Tag: 2019 Presidents Cup

19th hole: Only women can save the Presidents Cup

Making the Presidents Cup a co-ed event would give it a unique flavor while elevating women’s golf.

[jwplayer Hew3fZFR-9JtFt04J]

It’s only a slight exaggeration to suggest that the Presidents Cup faces an existential crisis when its 13th edition gets underway Thursday in Australia, since the previous 12 playings have been about as competitive as a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest.

There have been 10 U.S. wins, one tie, and one victory for the Internationals, their lone highlight now so distant that Stuart Appleby is the only member of that winning team still not eligible for the senior circuit. The International squad is awfully close to being golf’s equivalent of the ’76 Tampa Bay Bucs, which went 0-14 then lost the first 12 games of the next season too.

Several factors promise a more entertaining Cup this time: the majestic Royal Melbourne as a venue, Tiger Woods as a playing captain, and the likelihood that voluble Aussie fans will remind Patrick Reed of the game’s rudimentary rules. Even with that, will another U.S. victory sound a death knell for an event whose results are as lop-sided as the Christians-Lions battles in ancient Rome?

Not so fast, says Frank Nobilo, who played on three International teams and twice served as assistant captain. He points to how uncompetitive the Ryder Cup was for decades before the tide turned in the 1980s. “Look what it has grown into today,” Nobilo says.

“I think the Presidents Cup is going through a tender stage purely because of the lack of strength at the top of the ’80’s and ’90s,” he adds, pointing to an era when world No. 1’s didn’t hail from America or Europe, like Greg Norman, Nick Price, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh. “Those times will come again and it will be less fleeting when it happens.”

Nobilo also notes the value of the Presidents Cup isn’t measured simply in points won and lost, that it has a positive trickle-down effect to junior programs akin to Olympic golf and the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.

Defeat for Team USA may constitute a win for the Presidents Cup itself, much as how yachting’s America’s Cup grew in stature only after 1983, when the U.S. lost for the first time in 132 years. But is an International victory sufficient? Does even a more competitive Presidents Cup have an identity other than being not the Ryder Cup? It may be time to rethink the event, regardless of whether Woods or Els leads his troops to victory in Melbourne.

My two cents: make the Presidents Cup co-ed, adding the best women to the squads. It would give the event a unique flavor while elevating women’s golf. The LPGA Tour is a global circuit, but too many of its finest players are ineligible for the Solheim Cup, being neither American nor European. Let’s see an alternate shot format where Jin Young Ko plays off Adam Scott’s drives, and Tiger plays off Lexi Thompson’s.

A co-ed Presidents Cup would pair men and women in a genuine competitive setting, not a hit-and-giggle like the long defunct Wendy’s 3-Tour Challenge. It would also make real the prospect of superstar golfers playing for a female captain. Golf could use some optics like that.

It’s been 40 years since the Ryder Cup was resuscitated when the old downtrodden Great Britain & Ireland team morphed into a triumphant European squad, but the Ryder Cup also had the advantage of its dull decades coming long before the dawn-to-dusk TV coverage of every swing. The Presidents Cup enjoys no such luxury and won’t survive many more years of mundanity. It may be time to consider that its saviors may not be guys like Woods and Els, but women like Nelly Korda and Sung Hyun Park.

[lawrence-related id=778015447,778015438,778015094]

Presidents Cup: What makes Royal Melbourne a great match play course?

The speed of Royal Melbourne’s greens make it hard to get close to the hole, especially when it’s windy.

[jwplayer Hew3fZFR-9JtFt04J]

Golfweek’s Jay Blasi interviewed Michael Clayton, who is an Australian golf course designer, former player and caddie, about his impressions of Royal Melbourne. The club will host the Presidents Cup for the third time.

The course for the 2019 Presidents Cup is an amalgamation (12 holes from the West Course and six from the East).

Blasi: What makes a good match play hole or course from the perspective of the pro or top player?

