Jump to content

The Numbers Game: Presidents Cup


Gxgolfer

Recommended Posts

By Dave Koster via TheSandTrap.com
Click for Article>>>Here

The Presidents Cup is around the corner and judging by the experience of the US golfers and lack thereof on the International team, the US team should come away with a victory. The problem is that advantages never seem to mean anything in Ryder or Presidents Cups.

The Presidents Cup: "The Tournament That Isn't the Ryder Cup." I think if you looked up the definition in the dictionary, that would be it. The Presidents Cup can't and probably won't ever shake that stigma. Even if it does plays second fiddle, the Presidents Cup offers some great golf after most of the season has passed. In The Numbers Game this week I'll offer some thoughts on the players and what to expect in the biggest match play tournament… not named the Ryder Cup.

USA

Player Win Loss Tie
Tiger Woods 8 7 0
Phil Mickelson 6 12 5
David Toms 1 4 0
Kenny Perry 6 3 0
Chris DiMarco 2 3 0
Jim Furyk 7 6 0
Fred Funk 1 2 1
Stewart Cink 4 0 0
Davis Love III 14 6 3
Scott Verplank 0 0 0
Justin Leonard 3 9 1
Fred Couples 8 3 1

I like the looks of the USA team. It has nothing to do with the fact that I am American, but more with the fact that there is only one Presidents Cup rookie on the team and that he (Scott Verplank) played in the Ryder Cup last year. So technically, he isn't really a rookie. Verplank has had a solid year as well posting a couple seconds and two other top tens.

So working our way up the experience list, the USA has a few others that appear to be green by the numbers, but have that fiery competitive spirit. Cink, Toms, DiMarco, and Funk all have less than six matches in the Presidents Cup, but are seasoned pros that I don't think will wilt under any sort of pressure. You simply can't look at that list of names and think "weak." Toms has a major victory and DiMarco was in a playoff in two of the past five.

The rest of the American team is as impressive as they are experienced with Tiger and Phil leading the way. Captain Jack Nicklaus picked Justin Leonard and Fred Couples to fill out the rest of the team. Between the two, they have 25 Presidents Cup matches and plenty of Ryders Cup experience on top of that. Were there some other players more deserving? Maybe, but Jack wanted guys he could plug in and not worry about. If he was a manager, Jack would be more of a delegator than a micro-manager.

International

Player Win Loss Tie
Vijay Singh 12 11 2
Retif Goosen 5 5 0
Adam Scott 3 2 0
Angel Cabrera 0 0 0
Tim Clark 2 3 0
Michael Campbell 1 2 1
Stuart Appleby 3 7 1
Mike Weir 6 4 0
Nick O'Hern 0 0 0
Mark Hensby 0 0 0
Peter Lonard 2 2 0
Trevor Immelman 0 0 0

Now if it is a lack of experience you are looking for, here is where you are going to find it. First off, there are four golfers that have not played in a single Presidents Cup match. I really like Cabrera's competitive spirit, but I'm not so sure about O'Hern, Hensby, or Immelman. They are all fine golfers, but I'll be interested to see how things go for them in their first match.

After the four rookies, there are four more players that have competed in less than five matches. That means that 67% of the international team has less than five matches under their belt. Now in that group is one of the best up and coming golfers on Tour, Adam Scott. Not a bad guy to have on the team and if there is someone I'm not worried about, regardless of record, Scott is one of them.

The rest of the team is seasoned but mixed as far as performance goes this year. Singh and Goosen can be a bit boring, but are strong, unflappable competitors. I highly doubt that either of them will sit out any of the matches. Appleby started off the year well, winning the Mercedes, but has had an average year since then. Mike Weir had a mediocre year as well. He did finish 2nd at Pebble and 5th in the Masters, but he's not someone I think the American group fears. Mike Weir circa 2003, maybe, but not Mike Weir 2K5.

The one thing I really like about the International team, and I've alluded to it before, is that they are a group of guys who don't go on emotional roller coasters. I don't think that Singh, Goosen or Scott change expressions more than once or twice during a round. I think this will calm some of the more inexperienced players on the team.

And the Winner Is…
You can probably guess where I'm going with this. I think that the Americans have better and more seasoned players. They have played in a total of 126 matches where the International team only has 74… and like I said above, some of the more experienced International players are not playing their best golf.

Without Ernie "Windsurfer" Els on the team on top of everything else, I really think that the US team will get out to a quick lead and win convincingly. Maybe its patriotisim, but you can't compare these two teams and not give the edge to the US. Of course they usually say the same things going into the Ryder Cup, and we know how those have gone. Advantage on paper is means nothing after the first ball is struck.

"This article is republished with permission from The Sand Trap .com and
remains copyright © The Sand Trap .com. All rights and privileges reserved."

