“I would like to congratulate Catriona, Ernie, Padraig and Nick on becoming honorary members,” said R&A captain Clive Edginton in a statement. “They have each distinguished themselves with their long and hugely successful careers in golf. As well as being great champions, they are superb role models for any young golfers to follow and embody so many of the qualities which make golf such a special sport. They have done a great deal to help promote golf around the world and this recognition is extremely well deserved.”

Although Matthew was the recipient of an R&A scholarship while a financial studies student at the University of Stirling, of the four, Harrington has enjoyed the most intimate relationship with the R&A. A three-time Walker Cup player in the early 1990s, the 49-year old Irishman has served as a club ambassador since 2011, “helping to support and promote a wide range of participation, coaching and Rules education initiatives.”

Harrington does, however, share common factors with each of his now fellow members. All four are Open champions, boasting a total of 11 major victories between them. All four has or will serve as a non-playing captain in either the Solheim Cup (Matthew), the Presidents Cup (Els and Price) or the Ryder Cup (Harrington). And all four, as the R&A justifiably claimed, “are among the most successful and influential professional golfers of the modern era and are outstanding ambassadors for the sport.”

As honorary members, Harrington, Price, Matthew and Els will “enjoy” most of the privileges afforded ordinary members. But not all. While they will be eligible to play in club competitions and own a locker in the famous clubhouse that sits behind the first tee on the Old Course at St. Andrews, none of the four will be asked to pay the annual subscription fee.

The list of past and present R&A honorary members includes Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Kel Nagle, Peter Thomson, Robert DeVicenzo, Tony Jacklin, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Laura Davies, Annika Sorenstam, Renee Powell, Lally Sagard, Jose Maria Olazabal, Sir Michael Bonallack and, quaintly, non-golfer Princess Anne, daughter of Queen Elizabeth.

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By Alex Myers
Nick Price shot the first 63 in Masters history in 1986, but the quote he gave after his birdie attempt on No. 18 lipped out is arguably more well-known. “I think Bobby Jones’ hand came up and popped it out the hole,” Price mused. “And said, ‘That’s enough.’”

Turns out, it may have been Price’s caddie who kept him from firing the first 62 in major championship history.

Dave McNeilly was on the bag for Price that year and he recently told quite the tale involving that legendary third round. Let’s just say the score is even more legendary considering the state of the longtime looper, who went out hard the night before to celebrate his boss making the cut.

“But I actually overdid it,” McNeilly says. “And I was way, way too drunk when I showed up on Saturday.”

Unfortunately for Price, this cost him right away when McNeilly gave him a bad number for his approach on No. 1. Price flew the green, wound up in a bush, took a penalty drop and saved bogey. On the following hole, McNeilly says the Hall of Famer told him he could “smell the drink” on him and relieved him of the yardage book.

After that, Price caught fire. And with the course record in his sights, he turned back to his trusted caddie for help on a layup yardage on the par-5 15th. As McNeilly tells it, he told Price he had 275 yards to the water and encouraged him to hit a hard 5-wood. Price obliged and was stunned when his ball wound up 12 feet from the hole instead of short of the water. Whoops!

Price two-putted for birdie, then stuck his tee shot to two feet on No. 16 for another birdie before two closing pars gave him the tournament record. But the capper on this incredible story is that McNeilly, after giving his player more bad advice before the approach on 18 that was fortunately ignored, blames himself for jinxing the final putt. “Worst day of my life.” Have a listen to the entire thing:

What a story from the legend that is Dave McNeilly!

Augusta, a hangover and a course record!#MoreThanCarryingABag pic.twitter.com/JWxB52JORE

— The Tour Caddies (@thetourcaddies) May 2, 2020

Your boss making Masters history and yet you remember it as the worst day of your life? That must have been one heckuva hangover.

Anyway, Price opened that week with 79, but after a Friday 69 snuck into the weekend (Hence, the cause for celebration from McNeilly). Then he fired the 63 to move within one shot of 54-hole leader Greg Norman, a man who shot the only other Masters 63 a decade later and with whom he was paired in Sunday’s final group.

Of course, no one remembers much of all that because of what happened in that final round in 1986 (HINT: JACK). But Price had a wild and memorable performance himself that week. One that we now know was even wilder than previously thought.

The post Nick Price set the Masters course record despite a hungover caddie giving him bad yardages all day appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Dave Shedloski
AKRON, Ohio — Goodbye iconic water tower. Goodbye chicken wraps and crunchy cream pies. Goodbye Arnold Palmer Bridge. Goodbye Monster.

Today’s final round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational is the PGA Tour’s farewell sojourn over the South Course at Firestone Country Club, which annually has hosted a professional golf tournament since 1954 when the Rubber City Open was elevated to an official tour event and moved to the facility that tire magnate Harvey S. Firestone built for his employees. Sure, the PGA Tour Champions will continue the tradition next year with the Senior Players Championship, but Firestone always has been a traditional home for the game’s top players, whether it was hosting the PGA Championship, the American Golf Classic, the World Series of Golf or 19 editions of this WGC event.

