Presidents Cup 2007

From The Globe & Mail LORNE RUBENSTEIN

It’s been proposed that the main reason the United States has won only one of the past six Ryder Cups is that its players don’t unite as a team. In the two most recent competitions, the Americans lost by nine points in 2004, and by the same enormous margin in the event that concluded Sunday at The K Club in Straffan, Ireland.

But maybe there’s another reason for the dismal U.S. performances in recent Ryder Cups. It comes down to three words.

The Presidents Cup.

The PGA Tour was the main force behind the Presidents Cup, which started in 1994 so that golfers not eligible for the Ryder Cup could compete biennially against a U.S. team. Elite golfers such as Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Michael Campbell and Mike Weir play against Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and other U.S. players who qualify in years when the Ryder Cup isn’t on.

Consider the six Ryder Cups played before the first Presidents Cup, back to 1983, that is. The United States won three and tied one. However, as mentioned, the U.S. team has won only one of the six Ryder Cups since the Presidents Cup started.

Why might the Presidents Cup make such a difference? Remember, this is just a theory.

It could be because the U.S. players who qualify for both the Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup — read Woods, Mickelson and Jim Furyk, to name three heavyweights — are called upon to represent their country every year.

The Europeans, however, are called upon every two years. They have 24 months to build up to the Ryder Cup, without interruption. They’re fresh when they play.

The U.S. players who qualify for the Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup don’t have that amount of time to get excited about the Ryder Cup. This isn’t to say the Presidents Cup isn’t worthwhile in its own right. It came into its own in 2005 when the United States beat the International team by three points in a dramatic confrontation at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Prince William Country, Va.

But the Presidents Cup interrupts what should be a two-year build-up from one Ryder Cup to another. Asked during one Presidents Cup tournament whether playing both events made things more difficult for the U.S. players, Mickelson would say only, “That’s an interesting issue.”

Woods has gone further at least once for the record. This was during the Tour Championship in November, 2000.

Speaking to Golf World writers Tim Rosaforte and John Hawkins, Woods addressed issues he had with the PGA Tour. They wrote: “Woods has privately expressed reservations about playing in the 2002 Presidents Cup and is thought to be petitioning for the event’s abolition.”

Woods told the writers, “I think the younger guys are starting to understand the situation. We’re talking about guys who are going to be playing in these [Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup] events for the next 20 years. Let’s say we each play in 16 of those. That’s a pretty large commitment.”

Woods did play in the next Presidents Cup, and has played every one since. He’s given no indication that he won’t play in the 2007 Presidents Cup at the Royal Montreal Golf Club, where Jack Nicklaus will captain the U.S. side for the fourth time. Woods is unlikely to spurn Nicklaus.

But it wouldn’t come as a shock if he, or perhaps Mickelson, decided not to play in Montreal; or, more likely, in a subsequent Presidents Cup. It would be their choice, and it’s their right.

It doesn’t take much, after all, to see that Woods is the player who seems least comfortable with the considerable hoopla that accompanies the Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup. He would be unlikely to miss the endless hype, buildup, and high-octane socializing that accompany these events.

The main question is this: Why should the U.S. players have to play a major international competition every year? It probably doesn’t seem a lot to ask of golfing multimillionaires, or, in the case of Woods, a near billionaire.

But it could be taking its toll and blunting the U.S. performance in the Ryder Cup, the event that matters more to them than the Presidents Cup.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem accompanied the U.S. team as it entered the outdoor arena set up for Sunday’s closing ceremonies at The K Club. As he passed by, it was difficult to avoid the thought that the Presidents Cup in which he is so involved might be contributing to the abysmal performance of his very own PGA Tour players in the Ryder Cup.

It’s worth thinking about, wouldn’t you agree?