Clayton: The key to match play is to pressure your opponent into thinking you are not going to make a mistake.The best courses – and Royal Melbourne is undoubtedly one – demand clear thinking and it’s not obvious where you should play. Alister MacKenzie loved The Old Course and he understood how to manufacture its perplexing choices onto wildly different looking sites including Augusta and Royal Melbourne. There is always temptation at Royal Melbourne, but the speed of the greens and the reality members never have to repair a pitch mark (because the greens are so hard and not because they are lazy!) makes firing straight at flags fraught with danger, but nonetheless tempting especially with a short iron.

Blasi: What makes a good match play hole or course from the perspective of  a top caddie?

Clayton: The key for a caddie is to make sure your player doesn’t commit the crime of hitting the wrong club and the wrong shot all at once. The wrong club or the wrong shot is recoverable, but the wrong shot hit with the wrong club is a disaster.

Blasi: What makes Royal Melbourne a great match play course?

Clayton: It’s a great course – full of brilliant holes. What makes the golf so interesting is despite the width of the fairway, the greens make it so hard to get close to the hole, especially when it’s windy and it usually is.
Unlike courses with softer greens you must land the ball in one place to have it finish in another, and the shot has to be hit on the right trajectory, with the right shape and spin and land in the perfect spot. Otherwise it’s going to finish far from the hole.

Blasi: Are there a few holes at Royal Melbourne that you think will be great match play holes? Can you explain why?

Clayton: 10 west, which will be 6 on the Presidents Cup Course, is the great short (285 yards) par 4 up and around the hill. It’s drivable but only into the wind. Downwind it’s almost impossible to keep the ball on the green and long is no good at all. It’s either a safe long iron to the right and a pitch or a driver or 3-wood straight at the green.

Blasi: What are some courses that you feel might make great match play venues?

Clayton: Augusta would be an amazing match play course, as witnessed by the great Masters which have turned into match play. Pinehurst is very much like Sandbelt golf with lots of short grass options around the greens. St. Andrew’s, even though it was stroke match play, there were some good ones in the old Dunhill Cup. North Berwick – with old equipment! Winged Foot,  which I haven’t seen, but those last four brutal finishing holes have uncovered a lot of nerves over the years and lead to some brilliant shots and finishes. NGLA (National Golf Links of America) would be fascinating because it asks so many great questions. Wentworth had many great matches over the years of the world match play, and those last 2 par 5s were a big part of it.

[lawrence-related id=778014545,778014983]

Presidents Cup host Royal Melbourne shines spotlight on world-class destination

A golfer’s education is incomplete without seeing Royal Melbourne and the courses of Australia’s Sandbelt. Many American golfers, softened by the primping of their home courses, love visiting classic British links for their rugged naturalism and the …

A golfer’s education is incomplete without seeing Royal Melbourne and the courses of Australia’s Sandbelt. 

Many American golfers, softened by the primping of their home courses, love visiting classic British links for their rugged naturalism and the ability to play a variety of shots along firm, fast-running turf that is exposed to the elements. British golfers, by contrast, sometimes tire of the vagaries of links golf and relish the high standard of greenkeeping present at many American courses, where the grass does indeed seem greener and the sun often shines brighter.  

What’s special about the courses of the Australian Sandbelt is that nearly every course in this concentrated area of the Melbourne, Victoria suburbs, whether humble or celebrated throughout the world, manages to achieve the best aspects of both British and American golf without the downsides of either, combining beautifully presented inland courses that look and play as though they would be at home on a rough-hewn, fast-running British links. 

Achieving this rare trick requires a combination of sandy soil on rolling terrain, the kind of land that provides excellent drainage and promotes the quality grasses that make courses bouncy while retaining a parkland feel. 

This chemistry produces a style of golf that led Victoria native Peter Thomson to feel at home in winning five Open Championships in the British Isles from 1954 to 1965. He felt unwelcome on squishy American courses that eliminated, in Thomson’s opinion, the essential third dimension of the game: the run of the ball. 

The greatest of these Sandbelt courses, Royal Melbourne Golf Club, hosts its third Presidents Cup in December and comprises two 18-hole courses (East and West), combined in various permutations through the years to form a Composite Course over which this year’s competition will be played. Yet Royal Melbourne is far from the only show in town.

If Royal Melbourne is, design-wise, to Australia what Augusta National is to America, sharing Alister MacKenzie as the co-designer of both, then surely Kingston Heath qualifies as that country’s Merion, a compact, beautifully routed championship course that requires shotmaking of the highest standard while being enjoyable for club-level players. 

