Presidents Cup Day 6: The U.S. Surge

by Vic Williams | posted October 11, 2009

The canopy of cypress trees alongside the drivable par-4 13^th at Harding Park have stories to tell, but they may hang onto them for a while. Angel Cabrera contributed to the tale. So did Phil Mickelson. Their quotes — in the form of errant tee shots — are somewhere up there in the high branches, whispering and waiting for the outcome of the 2009 Presidents Cup. Just like the rest of us.

Mickelson in particular figures heavily in this fascinating four-day showcase. After years of lackluster performances in both this event and the Ryder Cup, he hasn’t lost a point for the U.S. time around, no matter who his playing partner has been — Anthony Kim on Thursday (3&2 over Mike Weir and Tim Clark), Justin Leonard Friday (3&2) over Retief Goosen and Adam Scott, and Sean O’Hair for both Saturday matches (a 5&3 drubbing of Goosen and Camilo Villegas in morning foursomes and a hard-fought halve with Vijay Singh and a scrappy Tim Clark in afternoon four-ball. The key moment in these entire matches so far for Phil came Saturday afternoon at No. 14, a pretty 180-yard par 3 alongside Lake Merced. Clark stuffed his tee shot to 2 feet, which was conceded for birdie. Then Phil stepped up to his 35-footer from the right side of the green and watched it curl in after a couple feet of right-to-left break to halve the hole. No Philly Mick half fist-pump was forthcoming. Instead he just smiled at a thrilled O’Hair, who bear-hugged him from behind.

Suddenly, Phil feels comfortable in his own skin as a match player, and I look for him to take town Goosen in Sunday’s penultimate singles match to rack up an undefeated record.

But, as usual, it’s his longtime teammate Tiger Woods overshadowing any other Harding heroics. His reaction to his flagged 3-iron at No. 18 to lock up a conceded eagle for him and partner-for-life Steve Stricker, and notch a come-from-behind 1-up win over Clark and Mike Weir, said it all: I own this stage, this event, this game. I RULE.

Indeed he does. I’ll let him describe what that point meant to the U.S. team as they stretched a tenuous 1-point lead after two days to a seemingly insurmountable 3-point lead, which they maintained after Saturday was done:

“I’ve been a part of losing Ryder Cup teams and winning Presidents Cup teams, and it’s basically who wins the 18^th hole more that week. It’s amazing how it can turn an enire Cup around just by having a guy win one math going into 18 or halve a match or something like that. It can turn the tide of an entire Cup.”

And so it — he — did, with a helluva lot of help from the unconsciously cup-seeking Stricker, who’s turned this Prez Cup into his own personal putting clinic.

And now the Americans are five points away from retaining the cup, while the Internationals need to bag eight out of today’s dozen singles matchs to wrest it away. Doesn’t seem likely, though getting to the outcome should prove exciting, with some intriguing matchups in place. Captains Fred Couples and Greg Norman — two guys are behaving like giddy youngsters out there, no Ryder Cup-style tension in evidence (at least not yet) — are giving the media and public the battles they want, including a PGA Championship rematch of sorts between Tiger and Y.E. Yang, who’s been terrific in this Cup alongside 18-year-old Ryo Ishikawa. They tee off two-thirds of the way through the day, and we may know the outcome long before they hit the home stretch.

But I don’t think so — this International team has shown toughness and resilience, and some matches stack up well for them: I like Weir over Leonard, Ernie Els over O’Hair, Clark over Zach Johnson (remember, Clark took out Tiger in last year’s Match Play Championship in the desert), Vijay over Lucas Glover and, perhaps, Ishikawa over Kenny Perry.

Still, it won’t be quite enough. On Sunday afternoon, the U.S. will hoist the hardware yet again, whether or not President Obama shows up to do the honors. And the Cypresses on 13 will stand silent with one of the best seats in the house, while the rest of us cheer and marvel at an event that’s been hit from every angle. Who said San Fran’s not a great golf town?

Vic Williams is editor and publishing partner of Fairways + Greens, a bi-monthly magazine dedicated to golf, travel and lifestyle for the West and beyond. He has written thousands of stories on golf and will cover every facet of the game right here, primarily travel but also the major tours, equipment, personalities and more. Contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it