The tournament moves to TPC Southwind in Memphis next year, sponsored by FedEx, which pours an exorbitant amount of money into the FedEx Cup and wanted a WGC event.

“It’s a sentimental favorite,” said Paul Casey, who has nine top-25 finishes in his previous 13 appearances in this event. “It’s easy to like it here. We’ve made friends here. The whole community is wrapped up in it. There’s a nice familiarity that’s been built up through the decades here, and you can’t minimize how that makes a tournament special.”

Tommy Bolt won the first tournament played at Firestone, and four years later, as the reigning U.S. Open champion, he played a bit of gamesmanship on a young and unsuspecting Jack Nicklaus, who as an 18-year-old amateur was making his debut in a tour event.

“I remember Tommy putting his arm around me walking down the first hole. ‘Don’t you worry, Jackie boy, old Tommy will take care of you.’ He was giving me the business right off the bat,” Nicklaus recalled. “I missed six three-foot putts on the front nine, little short things. He got rid of me fast on that front nine. It’s part of the education of a golfer.”

After beginning the third round just one shot off the lead, Nicklaus slid to a 76. But he rallied with a 68 the last day to finish at seven-under 277, tied for 15th place. He would go on to win at Firestone seven times, including the 1975 PGA Championship.

“This has been a pretty special place for me,” the Golden Bear said in 2013 after visiting Firestone to receive the annual Ambassador of Golf Award that year from Northern Ohio Golf Charities. “I have so many great memories of Firestone and all the years I played here. I loved coming up here. I loved playing the golf course. It suited my eye. It suited my game. I always said, ‘I don’t care what’s going on. I’m going to get to Firestone, and I’ll be able to play well there.’ ”

Bettmann
Gary Player, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus walk up a fairway in a practice round at the Firestone Country Club during a tournament in the 1960s.

Like Nicklaus, Tiger Woods first saw Firestone when he was an amateur, playing casual rounds on the South and North Courses—the facility has 54 holes—with his father, Earl. And like Nicklaus, Woods always seemed capable of raising his game when he arrived, winning on the South Course eight times, a tour record he shares with himself (at Bay Hill and Torrey Pines) and Sam Snead (at Greensboro). The last of his 79 tour titles came on these grounds in 2013 when he equaled the course record of 61 for a second time.

“It’s always been one of my favorite golf courses on the entire tour, and it’s unfortunate that it is leaving,” said Woods, who climbed from 696th in the world at the start of the year to 50th after the Open Championship to squeak into the field. “This has been one of the very few tournaments that is kind of a small-town atmosphere. It’s a very simple, straightforward golf course, which we don’t see very often anymore. This is away from the stadium golf that we seem to play a lot now on tour. As far as the future of this event, I know it has to move, and it has to go forward and off to Memphis, but it’s one of the reasons why I tried so hard to get in this event, is because it does mean something special to me.”

RELATED: 7 takeaways from the new 2019 PGA Tour schedule

Winners at Firestone through the years have included many of the game’s biggest names: Nicklaus, Woods, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Tom Weiskopf, Nick Price, Greg Norman, Curtis Strange, Jose Maria Olazabal, Phil Mickelson, David Duval, Adam Scott, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy.

It has seen the ridiculous and the sublime. “Ridiculous” was the first word Palmer used to describe the long par-5 16th hole on the South Course, created in 1959 when Robert Trent Jones redesigned Bert Way’s truculent layout for the 1960 PGA Championship, won by Jay Hebert. Palmer was in the hunt until he suffered a quadruple-bogey 8 in the third round after hitting into the new pond in front of the green. Later he called it “a monster,” and the name stuck. Last year, a bridge near the 16th green was dedicated in honor of the late Palmer.

Ridiculous was the 8-iron Woods used to airmail the ninth green in the second round of the ’06 tournament. His ball ricocheted off the cart path, over the clubhouse roof and into a loading area, where it was picked up by a staff worker delivering crunchy cream pies. After a frantic search, Woods was allowed a free drop—the clubhouse was not deemed out of bounds—and saved par.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images
The water town at Firestone has become an iconic part of the Akron, Ohio, course.

Even more ridiculous was the melee that unfolded in the 1994 edition, played on the North Course, when an impatient John Daly hit into the group in front of him the final day. One of the players ahead was club pro Jeff Roth, whose father confronted Daly after the round and ended up scuffling with him.

The sublime includes the ridiculous 262 aggregate total Olazabal posted in 1990, well before the advent of the Pro V1 and grasp of trampoline effect. (His win in ’94 makes him the only man to win official events on each course.) Only Woods has bettered the mark, submitting a commanding 259 total to win by 11 strokes in 2000, punctuated by the “shot in the dark,” the 8-iron he struck in the gloaming that fell out of the sky and magically appeared two feet from the hole.

“Being there in person, it was inconceivable that someone could actually hit a golf ball and hit it on the green, find the green, much less land it within a foot of the cup,” CBS golf anchor Jim Nantz said recently. “Of the great shots Tiger hit all time, that would have to be on that pretty special list.”