No. 15 at Royal Melbourne (Gary Lisbon via PGA Tour)

Victoria Golf Club, just across the street from Royal Melbourne, produced Thomson, 1954 British Amateur champion Doug Bachli and 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy. Even if not for its more-famous neighbor, people should get on an airplane to see Victoria’s distinctive bunkering and beguiling half-par holes. 

Yet, just as it is always better to ask a local for tips on finding the best pub around, I asked several Australian friends to share their thoughts on what makes Royal Melbourne and the courses of the Sandbelt so admired and what we might learn from them. 

What makes the Sandbelt distinct as one of the world’s great spiritual homes for the game?

Will Kay, a former member of Royal Melbourne: “With all of the best architects having their work on display in a 20-mile radius, it improves everyone’s standards accordingly. The unreasonable density of world-class courses is not seen anywhere else, and people in Melbourne don’t know how good they have it.” 

No. 3 at Royal Melbourne (Gary Lisbon via PGA Tour)

Lynne Claney Brown, 15-time women’s club champion at Kingston Heath: “A high standard of conditioning and year-round golf probably makes Melbourne an ideal location for high-quality golf. A temperate climate – not too wet in winter, no snow, moderate rain, warm and dry summers – is ideal for consistent golfing conditions year round. Mix in with that, majestic native trees and plants and constant birdsong make for pleasant environs for golf.”

Mike Clayton, touring professional and course architect at Clayton DeVries Pont: “The strategies are quite simple on most Sandbelt courses. There is always an easier shot from one half of the fairway – and it’s a side almost always guarded by a fairway bunker or some rough grass. It’s also the home of some of the greatest short holes – between 130 and 170 yards – in the world.”

How would other courses around the world, regardless of climate or geography, benefit from copying ideas found at Royal Melbourne? 

Neil Crafter, golf course architect, Crafter + Mogford Golf Strategies: “Dr. Alister MacKenzie and Alex Russell designed holes where width and latitude were given off the tee. But if the golfer was happy to finish anywhere on the fairway, he could face a very daunting and difficult approach over bunkers to a sloping green, if not positioned correctly.” 

Will Kay: “There is a lack of length from the members tees which makes it more appealing to the masses. A short course can be even more interesting and challenging than a long course, and this is often forgotten in today’s efforts at design. This should not be confused with it being known as an easy course, as these tracks in the middle of summer are as difficult as anywhere.”

No. 9 at Royal Melbourne (Gary Lisbon via PGA Tour)

Mike Clayton: “Mowing lines. There is no rough between fairways and the fairway bunkers, so the ball runs freely into them – and if you are good enough or lucky enough to skirt the edge, the ball is never held up by long grass. There is no attempt to make the rough uniform or to create ‘equity of punishment.’ Members never complain about ‘unfair’ lies in the rough.”

In addition to the well-known Sandbelt courses like Kingston Heath, Victoria and Metropolitan, what courses would you take a visiting friend to play?

Mike Clayton: “Alister MacKenzie never visited Woodlands for a day, but if he had it’d be much better known. Spring Valley was designed by Vern Morcom, son of the greenkeeper who built all the MacKenzie work at Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath. Long Island was a struggling club with a terrific course until The National took control and secured its short-term (and hopefully long-term) future. With a little remedial work, it could be one of the best courses in the city.”

Lynne Claney Brown: “I always consider playing Woodlands an experience. Tight fairways and small, hard greens require a lot of skill. Spring Valley is often called the ‘hidden jewel’. It is a great design always in great shape.”

Will Kay: “Peninsula Kingswood has recently undergone some fantastic changes which line it up incredibly well against Royal Melbourne.”

Neil Crafter: “I would take them to Yarra Yarra, Commonwealth and Woodlands. That next tier of Sandbelt courses are brilliant and will give any visitor a wonderful sense of what golf in Melbourne’s Sandbelt is all about.” 

[opinary poll=”how-much-should-professional-golfers-kno” customer=”golfweek”]

Jordan Spieth laments missing Royal Melbourne, group texts

Spieth has been an integral part of American professional golf team events since the 2013 Presidents Cup but didn’t make the 2019 team.

