The Internationals aim to buck the tend at Presidents Cup

Post by Sports Writer Derek Cements

THE 11th edition of the Presidents Cup takes place this week at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club at Incheon City in South Korea, with the International team determined to end a miserable run of results – they have won the contest just once, with one tied match.

The USA have been utterly dominant and it is difficult to imagine that changing this time. However, some eyebrows were raised when Jay Haas, the American captain, chose his son, Bill, and the out-of-form Phil Mickelson as his wild cards. Haas Jr has hardly had a vintage season and Mickelson’s matchplay record is wretched.

The format has changed and will now follow the Ryder Cup system, with four fourballs and four foursomes matches on the first two days, followed by a series of singles clashes on Sunday. The USA will need 15 points to retain the trophy, with the Internationals, captained by Nick Price, needing 15.5 to win – it is a tall order.

Jim Furyk, who qualified for the USA side, has yet to announce whether he has recovered from injury but, like Mickelson, his matchplay record is nothing to write home about.

So why do the Americans do so well in the Presidents Cup while continuing to suffer at the hands of the Europeans in the Ryder Cup? Well, it is fair to say that this contest is not played with the same intensity because it doesn’t have the history of Sam Ryder’s old trophy. It is played in great spirit, more like a meeting of old friends than a death-or-glory contest in which only victory will do.

Price selected Steven Bowditch of Australia and Sangmoon Bae as his two wild cards and it has to be said that Bae was an inspired choice. He will be playing in front of home crowd and he has had a terrific season. In fact it is a season that he really doesn’t want to end because when it does he will have to complete his compulsory national service in the Korean army.

The International team will be led by Jason Day, whose form since late June has been sensational. He will have strong support from the South African trio of Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace, and nobody will relish facing the rising Japanese star, Hideki Mastsuyama. The key will be how the likes of Thongchai Jaidee, Mark Leishman, Anirban Lahiri, Danny Lee and Bowditch perform.

And the American side? Double major champion Jordan Spieth is the star and he has a pretty impressive supporting cast that includes Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Open champion Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar and the one and only Bubba Watson. And you really wouldn’t fancy taking on Patrick Read either – the youngster is a passionate and patriotic American, as he showed at Gleneagles last year. Jimmy Walker has struggled of late, as has Chris Kirk. But would you really want to bet against the Americans coming home with the trophy once again? No, I didn’t think so.