The Internationals will be searching for a solution to their Presidents Cup woes after slumping to a tenth defeat against the United States in twelve editions of the biennial event.
The lopsided nature of the contest has threatened the longevity of the competition since its inception in 1994 with the Internationals’ only victory coming in 1998.
A spirited performance in 2015 which saw the Internationals pipped by a single point raised hopes that the competition would be more tightly contested in years to come.
When the teams were finalised for the latest instalment at Liberty National, however, it became abundantly clear that the visitors faced an uphill battle. The Americans boasted four players inside the top 10 of the world rankings to the Internationals’ two.
Furthermore, six of the Internationals’ squad were ranked lower than the lowest-ranked American (Phil Mickelson at No 30).
Add to this the fact that the US side featured three of the four 2017 Major champions and the Internationals had their work cut out to hoist the cup for just the second time in hisory.
The gulf in class was plain and painful to see from the outset. During the opening session of foursomes on Thursday, Player of The Year Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler dispatched an out of sorts Hideki Matsuyama and Charl Schwartzel 6&4. This set the tone for a sweep of the opening three matches.
South African duo Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace saved their side’s blushes by defeating Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger 3&1 to register the Internationals’ first full point. In the bottom match, Aussies Marc Leishman and Jason Day salvaged a further half point if only by virtue of a missed putt by Mickelson on the 18th.
Needing a favourable result in Friday’s fourballs to eat into the two point American lead, it simply wasn’t the Internationals day. A half point courtesy of Matsuyama and Adam Hadwin was all the visitors had to show for their efforts.
Down 8-2 with two days remaining, the Internationals needed to pull a rabbit out of the hat. Once again though, the scoreboard was bathed in American red. Were it not for a halved match in the morning foursomes and afternoon fourballs respectively, the hosts would have completed a sensational victory inside three days.
On Sunday, it seemed as though staring down the barrel of defeat freed the Internationals up to play some tremendous golf.
Matsuyma finally played the kind of golf we have come to expext from the world No 4. With his rhythmic swing and putter firing, the Japanese star beat Thomas 3&1 for his first win of the week. What made the win even sweeter was that he did so despite Thomas making eight birdies during the round.
There were also fantastic consolation victories for Johnottan Vegas (2&1) and Adam Scott (3&2) over Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka respectively.
Yet despite winning the singles session 7.5-4.5, the Internationals couldn’t prevent a seventh straight Presidents Cup defeat by a 19-11 decision.
So where to from here for Nick Price and his squad?
Ernie Els suggested that playing for fewer points or even a reduction in the team size may help the team’s cause. I tend to disagree with this view becasuse the competetion has remained one-sided despite points on offer being reduced from 34 to 30 in the previous two editions. I believe a further watering down of the competition would drive an event already on ‘life-support’ to an early grave.
The fact of the matter is that the International players’ only exposure to match play outside of the Presidents Cup is via the WGC-Matchplay.
This serves to explain why singles has always been their most successful format. But what makes the Presidents and Ryder Cups different from other events is the team dynamic.
The Internationals need to gel well in all three formats (foursomes, four balls and singles) if they are to breathe new life into the event.
I feel this could be achieved through the expansion of the EurAsia Cup. The format is such that six four-ball and six foursomes matches are played over the first two days before 12 singles matches on the final day.
For the Europeans, it serves as a kind of warm-up a few months prior to the Ryder Cup. In 2016, for example, Darren Clarke captained the European side months before he led the Ryder Cup outfit. Of the 12 players who defeated Asia in January, six of those went on to represent Europe at Hazeltine.
So too the 2014 edition, in which five Europeans featured in both the EurAsia and Ryder Cups.
If nothing else, this provides an opportunity for players to bond in the team environment while also getting to grips with playing alongside someone in match play rather than by themselves.
I’d really like to see a situation where Africa, Australasia and South America could link up with Asia in the competition.
I believe by spending more time together as a unit, the players will be able to bridge the cultural divide which has separated them for so long and ultimately proved their undoing.
If this ever comes to fruition, it would help the cohesion of the Presidents Cup team immensely.
Adam Scott remarked yesterday that the Internationals need to become more invested in the competition outside of Presidents Cup years if they are to challenge the United States in future.
This is definitely something the Internationals need to consider if they are to turn the tide in their favour.
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