NASSAU, Bahamas – Jordan Spieth probably won’t watch much of the 2019 Presidents Cup.

Certainly not out of spite, but instead, to prevent tinges of pain for someone who has been an integral part of American professional team events since the 2013 Presidents Cup.

“I’m sure next week will be tough for me at home,” he said after improving on his Hero Challenge opening-round 76 with a 2-under-par 70. “I’ll try and honestly just get away while the tournament’s going on because you never want to miss those events when you’ve kind of been a part of them for a number of years.”

While the anticipated frustration has not hit him “at all” yet, Spieth is bullish on his 2020 prospects and feels refreshed.

“I feel things starting to get on the right track, it’s just timing stuff and again some visuals,” he said after having just 22 putts in round two. “But over the ball, I’m seeing a lot – it’s not really relating into necessarily the scores yesterday. I had like two bad drives. I drove the ball really well the whole day, but that kind of stuff I’ll fine tune and it will certainly get better as I hit more shots.”

As for the group text messages that have become a staple of modern team events, Spieth is not included.

“I’m probably out of a lot of good texts,” he said. “But it sucks because there was always good banter on those, and I always liked the lead-in and the playing practice rounds together, preparing to be a team representing your country. Yeah, it’s tough.”

A self-described architecture lover, Spieth says he’s also sad to not experience Presidents Cup host course Royal Melbourne.

“What a cool experience to play those golf courses. That’s got to be the top one or two places in the world, the Sandbelt in Melbourne, for golf. Honestly, for me just being an architecture lover, golf lover, that’s also a piece that I’ll be missing out on because I really wanted to go play that golf course, right?”

No offense to the last international venue, but Spieth is well aware of Royal Melbourne’s place near the top of most international course rankings.

“Korea was great, but if I could pick one of the two for the Presidents Cup, I would be like, man, that style of golf plays more to me. So hopefully I’ll certainly work my butt off to not miss one of these again.”

[opinary poll=”which-offseason-event-are-you-most-likel” customer=”golfweek”]

[lawrence-related id=778014938,778014579,778014874]

Presidents Cup: Jason Day withdraws, Byeong Hun An joins International Team

Jason Day has withdrawn from the Presidents Cup International Team and captain Ernie Els has chosen Byeong Hun An as replacement.

Presidents Cup captain Ernie Els has chosen Byeong Hun An to replace an injured Jason Day on the International Team, the Presidents Cup announced Friday.

Day, who has a 5-11-4 Presidents Cup record, withdrew from the Dec. 9-15 event at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club due to a back injury. The event would have been the Australian’s fifth Presidents Cup appearance.

In a statement released Friday, Day said he hopes to return to Australia to play soon, but in the meantime, wishes all Presidents Cup competitors luck.

MORE: Meet Team USA and the International Team

Day also withdrew from the Australian Open, Dec. 5-8.

“I’m quite disappointed I won’t be coming home to play in either the Australian Open in Sydney or the Presidents Cup the following week in Melbourne,” Day said. “I was quite looking forward to both events. I had been prepping all week in Palm Springs when I was injured.

“Frustratingly, I’ve been through back problems before and my medical team decided it best to shut down all practice and play. Therefore, I wanted to inform Golf Australia as well as provide Ernie as much time as possible to best prepare our International Team for Royal Melbourne.”

Day told Golfweek earlier in November he hasn’t had a trainer for most of the past year, which has made it difficult to practice when his back acts up. Last season, Day’s back forced him to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational after the first round in March and also forced him to receive treatment on the course during the second round of the Masters.

“We wish Jason well and hope his back recovers quickly. We were eager to have Jason as part of the team at Royal Melbourne and his experience will be missed,” Els said in a statement. “The good news is that there were a number of strong and qualified players available to choose from when I made my captain’s selections. To have someone as steady and talented as Ben An puts us in a great position to succeed. Ben played extremely well this fall and throughout the year and he will fit in nicely on this team.”

The 28-year-old An competed in 22 PGA Tour events last season and had three top 10 finishes with his best coming from a third-place finish at Wyndham Championship. An also earned $1,990,033 in 2019.