Nicklaus also authored a memorable shot at Firestone. He blasted a 9-iron over a maple tree from 137 yards to the back of the 16th green to save par in the ’75 PGA. He called it “your basic miracle par,” and one of the biggest gambles he ever took in a major championship. Former PGA champion Bob Rosburg, working for ABC Sports, sized up Nicklaus’ prospects and uttered the words, “he’s got no shot,” that became his catch-phrase over his broadcasting career.

Because of Firestone’s long run and the fact that it hosted multiple events some years—in 1974 there were three events on the South Course: the World Series of Golf, CBS Golf Classic and American Golf Classic—it is believed that no facility, not even Augusta National Golf Club, has been televised more.

In all, there have been 88 tournaments here. Only three tour venues have had a longer consecutive run than Firestone’s 65 years—Augusta National, home of the Masters Tournament, Pebble Beach Golf Links and Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth.

CBS golf producer Lance Barrow first came to Firestone in 1976 as a runner working for broadcaster Pat Summerall, and he couldn’t believe he was seeing the iconic water tower in person.

“I remember watching the CBS Golf Classic as a kid and then coming here and seeing it for real, and thinking that might be one of the great landmarks in golf,” Barrow said. “I couldn’t believe that I was actually here to watch them play golf. It’s probably one of the most recognisable golf courses in America. Later I loved listening to guys like [producer] Frank Chirkinian and [director] Chuck Will talking about all the years they did the CBS Golf Classic. You saw Nelson, you saw Hogan, you saw Snead, Sarazen, Palmer, Nicklaus. That was cool. It was like being in a history class.

Harry How
Tiger smiles as he receives an ovation for his win on the 18th green during at the 2005 NEC Invitational, one of his eight victories at Firestone.

“Tournaments come and go, but this is one where you look back and say I was fortunate to do that tournament, to see the players who have played here and who won here,” he added. “You come back to a place over and over and you get to know people. You invest a lot of your life in one place.”

Sadness. It’s a genuine reaction players express, Mickelson and McIlroy among them, when they ponder the end of a tradition at Firestone. And that’s the crux of it. It’s not an annual tournament. It’s a tradition—perhaps not the haughty “tradition unlike any other” that Nantz says of the Masters, but a tradition rich and warm and meaningful in its own right.

“Yeah, this is our last go-around for a while,” Woods said wistfully after Saturday’s third round and thinking of his final walk on the sylvan property. “This is one of the great classic golf courses. Leish [Marc Leishman] and I were talking about it today—all it is is about a month away from [being able to] host whatever major championship you want. Just dry it out, maybe grow in the fairway here and there, and you have a major. That’s what this golf course has been over the years and we’re going to miss playing it.”

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The series is an R&A-led project that’s aired on the Golf Channel but now also lives on a number of streaming platforms, including Netflix and Sling. The first season kicked-off in 2016, and it’s a pretty simple format: Each 30-minute, documentary-style biography charts the golfing journey of a past British Open winner. It’s cleanly shot, understated and pouring with emotion. The series is, in a word, brilliant. Here’s why:

It’s Brutally Honest
Press conferences are useful for lots of things, but raw honesty isn’t one of them. Talk to players before big tournaments and they’re consumed with the task at hand and busy getting themselves into a certain mindset. Talk to them immediately after, and they usually either stewing or basking in the glory of whatever just happened. Players just aren’t in the mood to be reflective about their journey, and I get that.

It’s why the most candid moments come when players are more removed from competitive settings. You see them on David Feherty’s Golf Channel show, and they’re littered throughout this entire series. There’s Greg Norman talking about his relationship with Nick Faldo—“The rivalry was very real”—or Faldo himself, holding back tears, looking back on his British Open wins. I particularly enjoyed the new episode this year on Nick Price, in which he says at the start of his episode:

“I don’t think you can have good times without having really bad times. If life’s just a bed of roses for you, that’s great, but you’re never going to get anywhere.”

The Stories Are Fascinating
The series’ ability to draw such honesty from its subjects lets it highlight so many truly wonderful stories.

The Rory McIlroy episode provids an astute example. When you look back on his 2014 Open Championship victory and think about “game-changing” moments, you may think of Sergio Garcia’s bunker-induced collapse. McIlroy, in his episode, explains in fascinating detail that his most important shot of the week was his “perfect” approach into the second hole on Thursday.

To most of us, it was little more than a great shot early in the tournament. To Rory, it was defining moment. And the series is packed with gold like that. When Norman talks about his first Open win in 1986, he describes the “positive energy” that surrounded him all week. When Lee Trevino recounts being struck by lightning early in his career, he talks of moving towards bright light, surrounded by faces of people he loves.

You simply don’t hear golfers speak like this very often. When they do, it pulls you in, and it’s utterly riveting.

It Brings You On A Journey
The best part of this entire series is the brief but wonderful journey it brings viewers on. The archived footage is key to it all: Video of young Rory opening presents on Christmas Day, rejoicing over a new Game Boy, as the voice of the man today thanks his parents for their sacrifices. Or of Faldo recounting life at the lowest ebb of his career as sensational old tabloid press clips fly by.

