USA Wins the President's Cup

The President's Cup ended yesterday at Royal Melbourne in Australia with the Americans claiming their fourth straight title, defeating the international squad 19-15. Going into the week, much was made of Fred Couples' questionable captain's pick of Tiger Woods, when a plethora of other options were available. He could have gone with major winner Keegan Bradley, but decided to put his trust in his old friend Tiger. Woods was coming off a good week at the Australian Open where he finished fourth.

The Americans led all week, and the internationals were forced to play catch-up. Despite a late-Sunday drive by the internationals, Woods clinched the cup on the 15th hole against Aaron Baddeley, to win 4&3. This marks the first time a captains pick has clinched the cup. The Americans would go on to win 19-15.

Hunter Mahan celebrates the US victory with some Aussies down under

Jim Furyk, coming off a career year in 2010 when he won the FedEx Cup, had his fair share of struggles this year. Furyk went winless and was haunted by his shaky putting. However, for some strange reason, Furyk putted sensationally on the speedy, troublesome greens of Royal Melbourne. Furyk went undefeated to a 5-0 record this week and was a big reason for the American's win.

Greg Norman, the captain of the dejected international squad, will be stepping down from the captain's post. He has lost the last two President's Cup and will be stepping away to afford another golfing great to lead the international squad to a win in two years time. After the tournament, Norman raised questions about the format of the event. Norman called for significant changes to be made. He would like to see the host nation be able to choose the format and schedule of the events and also be allowed four captains picks instead of two. Norman was obviously distraught after the week's events.

So, the golf season is all but winded down now with the conclusion of the President's Cup. But that doesn't mean there isn't great golfing news and tips to read about, so stay tuned!

Hendo

An Interesting Week in the Golf World...

It's November 10th. Do you know what that usually means in the world of golf? Well, usually, nothing. The PGA, Nationwide and Champions Tour seasons have long winded down and the only golf potentially on the docket is the President's Cup or Ryder Cup. I suppose it is only fitting that in 2011, a year full of bizarre twists and turns and full of first-time winners, that we have a slew of equally bizarre and surprising news stories in Novmeber of all months.

First, congratulations to Tiger Woods who had his first bogey-free round in tournament play since February at the Dubai Desert Classic. He fired a 4-under 68 on Thursday at the Australian Open, as he gears up for next week's President's Cup at Royal Melbourne.

John Daly was also playing in this week's Australian Open. Was. The oft-troubled American had a very interesting Thursday afternoon on the links. Daly took a penalty on the Par 4 10th hole as he played the wrong ball, en route to a triple bogey. Then, on the very next hole, he proceeded to fire SEVEN(!!!) balls into the drink. He might have ended up losing more, but alas, he was all out of the little white spheres. Poor guy. He handed signed and handed in his scorecard and walked off the course. Obviously Daly has received negative press for his actions and some claim he simply did not want to play anymore.  Trevor Herden, Golf Australia's Director of tournaments called Daly's actions "unprofessional". According to Herden, rules officials would have been able to give Daly more balls in order to continue playing, and face no penalty. Obviously, it would be easy for one to chastise Daly for his recent actions given his history of alcohol, gambling, marital and general life problems. However, I wouldn't be so quick to pass judgement. Perhaps he was unaware he could be given new golf balls by officials.

Another interesting recent story in the world of golf is one about something that WON'T happen. Yani Tseng, the LPGA phenom who has won 11 times this year on the LPGA Tour and has quickly climbed to number 1 in the women's rankings, has turned down an offer from the PGA Tour to compete in an event next season. Tseng had told reporters earlier that, if given the opportunity, she probably would not turn it down. I personally think that Tseng made the right move. It wasn't so long ago that Annika Sorenstam competed in a PGA Tour event, and we know how that turned out. PGA Tour players were outraged for the most part, and she didn't play particularly well. While I admire her courage in competing with the men, I think there's a reason the LPGA Tour exists. Women shouldn't feel the need to compete against men in golf. Men hit it further, plain and simple. Many women are exceptional players, but they should compete against other women. Tseng has excelled in her game, the game she plays on the LPGA Tour, not the PGA Tour. Not only has Yani avoided controversy, she has shown she is confident that she is the best, and doesn't need to prove to herself she is by playing with the men.

That's it for now. I'll be blogging soon about the Steve Williams comments and the Australian Open as it unfolds.

Cheers and comment if you agree or disagree with my views,

Hendo