With the addition of An, who will compete in his first Presidents Cup, the International Team will feature two Korean players. An joins Sungjae Im, the 2019 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.

“I’m sorry to hear that Jason has been forced to withdraw from the International Team and I wish him a speedy recovery. It was a huge surprise to receive a call from Ernie who told me that I was in the team,” An said in a statement. “It has been a goal of mine all season to be on the International Team and I am honored to play in my first Presidents Cup. I’m looking forward to joining Ernie and the rest of the team in Melbourne and, more importantly, contribute to the International Team’s goal to win the Cup.”

The International Team move follows Brooks Koepka’s withdrawal from the U.S. Team due to a lagging left knee injury. Team captain Tiger Woods selected Rickie Fowler as a replacement on Nov. 20.

[lawrence-related id=778012690,778013357,778012490,778011340,778011122]

Looking ahead to a holly, jolly December golf schedule

The PGA Tour officially is on hiatus until January, but that doesn’t mean that December won’t be packed with loads of golf worth watching.

[jwplayer 7kOm4pyd-9JtFt04J]

Seventy-two hours.

That’s the length of time between Jon Rahm being crowned the big winner of 2019 on the European Tour and the circuit’s debut of its 2020 season –who cares if it isn’t 2020 yet – which debuts with the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa.

Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters champion, is scheduled to make his return from a wrist injury that sidelined him since June in his native land.

The Euro Tour then continues its African sojourn at the Afrasia Bank Mauritius Open, but the eyes of the golf world will be on The Bahamas, where Tiger Woods plays host to the Hero World Challenge.

Last we saw Woods he was polishing off a vintage performance in Japan and hoisting his record-tying 82nd Tour title. Winning the Hero won’t count as an official victory, but count Woods in for at least a top-20 finish. That’s because it is only an 18-man field. It is a star-studded field, to be sure, with several members of the U.S. Presidents Cup team among the contestants, including defending champion Rickie Fowler. Don’t forget about the PNC Father-Son in Orlando, where golf fans can drink in the nostalgia of watching Jack Nicklaus (and grandson), Gary Player, Tom Watson, and for the first, Annika Sorenstam (with her father) team up in a two-person scramble format.

Meanwhile, most of The International Team will be getting acclimated to life in Oz at the Australian Open. Aussies Jason Day, Marc Leishman, Adam Scott and Cameron Smith return home as conquering heroes to face the test of The Australian Golf Club.

That takes us to the Presidents Cup, Dec. 12-15, at Royal Melbourne, where the International side will seek its first win since 1998 – when the biennial competition was held at none other than Royal Melbourne. Woods will serve as the first playing captain since Hale Irwin in 1994. The Presidents Cup is going to air in prime time in the U.S. on the east coast. For the golf junkie, the daytime matinee is the QBE Shootout at Tiburón Golf Course in Naples, Florida. The Greg Norman-hosted team competition has a lot of the usual suspects, including defending champs Brian Harman and Patton Kizzire, but the team worth tuning in for is rookies Viktor Hovland and Matthew Wolff.

But wait, there’s more

The real drama that weekend will be contested across the state in Winter Garden, Florida, at the final stage of Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School. There’s an old saying in golf that pros eat what they kill. The most direct route to PGA Tour status is through the Korn Ferry Tour and those finishing in the top 40 (and ties) at Q-School will be a leg up on the competition to make the next step to the promised land. If the Presidents Cup is about playing for pride and country, Q-School is about playing for your livelihood.

And just when you thought that all this golf in one weekend was the equivalent of a fireworks finale, the European Tour has last call before calling it quits for 2019 on the Gold Coast of Australia at the co-sanctioned Australian PGA Championship.

Wonderful World marathon

At last, the last week of the year is a veritable golf wasteland, a chance for rest and relaxation and to recharge the batteries. But never fear, the Golf Channel has us covered with marathon re-run of Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf matches on New Year’s Eve. Is there a better way to ring in the New Year, or to stock your DVR for an impending winter blizzard? But just when you’re feeling the first pangs of missing live tournament golf coverage, the wait is over and balls will be in the air in Maui for the PGA Tour’s winners-only Sentry Tournament of Champions on Jan. 2.