The series is relentlessly single-minded, but it couldn’t work any other way. Victories in other majors barely warrant a passing mention, because the series simply isn’t about that. It’s about the highs and lows, the hopes and dreams. Battling the press, the course, your own demons. It is, simply, players’ journey to becoming the champion golfer of the year.

SEASON 1
Tiger Woods
Greg Norman
Jack Nicklaus
Ernie Els
Darren Clarke
Tom Watson

SEASON 2
Nick Faldo
Lee Trevino
Gary Player
Padraig Harrington
Henrik Stenson
Rory McIlroy

SEASON 3 (airing this summer on Golf Channel)
Nick Price
Paul Lawrie

The post Open 2018: Why you should be binge-watching ‘Chronicles of a Champion Golfer’ appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
It’s rare when the name of a nominee to the USGA Executive Committee resonates beyond the world of corporate board rooms or golf’s high-profile private clubs. Which is why the inclusion of three-time major champion Nick Price on the slate the USGA is set to announce on Monday makes the list uniquely notable. And it’s also why it took a little convincing for Price to ultimately become comfortable with the idea of joining the 15-person governing board for 2018.

“I asked Mike [Davis, USGA executive director] is this going to be a PR role. And he was adamant that it was not,” Price told Golf World over the weekend. “He wants to take the USGA down a more player-friendly path.”

Price, 60, is not the first professional golfer the USGA has pressed into service, but he is certainly the most well-known. Davis first broached Price about potentially joining the Executive Committee more than a year ago, but the timing wasn’t quite right. Now that Price is done with his responsibilities as captain of the International Presidents Cup team, he’s ready to give back to the game in a different way.

Price’s biggest impact will be as a bridge to the competitive tours. A 48-time winner worldwide, including 18 PGA Tour events, the member of the World Golf Hall of Fame no longer plays on a regular basis. But he remains close to the game’s best players while being a respected voice among his peers.

Meanwhile, by having Price on the Executive Committee, the USGA addresses a concern raised—particularly in the midst of some of the various rules controversies that have arisen in recent years—that the association doesn’t take the interest or perspective of competitive tour professionals to heart.

“In the past we’ve all known there has been a certain amount of ‘Our way or the highway,’ ” Price said. “There was always this feeling with the USGA that we were fighting with them. And I don’t think that’s the feeling anymore.”

“I think it sends a message to tour level players that we’re bringing somebody under the tent with us, somebody who has lived that life,” said Jim Hyler, chairman of the USGA Nominating Committee and a former USGA president. “We want somebody involved with us that speaks your language. I think we could not have a better person to do that than Nick Price.”

Also joining Price as new nominees for the Executive Committee are Kendra Graham, a USGA staffer from 1987 to 2003 who oversaw the U.S. Women’s Open and was among the leading teachers of the Rules of Golf; Sharon Ritchey, an executive in the financial sector who also serves on the board of the LPGA Foundation; and Paul Brown, a Maryland banker who has been an official at 35 USGA championships. The nominees, along with the pick for general counsel, Richard Shortz, and the returning members of the Executive Committee, will be formally voted on at the USGA Annual Meeting on Feb. 3 in Miami.

The slate will serve under Mark Newell, the nominee to replace Diana Murphy as USGA president. A lawyer from McLean, Va., who was the rules official in the group with the Dustin Johnson on Sunday at the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont, Newell is the logical successor to Murphy as he has been intimately involved in the Rules of Golf modernization process during his previous five years on the Executive Committee, the results of which will be the streamlined rules expected to take effect in 2019.

“I know a lot about the rules, but I can’t begin to speak in specific details like Mark Newell can,” Davis said. “Because he’s literally crafted more of this new language than anybody, and that’s on both sides of the pond. … Without him, I’m not sure this would have been possible. The guy is working eight to 10 hours every day on it. So it’s very appropriate that he will be president when this thing is launched.”

Newell will help determine which areas new Executive Committee members will be focused on. In utilizing Price, Newell has the ability to reach beyond the Zimbabwe native’s sterling competitive resume. Price is also a golf course architect and has an acumen regarding equipment that makes his voice an intriguing one as the USGA continues to wrestle with the issue of technology and distance.

“He is just a great person. I’ve never met anybody in the world of golf who just doesn’t like Nick,” Davis said. “One of the things that appealed to us, he comes at it with a very international perspective. I think sometimes we get labeled because we’re the United States Golf Association, that we’re just in the U.S. But you know we’re very global.”

Before agreeing to serve, Price said he bounced the concept of working with the USGA off some friends in the industry to get their thoughts. All were in favor of him joining the group, seeing too many benefits in having a former player intimately involved in the USGA hierarchy. As for how specifically it will all play out, Price says he’s no entirely sure, but looks forward to finding out.

“This is a whole new thing for me. I’m trying to figure it out,” Price said. “I’m sure after the first couple of committee meetings, it will be a little clearer to me. … For me to give a little bit back to the game by doing this, it’s an important thing for me. I want this to be good for both sides.”

