10/11/2009
The President’s Cup
As I type this the President’s Cup has just concluded. The Americans won and it really wasn’t even close. But the
interesting part of the whole experience, at least to me, had very little to do with the actual outcome of this event.
Rather it was the subtle nuances that could be gleaned from the interactions and efforts of the players on the
course.
I wrote in my “Thoughts on Tiger Woods” piece, that Tiger needed a change of attitude in order to take his game
to the next level. Well, this change of attitude just might have occurred over the last few weeks…with the
President’s Cup serving as the exclamation point. For starters, he actually gave Sean O’Hair putting lessons
during the Tour Championship a few weeks ago. Yeah, you heard me correctly. Tiger Woods, in the middle of a
tournament, gave a fellow competitor tips on how to play better. And then at the President’s Cup, he actually
played second fiddle to Steve Stricker during the Saturday matches. And finally, during his interviews he didn’t
have that arrogant, “I love myself” attitude. He had a reflective, wise, and realistic outlook on things. In light of
this, I believe Tiger Woods has broken out of the “Young Gun/Rising Star” mold and he has become the elder
statesmen of the Tour.
Also, Phil Mickelson displayed a seemingly more relaxed and joyful approach to the game. Perhaps it was the life
changing events that occurred to him and his family over the last year. Frankly, I think this is precisely the reason
for his change in demeanor. Whatever the case, it appears to be working for him and for the game of golf. Every
one of his playing partners seemed to enjoy being paired with him and they all seemed to be having fun…and, oh
yeah, playing well.
Perhaps Woods, as the elder statesmen of the Tour, and a relaxed and grounded Phil will boost the appeal of the
game. But without question, the electrifying young talent being infused into the PGA Tour will add rocket fuel to
any boost the game realizes over the next few years. This young talent includes Sean O’Hair, Lucas Glover,
Hunter Mahan, Rory McIlroy, Ryo Ishikawa …man it seems like I could go on forever.
In closing, I think we all need to appreciate our current place in time. We currently have, arguably, the greatest to
ever play the game (Tiger Woods) competing at a high level. Concurrently, we’ve some future Hall of Famers and
potential Hall of Famers (Mickelson, Harrington, Perry…to name a few) playing really, REALLY well. And, we’ve
got the next generation beginning to emerge.
These next few years could prove to be an historic time for the Tour and I, for one, am incredibly interested to see
how it all shakes out!
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