Pro golf in December: it ranks right up there with egg nog, kissing under the Mistletoe and decking the halls with boughs of holly.

[opinary poll=”do-you-like-tigers-pick-of-rickie-fowler” customer=”golfweek”]

Patrick Reed calls Tiger Woods ‘greatest player on the planet’

Patrick Reed reveals his thoughts on Presidents Cup team captain Tiger Woods and if he plans on playing on the European Tour next year.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Tiger Woods might be inclined to play Patrick Reed in every session of the upcoming Presidents Cup after Reed paid his playing captain the ultimate compliment.

As far as Reed is concerned, Woods is “the greatest player on the planet.” High praise indeed.

Reed is teeing it up in the $8 million DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, the final event of the 2019 European Tour. Then the 2018 Masters winner heads to Woods’s Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas before joining playing captain Woods in the Presidents Cup in Melbourne, Australia.

“It’s going to be amazing,” Reed said. “It was awesome hearing that he was going to be a captain and the way he’s been playing, it’s awesome to see that he’s going to be playing. I mean, he definitely earned that spot to be able to play on the team. Any time you can have the greatest player on the planet playing on your team, it always helps you out.”

The European Tour received good news in the final event of the year when Reed committed his long-term future to playing the European circuit alongside the PGA Tour. Reed is playing his third full season in Europe, and his fourth in the last five years.

“I plan on keeping my European Tour membership as long as I can still move and still play,” Reed admitted. “One of my goals was always to be a worldwide player. Not just play over here once in a while, but play worldwide and do it for my career.

“There’s no doubt that I’ll definitely play enough to keep my card next year, and the year after that, and the year after that.”

The 29-year-old believes competing in European Tour events has made him a better player.

“The biggest thing I like is the challenge of getting used to different time zones, different cultures, different grasses and golf courses. Even if it’s Bermuda (grass) over here compared to Bermuda at home, there is still a little difference. It definitely makes you become a more rounded golfer as well as being able to adapt very quickly whether it’s time zones or different surfaces.

“The good thing is that now with multiple years out here playing both tours I’ve figured out ways to make sure the energy levels stay up when I’m playing. If I went thought the same kind of routine in practice as I do at home and I tried to do that while I was over here, I’d be toast.

“I’ve been able to figure out nuances in my body and my schedule to allow me to hold up.”

[lawrence-related id=778011340,778012690,778011122,778010581]

Why the Patrick Reed Presidents Cup pick was the right call by Tiger

Tiger Woods’s selection of Patrick Reed was the right call and could be the start of the Captain America redemption tour Down Under.

[jwplayer EC8lHskP-9JtFt04J]

Of Tiger Woods’s four captain picks for the Presidents Cup, he made three no brainers and chose Patrick Reed.

Woods could have justified the selection of the hot hand, Kevin Na, who has won twice in his past 10 starts, including at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in October. He could’ve picked Rickie Fowler and few would have batted an eye. He could have ignored the standings and current form and gone for veteran leadership and taken Phil Mickelson or went with his gut and Jordan Spieth. (After his 2015 season, could anyone imagine a scenario where a healthy Spieth wouldn’t be on an American team for at least the next decade?)

But Woods made the right call in taking the 29-year-old Reed to round out his team going to Australia this December, despite the fact that, as the saying goes, his baggage doesn’t fit in the overhead compartment.

“Definitely was fired up to get the phone call from Tiger saying that I was a pick and that he can’t wait for me to be a part of the team and that I’d bring a lot to the team,” Reed said in a conference call with media on Tuesday night. “That means a lot, especially coming from one of the greatest golfers ever to live on this planet. For him to trust in me and the team to trust in me means a lot because it means that I’ve worked hard and that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, and that’s try to go out and play the best golf I can.”

Woods could have served as judge and jury and sentenced Reed to a one-year banishment from Team USA for “conduct unbecoming,” to borrow the PGA Tour’s all-encompassing pet phrase. What’s said in the locker room, stays in the locker room. Reed violated this basic rule when he threw Jim Furyk, the 2018 U.S. Ryder Cup captain, under the bus and aired the team’s dirty laundry publicly following the team’s defeat at Le Golf National in France. Forget the staged bro-hug when Reed and Spieth were paired together for the first time this season at the Farmers Insurance Open – the Presidents Cup selection was the ultimate determinant of how severe the consequences of Reed’s actions would be (apparently, at worst, he was given double-secret probation).