USGA Executive Committee Nominees
Mark Newell, President*
Mark Reinemann, Secretary*
Thomas Barkin, Treasurer*
J. Michael Bailey*
Stephen Beebe*
Paul Brown
J. Stuart Francis*
Kendra Graham
Robert Kain*
Martha Lang*
Gregory Morrison*
Nick Price
Sharon Ritchey
Clifford Shahbaz*
William Siart*
Richard Shortz, General Counsel
*Returning member

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I Think…

In the pre-Ryder Cup Task Force days, we never would have seen a team captain without a major championship on his résumé. In this new Ryder Cup era, wiser thinking has prevailed and potentially opened the door for winning U.S. Presidents Cup captain Steve Stricker to lead the American 2020 Ryder Cup squad at Whistling Straits in his home state of Wisconsin. “Shoot yeah, I want to be captain,” Stricker said on Sunday at Liberty National, after the winning point was clinched for Team USA. “If I was given the opportunity, then sure. But I don’t know if they’re going to step out of the box, or not.” All indications are they would, “they” being the newly constructed U.S. Ryder Cup committee comprised of three PGA of America officials and three players. In this case, the three players are Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and the current captain, Jim Furyk. All of them are extremely close to Stricker, who says he would like to make Furyk’s team as a player in 2018. That goal aside, the resounding victory over the International team this past weekend, and the way the team bonded under Stricker’s leadership, would seemingly make the 50-year-old a lock for three years down the road. The only mandate in the new power structure is that a captain needs to have served time as an assistant captain, which Stricker did under Davis Love III in the six-point U.S. victory at Hazeltine National in 2016. “Strick’s going nowhere,” said another respected voice in this, original Task Force member Rickie Fowler. In other words, in this new system, the players are not only hitting the shots. They’re more involved in calling the shots, too. That’s a big reason for the turnaround.

I Saw…

Scott Halleran/PGA Tour

Branden Grace outside the International team room on Sunday morning, his side down 11 points going into the singles, with a big smile on his face as he told me the goal was to pull off the greatest golf upset of all time. The day before, Nick Price was feeling the frustration after spending six years of his life wanting to make the Presidents Cup competitive. “What more can I say to these guys,” Price said several times, before punctuating the moment by adding, “They’re trying.” That night in the news conference he admitted his team had its sense of humor back, and by Sunday morning Price had to break into a grin himself when hearing of Grace’s comment. “You never know,” he said. “I’m not going to stand here and say I’ve got a feeling about this like Ben Crenshaw. But you never know, stranger things have happened.” Price can take solace that his players showed their pride during the singles, going 5-4-3 in the session. Still, it’s going to be a little while before the sting of this eight-point blow out fades. “It’s not exactly a dream week for us,” he said.

I Heard…

Chris Condon/PGA Tour

Straight from Ernie Els that he would like to follow in Nick Price’s footsteps and become the next International team captain. “I’m up for it,” Els told me Sunday night outside his team room at Liberty National. “It would be a dream job.” Brought in by Nick Price as his protégé, Els brings all the right qualities to the role: Legendary Hall of Famer (like Price), just approaching his 48th birthday (he will be 50 at the time of the Cup), having played a role in perhaps the all-time greatest Presidents Cup moment (his duel with Tiger Woods at Fancourt in 2003), with a history at Royal Melbourne (he’s won there three times and has the course record, 60). “Like Pricey, he’s a players’ guy. He mixes with all of us,” said South African countryman Louis Oosthuizen. “I think he will be an amazing captain.” Els told me that remaining current is important, and to that end he will be playing more of an international schedule over the next two years as part of the education process with new players. As Els said, spending time “with the boys,” looking at the competition more as a captain than a competitor for the first time, “was quite an education.”

The post Captain’s log: Steve Stricker wants a crack at the Ryder Cup while Ernie Els is ready to lead the Internationals appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers

The 2017 Presidents Cup, AKA “The Romp By The Swamp,” got historically out of hand on Saturday. Only a late, unlikely rally kept the International Team in the competition. But Nick Price’s squad seems to have less of a chance to come back and win on Sunday than Jim Carrey had at pulling off those one-in-a-million odds with Lauren Holly in Dumb and Dumber. Anyway, to wrap up another lopsided day at Liberty National, here’s our latest look at winners and losers.

Winner: Team USA

The Americans basically won this four-day event in THREE days. That’s ridiculous.

Loser: International Team

The Internationals basically lost this four-day event in three days. Again, that’s ridiculous.

Winner: Patrick Reed & Jordan Spieth

Maybe Reed and Spieth were listening yesterday when we declared Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler Team USA’s new super squad. Our apologies, guys. On Saturday, this dynamic duo went back to dominating, winning the lead match of both sessions, which never allowed the Internationals even a glimmer of hope. With two more victories, Reed & Spieth, still Team USA’s top squad until further notice, ran their record as a pair to 3-0-1 this week, and an incredible 8-1-3 dating back to the 2014 Ryder Cup.

Winner: Dustin Johnson

While the pair of Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth get most of the attention for Team USA, Johnson is actually the lone player on the squad to have won all four of his matches. For the World No. 1, it doesn’t matter who he plays with, as he sports 2-0 records with Matt Kuchar in foursomes and Brooks Koepka in four-balls. With another win on Sunday, DJ would become just the sixth player in Presidents Cup history to win five matches in one year.