Before sending me a message for help, please look at the website support section:
Have a Ad/BST question, first look and post here:
BST AD Help
If you have a general help question, post here:
GolfWRX Website Help Desk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies -1
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Our picks

    • 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Discussion and links to Photos
      Please put any questions or Comments here
       
       
       
      General Albums
       
      2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Monday #1
      2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Monday #2
      2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Tuesday #1
      2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Tuesday #2
      2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Tuesday #3
       
       
       
       
      WITB Albums
       
      Thorbjorn Olesen - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Ben Silverman - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Jesse Droemer - SoTX PGA Section POY - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      David Lipsky - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Martin Trainer - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Zac Blair - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Jacob Bridgeman - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Trace Crowe - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Jimmy Walker - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Daniel Berger - WITB(very mini) - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Chesson Hadley - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Callum McNeill - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Rhein Gibson - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Patrick Fishburn - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Peter Malnati - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Raul Pereda - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Gary Woodland WITB (New driver, iron shafts) – 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Padraig Harrington WITB – 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
       
       
       
       
      Pullout Albums
       
      Tom Hoge's custom Cameron - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Cameron putter - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Piretti putters - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Ping putter - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Kevin Dougherty's custom Cameron putter - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Bettinardi putter - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Cameron putter - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Erik Barnes testing an all-black Axis1 putter – 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Tony Finau's new driver shaft – 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
       
       
       
       
       
      • 7 replies
    • 2024 Valspar Championship WITB Photos (Thanks to bvmagic)- Discussion & Links to Photos
      This weeks WITB Pics are from member bvmagic (Brian). Brian's first event for WRX was in 2008 at Bayhill while in college. Thanks so much bv.
       
      Please put your comments or question on this thread. Links to all the threads are below...
       
       
       
       
        • Like
      • 31 replies
    • 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational - Discussion and Links to Photos
      Please put any questions or comments here
       
       
       
      General Albums
       
      2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational - Monday #1
      2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational - Monday #2
      2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational - Monday #3
       
       
       
       
      WITB Albums
       
      Matt (LFG) Every - WITB - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
      Sahith Theegala - WITB - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
       
       
       
       
       
      Pullout Albums
       
      New Cameron putters (and new "LD" grip) - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
      New Bettinardi MB & CB irons - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
      Custom Bettinardi API putter cover - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
      Custom Swag API covers - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
      New Golf Pride Reverse Taper grips - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
        • Like
      • 15 replies
    • 2024 Cognizant Classic - Discussion and Links to Photos
      Please put any questions or comments here
       
       
       
       
      General Albums
       
      2024 Cognizant Classic - Monday #1
      2024 Cognizant Classic - Monday #2
      2024 Cognizant Classic - Monday #3
      2024 Cognizant Classic - Monday #4
       
       
       
      WITB Albums
       
      Brandt Snedeker - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Max Greyserman - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Eric Cole - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Carl Yuan - WITb - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Russell Henley - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Justin Sun - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Alex Noren - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Shane Lowry - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Taylor Montgomery - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Jake Knapp (KnappTime_ltd) - WITB - - 2024 Cognizant Classic
       
       
       
      Pullout Albums
       
      New Super Stoke Pistol Lock 1.0 & 2.0 grips - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      LA Golf new insert putter - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      New Garsen Quad Tour 15 grip - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      New Swag covers - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Jacob Bridgeman's custom Cameron putter - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Bud Cauley's custom Cameron putters - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Ryo Hisatsune's custom Cameron putter - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Chris Kirk - new black Callaway Apex CB irons and a few Odyssey putters - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Alejandro Tosti's custom Cameron putter - 2024 Cognizant Classic
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
        • Like
      • 2 replies
    • 2024 Genesis Invitational - Discussion and Links to Photos
      Please put any questions or comments here
       
       
       
      General Albums
       
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Monday #1
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Monday #2
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Tuesday #1
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Tuesday #2
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Tuesday #3
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Tuesday #4
       
       
       
       
      WITB Albums
       
      Rory McIlroy - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Sepp Straka - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Patrick Rodgers - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Brendon Todd - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Denny McCarthy - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Corey Conners - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Chase Johnson - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Tiger Woods - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Tommy Fleetwood - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Matt Fitzpatrick - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Si Woo Kim - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Viktor Hovland - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Wyndham Clark - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Cam Davis - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Nick Taylor - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Ben Baller WITB update (New putter, driver, hybrid and shafts) – 2024 Genesis Invitational
       
       
       
       
       
      Pullout Albums
       
      New Vortex Golf rangefinder - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      New Fujikura Ventus shaft - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Tiger Woods & TaylorMade "Sun Day Red" apparel launch event, product photos – 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Tiger Woods Sun Day Red golf shoes - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Aretera shafts - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      New Toulon putters - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Tiger Woods' new white "Sun Day Red" golf shoe prototypes – 2024 Genesis Invitational
       
       
       
       
       
      • 22 replies

×
×
  • Create New...