No one has a longer memory than Woods – see Stephen Ames, 9 and 8 – but his selection of Reed proves that he’s willing to let bygones be bygones for the good of the future of Team USA.

“That was all put to bed,” Reed said. “We all talked about it. We’ve all moved on, and we’re all just really getting excited for this year and to focus on going out and doing what we’re supposed to do.”

patrick reed-ryder cup-celebration
Patrick Reed established his reputation as “Captain America” with his take down of Rory McIlroy at the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National. Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

If the U.S. is going to regain the Ryder Cup in 2020, it is going to need the fiery Reed, who Tiger said “bleeds red, white and blue.” Where better for Reed to reestablish his aura as a big-game killer (see, Rory McIlroy, Hazeltine, 2016) than at the Ryder Cup Lite? While Sergio Garcia and Matt Kuchar go around kissing babies in Instagram posts and hosting junior clinics to restore their public image, Reed seems if not to revel in his bad-boy image to at least accept “it is what it is” and the 2019 Presidents Cup has a chance to be his personal Captain America redemption tour Down Under.

“For some reason I love to go in and basically feel like my back is up against the wall and go out and try to prove something every week I play,” he said. “It’s just been something that’s always been a part of me.”

Woods has always been a bit of a lone wolf, too, and he’s said before that he sees some of himself in Reed, the 2018 Masters champion who draped the green jacket on his back this April. While trying to describe what will make Woods a good captain at the Presidents Cup, Reed pointed out that Tiger has taken the time to understand the personalities of each player “and knowing what makes them tick.”

Woods knows that Reed is going to be a fixture on the U.S. side for many years to come and he needs to be brought back into the inner circle, for better or worse. Reed is a match-play maven. He is the U.S. version of Ian Poulter. Or maybe an even better comparison is to say he is the U.S. team’s Colonel Nathan Jessup in “A Few Good Men:”

“My existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, wins matches. You don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me on that wall.”

Yes, we do, and so does Tiger. Do we not want a guy on the team that when asked who he’d like to play in the Sunday singles answers, “Whoever is playing best on their team. I’ve always just loved to go up against the best guy, so whoever is playing the best I’d love to take him on on Sunday.”

Captain America is out to remove the tarnish of going 1-3 in the last Ryder Cup (though he’s a little too quick to point out that he’s still undefeated in singles. Note to Patrick: the team lost; that’s all that matters.) Does Reed feel any extra pressure to live up to his reputation?

“I don’t. You know, everyone has bad years no matter what,” Reed said.

His back is firmly against the wall just the way Reed likes it. America won’t stand for another bad year. Let the redemption tour begin.

[opinary poll=”how-much-should-professional-golfers-kno” customer=”golfweek”]

Presidents Cup: Golf equipment that will be used by the American team

See all the gear that the American stars like Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson are expected to play in December.

With Tiger Woods having announced his captain’s picks (including himself), we now know the 12 members of the U.S. Presidents Cup team that will face the International squad Dec. 12-15 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. Below is a list of the U.S. players and the equipment they are expected to use.

Patrick Cantlay's Titleist irons
Patrick Cantlay’s Titleist irons (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Patrick Cantlay

DRIVER: Titleist TS3  (10.5 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana BF 60X shaft

FAIRWAY WOOD: Titleist 915F (15 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana BF 70TX shaft

HYBRID: Titleist 816 H2 (21 degrees), with Mitsubishi CK Pro Blue 90 X shaft

IRONS: Titleist T100 (4-PW), with True Temper Dynamic Gold 120 shafts

WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design SM7 (54 degrees bent to 53, 56 degrees bent to 57, 60 degrees bent to 61), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S300 shafts

PUTTER: Scotty Cameron Newport GSS prototype

BALL: Titleist Pro V1x

GRIPS: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11, Page 12

Running the numbers on a last-minute Presidents Cup trip

It’s not too late to book your ticket to see the Presidents Cup live at Royal Melbourne next month. We give you an idea of the cost.