Loser: Nick Price

This really isn’t a knock on the International team captain, because there’s nothing he could have done to stop the American onslaught. In fact, Price tried just about everything from breaking up his best team to pairing guys with the same first name—and nothing worked. But facts are facts, and Price will go down as the losing captain of record at the Presidents Cup. For a third straight event. Ouch. On Saturday evening, Price sounded like he’s turning over the reigns to Ernie Els for next time. There’s only so much one man can take.

Winner: The game of golf

Yes, this event has had less drama than an episode of Judge Judy, but the sportsmanship we know and love shined as brightly as Lady Liberty’s torch when Kevin Chappell conceded the final putt of the day—a two-and-a-half-foot tickler—to Anirban Lahiri, which resulted in the Americans’ lone loss. Well done by Kevin. Although, it’s not quite Jack Nicklaus conceding the final putt to Tony Jacklin at the 1969 Ryder Cup. And it was odd timing after everyone watched Chappell grind out that seven-footer for a par. Maybe Captain Stricker got in his ear. Regardless, the gesture drew rare applause in the media center. And it meant the Internationals are still at least mathematically alive heading into Sunday.

Loser: The rules of golf

Spieth and Reed had to concede the 12th hole of their match after Spieth raked away an Oosthuizen eagle attempt and tossed it back to him. The problem? Oosthuizen’s ball—although some 15 feet past the cup—was still moving. Barely. Of course, none of this wound up mattering because Spieth and Reed are on Team USA and Team USA has basically won every match this week. This match was no exception as Spieth and Reed came back to win. Obviously. But the rule seems silly and everyone involved seemed to think so. Except rules official Andy McFee. At least it led to this funny exchange in which he dismissed Tiger Woods:

He said WHAAAAAAAT to ??
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/5rAZv8cwGn

— Skratch (@Skratch) September 30, 2017

Loser: Jason Day

The Aussie lost twice on Saturday, dropping his record for the week to 0-3-1. But it gets worse. For a second consecutive Presidents Cup, Day, who is arguably his team’s best player, has laid an egg. Combined with his 0-4-1 record in South Korea two years ago, the former World No. 1 is now a dismal 0-7-2 the past two editions and 4-11-4 career in this event.

Winner: Anirban Lahiri

If not for Lahiri, the U.S. would have been spraying champagne around Liberty National on Saturday. But clutch birdies on 16 and 17, followed by an up-and-down on 18 (He’s probably glad Kevin Chappell didn’t putt that last one) gave Lahiri and Si Woo Kim a 1-up win over Charley Hoffman and Kevin Chappell. Sure, his rally was the equivalent of someone getting an infield hit to break up a perfect game, but we appreciate the effort.

Loser: NBC

Already up against NFL football, a slate of all-but-meaningless singles matches could draw lower TV ratings than the 2015 Presidents Cup. And that was contested in South Korea while most of America slept.

Miller on Yank win tonight: "That wouldn't help our ratings too much tomorrow."
Dan Hicks: "You always call 'em like you see 'em, Johnny."

— Steve Elling (@EllingYelling) September 30, 2017

Yep, Dan and Johnny are going to earn their money on Sunday.

The post Presidents Cup 2017: The winners & losers from Day 3 at Liberty National appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Tim Rosaforte
The 17-hour journey home from South Korea following the 2015 Presidents Cup wasn’t as long as one might imagine for Nick Price. The International team captain kept thinking back to the 1983 Ryder Cup, when the Europeans turned the tide of American domination with an incredibly hard-fought one-point loss at PGA National against a U.S. team captained by Jack Nicklaus that included major winners Tom Watson, Raymond Floyd, Ben Crenshaw, Lanny Wadkins, Curtis Strange, Lanny Wadkins and Tom Kite. At least that’s how Seve Ballesteros framed it in the European locker room.

“All the guys were glum and down,” Price said in a conversation we had recently. “But Seve went in and said, No, no, no. This was big for us. We can compete now.’’

I asked Price how he felt on that flight home, and it took him 20 seconds before responding. At one point he said, “I’m trying to find the right words here.” Finally he said, “I think with a lot of enthusiasm for the upcoming Presidents Cups.”

Enthusiasm was never a word used to describe the team that has a 1-9-1 overall record against the Americans since the match’s inception in 1994. But enthusiastic was Price’s team room at Incheon. Four of the five sessions in South Korea ended with the United States only up by one point, as the International side fell by a slim 15½-14½ margin.

“We were so close to it, we could almost taste victory in South Korea,’’ Price said. “This one is also a very important to the Presidents Cup, it really is.”

Price has laid this foundation and created the chemistry Tony Jacklin did as captain when Seve addressed the European squad 34 years ago. “I can’t attest to what has happened in the past, but I can attest to what I felt when I was in Incheon and what was the mood of the team room on Sunday, even though we fell just short,” said Anirban Lahiri, one of Price’s captain’s picks. “It was a positive outlook for the week and looking forward. A whole bunch of us have waited for two years to get this opportunity again to go the distance.”

