When Hale Irwin and David Graham prepared their teams for the first Presidents Cup in 1994, they had every reason to believe they were on the verge of launching an event that could rival the Ryder Cup. There were more international players than Europeans in the OWGR top 20 at the start of that season, and crazy as it may sound today, there were even more internationals than Americans (the score was eight to seven). Plus, they were loaded with World No. 1s, from Greg Norman (who ended up not playing that year) to Vijay Singh to Nick Price to Ernie Els.
For a few years, the event seemed to be on the right track. The Americans won that first year, squeaked out a one-point win in ‘96, and then watched as the Internationals struck back with a blowout win at Royal Melbourne in ‘98.
Game on … right?
Not really. In the years since, the Americans have registered 11 wins and one tie, and the Internationals, as Dave Shedloski notes in Golf Digest today, are still seeking their second win.
It turns out that nobody is more surprised at this turn of events than Irwin and Graham. As they told Shedloski, it’s hard to make sense of it. Even if the Americans are better on paper, Graham says, the Internationals should have rallied a time or two like the European Ryder Cup team, and Irwin, while praising the quality of International players, thinks it might be a case of playing scared because of the long dry spell.
Shedloski does a marvelous job cataloguing the thoughts of Graham, Irwin and others involved in that first Presidents Cup, and how shocked they are 32 years later that the results have been so stagnant. Check it out below, and pray for a close contest at Medinah this weekend.
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Stewart Hagestad is aiming to equal Nathan Smith’s record for most U.S. Mid-Amateur titles (four) when the championship begins this coming weekend on the Lido course at Sand Valley in Wisconsin. The 35-year-old is among the favorites once again after claiming victory at another one of mid-amateur golf’s top events: the Crump Cup at Pine Valley. Hagestad won the title for the second time on Sunday, defeating Andrew Price, 3 and 2, to become a rare multiple winner. As the USGA wrestles with the thorny issue of amateur reinstatement, the fact that Hagestad never turned pro and has had the success he has (six Walker Cup appearances) is impressive. Yes, it’s not like he’s a blue-collar worker sneaking golf in on the weekends—which he acknowledged to Golf Digest a few years back—but his longevity without having played the game for a living is duly impressive.
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The first tee at the Ryder Cup always gets a lot of attention, but don't forget about the Presidents Cup. And who can forget when three former U.S. Presidents were on No. 1 at Liberty National in 2017? While we're not sure who will be in attendance yet at this week's edition at Medinah, we do know a LOT of people will see those opening tee shots on Thursday. Here's a look at the cool setup from (way) above, courtesy of Golf Channel's Todd Lewis.
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J.J. Spaun, holding the BMW PGA trophy, detailed his phone call with Brandt Snedeker, when the U.S. Presidents Cup captain called to tell him he would NOT be wearing the red, white and blue next week at Medinah. Spaun had just landed in Phoenix and said the convo lasted about 45 seconds. “Just said I wasn’t on the team and said I was the ‘odd man out’ and I wished him luck and that was it.” Spaun was then asked if Snedeker specifically used the term “odd man out.” Said Spaun: “He did. You can quote me on that.” Ouch! You can read more about it here in Evin Priest’s piece from Wentworth.
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