[jwplayer EC8lHskP-9JtFt04J]

When the Presidents Cup captain’s picks were revealed last week, for both sides, the biennial team competition suddenly got a lot more interesting. No one ups the ante in professional golf quite like Tiger Woods (unless it’s Patrick Reed in a team room, and we got that too).

It’s possible that, given the way the teams have filled out, there’s a fan or two out there having second thoughts about watching the Presidents Cup in person – despite the fact that it’s on the other side of the world. The good news is, tickets are still on sale for the Dec. 12-15 event at Royal Melbourne in Australia.

A one-day, general-admission ticket for an adult runs $50 for early week but climbs to $155 by the time the weekend rolls around. That’s just the tip of the iceberg on a bucket-list trip that should obviously morph way past the Presidents Cup (are you a golf fan or aren’t you?).

Given the fact that attending isn’t out of the realm of possibility just yet, we decided to run the numbers.

Take these details into account before you decide that it’s totally out of the question to get yourself to Melbourne.

Back to tickets

Package options make much more financial sense than buying day-by-day, and in some cases can get you better access (depending on what you’re willing to shell out). Options include a week-long grounds ticket, which will get you through the gates from Tuesday to Sunday for $530.

A four-day grandstand ticket – which, by the way, means you’ll have a reserved seat – on the 16th green costs $815. If you’re really looking to splurge, spots are still available in the International Club, a lounge area that overlooks the 10th fairway and practice chipping green and comes with unlimited food and drink. A four-day pass checks in at $2,651.

Don’t forget parking

Be warned that they drive on the left side of the road in Australia. That said, it might be worth looking into public transit. If you plan to drive yourself to the matches each day, however, you’ll need a parking pass to get in the gates. Those run consistently at $20 per day throughout the week.

Getting there

Getting to Australia will be neither an easy trip nor a short one. It won’t be a cheap one either, especially on a month’s notice. If you’re headed to Melbourne from Los Angeles at the start of Presidents Cup week (say, Monday Dec. 9), and plan to stay a full week, you’re facing a roughly $1,000 plane ticket – and at least an 18-hour travel day.

Traveling from the East Coast? Let’s say you plan to leave from LaGuardia in New York City on the same date. Add another $150 or so to your ticket, along with at least eight more hours of travel.

Bunking options in Melbourne

A week’s lodging within 10 miles of Royal Melbourne can be had for $500-700, depending on the venue.

Paperwork

A U.S. passport holder also will need an Electronic Travel Authority – or an ETA – to enter Australia for a trip shorter than 90 days. As the name implies, an ETA is electronically linked to your passport, costs $20. You can purchase one relatively easily online.

Unscientific grand total

After a quick run through the basics, you can count on shelling out at least $2,250, depending on the access level you choose once at Royal Melbourne and your geographic location back home in the U.S.

And now for the fun part

This goes back to your level of enthusiasm for the game. You’ll be taking in competition between some of the world’s great players, but don’t overlook the fact that you’ll be strolling along one of the world’s best courses in a renowned region for golf: the Sandbelt.

Royal Melbourne is one of the most famous Sandbelt courses, but Kingston Heath Golf Club, Victoria Golf Club and Metropolitan Golf Club are nearly as iconic. Local knowledge is key where big-budget trips such as this are concerned, so we asked a few experts to tell us where they’d be entertaining friends in the Sandbelt (outside the three courses already mentioned).

Woodlands Golf Club came up frequently, with its “tight fairways and small, hard greens.” So did Spring Valley, a course designed by Vern Morcom, the greenkeeper who built all the Alister MacKenzie work at Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath. One Kingston Heath regular called it a “hidden jewel” – a great design that’s always in great shape.

Looking for something that compares to Royal Melbourne? Take it from a Royal Melbourne member and try Peninsula Kingswood, which has recently undergone renovations. Yarra Yarra and Commonwealth are also on the list of courses that give the visitor a full Sandbelt experience.

[opinary poll=”how-much-should-professional-golfers-kno” customer=”golfweek”]

[lawrence-related id=778010922,778010581,778010563,778010440]