“We also know this is the last time Nick lead us, so we’re all extra motivated. We know what he’s done for the team and we want to give back to him.” —Anirban Lahiri

Whether Incheon was truly a turning point, or a simple moral victory, will be determined this week at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J. Going up against an American team that boasts Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson, with Tiger Woods in the team room, the Statue of Liberty on the horizon and what promises to be a boisterous New York-New Jersey crowd, seems like a big ask for Price’s underdogs to pull off. But being a cosmopolitan metropolis, with a diverse population of Asians, South Americans, South Africans and Australians, Price sees his International team getting some gallery support, too.

Can what he’s done—adjusting the format in 2015 from 34 to 30 points and inspiring the team through his leadership—make it close again or even lead to an upset finish? Maybe not, but the three-time major winner and Hall of Famer can take credit for changing the culture for his team surrounding the event.

“Put it in a nutshell, when I took over, when I was first asked in 2012, I spoke to a few of the players and the feeling I got back then was a little bit of apathy toward it,” Price told me. “That was very deflating for me as a captain. Some of the more experienced guys who had been on it had sort of become, Well, we love the event, but the competition … it’s clearly not a competition. That was the feeling I got. Nobody actually said it was that, but that was the feeling I got talking to the players.”

That was not the feeling I got talking to players on Price’s team. Have things changed?

“Yeah, definitely,” said Marc Leishman. “My first Presidents Cup [in 2013] compared to my second Presidents Cup [in 2015], I feel like we bonded earlier that week as a team. The feeling around the team room was just a lot better. Hopefully it will work better this time. We’ve got more guys that have played before. We know each other. Everyone on the team knows each other well. It’s going to be very tough to beat the Americans, but I feel like this is a good opportunity for us. There are a few guys in good form that have bonded well, so I’m really excited for the week.”

Lahiri was part of the thrilling finish at Jack Nicklaus G.C. that most of America’s golf audience didn’t see live because of the 13-hour time difference on the East Coast. His four-footer for birdie on the final hole of his match against Chris Kirk lipped out, otherwise the match and the matches would have ended in a tie.

Lahiri (right) says Price has changed the culture surrounding the International team. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

“We couldn’t lose if he made that,” Price said. “But I’m telling you what, Anirban hit a phenomenal putt. I felt for him. I think we all did. The emotion he felt after he missed that putt was something to behold. I told Anirban, you may never face a putt of that pressure again.”

That pressure showed in the way South Korea’s Sang-Moon Bae played the 18th in the deciding match against Bill Haas. So it came down to the last hole twice, and for the first time since the epic draw in South Africa in 2003, the competition was competitive. The next step is continuity. Brandon Grace, for example, went from 0-4 in 2013 and 5-0 in 2015. Lahiri went 0-3 in his debut, but Price had the faith to make him a captain’s pick this year.

The other element baked in is that Price needs players to make birdies, which is what Grace certainly did setting the major-championship scoring record with a 62 at Royal Birkdale in the Open Championship. Jason Day, while he’s lacked energy for most of the summer, is ranked T-6 in birdie percentage. Before winning the Valspar Championship in March, Adam Hadwin shot 59 at the Career Builders. What Price needs is for Hideki Matsuyama to bounce back from his heart-breaking loss in the PGA Championship. He went into the Tour Championship ranked fourth in birdie average.

Price has also learned by experience. In his first Presidents Cup as captain, a three-point loss at Muirfield Village in 2013, the Zimbabwean admits having a hard time blending the cultures. Seven world-class players return from that team, with Adam Scott, Matsuyama, Day, Leishman, Grace and Louis Oosthuizen, creating a nucleus for Price in his pairings.

Also to the point of continuity, Price was able to get PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan to approve an additional assistant captain. Without calling it a task force, this was his way of grooming Ernie Els, Geoff Ogilvy and Mike Weir for future captaincies, while allowing him to have representation in each of his practice groups. It’s not unlike the Pods System introduced by Paul Azinger at the 2008 Ryder Cup.

The buy in seems to be real, as does the sense of players wanting to win this one for Price. “We also know this is the last time Nick lead us, so we’re all extra motivated,” Lahiri said. “We know what he’s done for the team and we want to give back to him.”

Price no longer has to ask if it means something to the guys on his team. Knowing they want to win for him, it may mean too much.

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By John Strege
Phil Mickelson’s streak of playing on every U.S. Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup since 1994 will continue, courtesy of U.S. Presidents Cup Captain Steve Stricker, who made him one of his two picks overnight.

Stricker also chose another native San Diegan, Mickelson’s friend Charley Hoffman, to round out his 12-man team. Hoffman, 40, will be playing in his first Presidents Cup.

The International team Captain Nick Price added Emiliano Grillo of Argentina and Anirban Lahiri of India.

“We all know what Phil brings to the table,» Stricker said. «He’s been on 20 plus teams. He’s an important part of all these teams. He, too, is starting to play better. He guarantees me he’s on the right track.

The Presidents Cup begins on Thursday, Sept. 28, at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J., just across the Hudson River from Manhattan.

Mickelson, 47, seemed to have been a lock, notwithstanding his having finished 15th on the points list. His experience, along with the fact he’s beloved in the New York area, made him an easy choice. Moreover, he tied for sixth in the Dell Technologies Championship on Monday.

