Mark McCumber, it sounded arrogant and fueled a growing antagonism between the teams, who played to a tie.

VII. Thou Shalt Not Pair Superstars
What’s the opposite of dynamic duo? Mickelson and Woods, who together lost twice in one day in ‘04. “Until they played, I thought Tiger and Phil was the best idea I’d ever heard,” says Love. “Honestly, before they hit a shot, everybody did.” Two problems with such a pairing: First, putting your No. 1 player with your No. 2 leaves you with one less potentially potent twosome. Second, in the case of Tiger and Phil, see First Commandment. They won’t be paired again.

VIII. Thou Shalt Believe in Miracles
It worked for Ben Crenshaw in ‘99, when his team was four points down going into singles. “I’m a big believer in fate,” Crenshaw said on Saturday evening, wagging his finger at the skeptics who thought he had lost his mind. Crenshaw’s team swept the first seven singles matches and made the biggest comeback in Ryder Cup history. “After being part of that, I didn’t mind not making the team in ‘02,” says Jeff Maggert. “It was like retiring after winning the Super Bowl.”

IX. Thou Shalt Have Fun
Have you noticed how the Europeans treat the Ryder Cup like a party while the Americans act as if it’s a death march? “Once inside the ropes, I feel as if we’ve had no fun,” says Tom Lehman, this year’s U.S. captain. “I spent time with [former UCLA coach] John Wooden, and his whole thing was, If you don’t have fun, you’re not going to love it, and if you don’t love it, you’re not going to work hard enough to be successful. Having fun is a cornerstone of his pyramid of success.”

X. Thou Shalt Front-load
This obvious strategy works best in singles and is time-tested, although Crenshaw used it in desperation in ‘99. If you can crush your foes in the early matches, it puts tremendous pressure on their later players, creating a snowball effect. European captain Sam Torrance returned the favor in ‘02, sending Colin Montgomerie out first. His 5-and-4 drubbing of Scott Hoch sparked a huge day for the Euros, who lost only two of 12 matches and easily won the Cup.