“It really has been special the way the people [in the New York area] have treated me and my family,” Mickelson said.

“They’re incredible sports fans. It’s a great place for the USA to play and complete. I don’t know what sparked it, but I’m certainly very appreciative”

This will be Mickelson’s 12th Presidents Cup. He also has played on the last 11 U.S. Ryder Cup teams.

“My excitement to be on this team is as great as it’s been for any team I’ve been on,” Mickelson said. “It means a lot to me. What means a lot to me this year is that they wanted me there even though I didn’t get the spot on my own. I really love being around these guys. I respect how great they are. This is a special team and to be a part of it is very meaningful to me.”

Hoffman, meanwhile, finished 11th on the points list, edged out by Kevin Chappell in the final round of the Dell on Monday.

“[Kevin] Chappell and I were sort of going back and forth that last day in Boston,” Hoffman said.

“I’m glad it’s finally over and I finally made an American team and I can’t wait. It’s a very special moment. Phil and I have played a lot of golf in San Diego and he talks a lot about it. It’s sort of one of the things that drove me to get on this team was sort of the ribbing he gave me put on the golf course out in San Diego and knowing how special it would be to be a part of this Presidents Cup.”

The International team has not won a Presidents Cup since 1998 and has lost six in a row after a tie in 2003.

“We can’t be complacent,» Mickelson said. «If we play our best and are prepared I believe we’ll come out on top. But they are an incredibly talented team and if we take some things for granted we’ll get beat.”

The rest of the U.S. team: Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, Daniel Berger, Brooks Koepka, Kevin Kisner, Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar.

The rest of the International team: Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen, Marc Leishman, Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace, Si Woo Kim, Jhonattan Vegas and Adam Hadwin.

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By Brian Wacker
Kevin Chappell was out, then he was in, qualifying for his first Presidents Cup by a slim margin after Monday’s final round of the Dell Technologies Championship. He didn’t realize just how much it meant to him until he had trouble sleeping the night before. But Chappell was probably going to be on the team anyway even if he didn’t nab the final spot in the top 10.

On Wednesday at 5 p.m. Steve Stricker will announce his two captain’s picks for the United States team, and Nick Price will do the same for the International squad that will be playing at Liberty National Golf Club outside New York City at the end of the month.

With Chappell in, it means Charley Hoffman is out … for now. He didn’t look too stressed about the whole thing as he enjoyed a beer and a cigar on the terrace of the TPC Boston clubhouse late Monday afternoon, having finished up T-47 in the tournament. Nor should he be.

Though Hoffman doesn’t have a win this season, he does have a half-dozen top-10s and has been in contention a number of times. Yes, he didn’t close out any of those opportunities, but at No. 11 on the points list, No. 22 in the World Rankings and a birdie machine who is also in the top 25 in total strokes gained, it’s hard to imagine Stricker passing on him.

As for the other captain’s pick? This is where things get more interesting.

Of the next nine names down the list none carries as much star power as Phil Mickelson, who has played on every Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup team since 1994, boasts a 17-4-7 record in the last seven Presidents Cups and who last fall went 2-1-1 in helping the U.S. reclaim the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National. He also appears suddenly re-energized and re-focused, posting a a T-6 finish at TPC Boston that moved him up three spots to No. 15 in the standings.

Asked if he felt like he has done enough to get the nod from Stricker, Mickelson said, “We’ll see. I hope so.”

Stricker has been talking with Mickelson through much of the summer to get a better gauge on Lefty’s game. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Which brings up the next point. Who else is Stricker going to pick?

Jason Dufner has just one top-10 this year (a win at the Memorial). Gary Woodland has only one top-10 since March. Brendan Steele has missed the cut in four of his last six starts. Brandt Snedeker is out with an injury. Bill Haas and Kevin Na have two top-10s apiece since March.

The only other player in the top 20 on the points list who could seemingly knock Mickelson off would be Brian Harman, who finished 12th with seven top-10s, including an impressive win at the Wells Fargo Championship and a runner-up at the U.S. Open. He’s also a deadly putter and his personality would fit well in the laid back team room (so, of course, would the elder statesman Mickelson).

More complicated is whom Price picks for the International team, which has lost the last six Presidents Cups and hasn’t won it since 1998 with the two teams tying in 2003. Adam Hadwin secured the final spot in the top 10 with his tie for 13th at TPC Boston. Where Price goes from there is less certain.

Emiliano Grillo finished 12th in the standings and had a 22nd-place showing at the Dell, but he also has five missed cuts in his last nine starts.

But like Stricker, who else is Price going to pick? No one around Grillo has exactly stood out. Hideto Tanihara is No. 11 and Yuta Ikeda 13 and both have missed a handful of cuts of late.

Li Haotang, 14th on the list, has missed his last two cuts but did finish third at the British Open, while Byeong Hun An at 15 hasn’t had a top-10 since May.

Going any deeper reveals even fewer options. Outside the box thinking is never a bad thing when it comes to the selection process—particularly when on a losing streak—but this is one year when taking a chalk approach would be difficult to criticize.

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