The President's Cup is mercifully over. It was delivered to us in the midst of football season as a solid replay of what has transpired this past golf season.
Here are some thoughts following the easy U.S. victory over the International team:
1. Tiger Woods is still top dog. It's still all about Tiger, golf's first Billionaire. Perhaps Tiger is still perturbed about his final round performance at the PGA Championship and he appropriately took it out on Y.E. Yang in their match on Sunday. No doubt El Tigre was sending a message that he'll be ready when April rolls around. In what some consider an "off year" by TIger, he still won the FedEx Cup and around $20 million in earnings. He has major confidence now and he's still the world's No. 1 with an exclamation point and look for him to win two majors in 2010.
2. Steve Stricker is the next best player on the tour right now. With all due respect to Phil Mickelson,"Stricks," as Tiger calls him, has major game. He showed it all year and may be the next non-major winner to win a major in 2010. He's certainly worthy. His major hurdle will be to find his total game during the last round pressure of a major.
3. Mickelson might be real serious in 2010. Phil knows that he's not getting any younger and he needs to make his move in 2010 if he's going to add to his list of major championships. His putting has been an area that has hampered his efforts and it appears that his time with Dave Stockton has served him well. The only wacky thing about Mickelson is the major "conferences" he has with caddy Jim "Bones" MacKay. They sound like a couple of magpies chirping during the preshot routine. That's got to get confusing at some point.
4. Best young guy on the PGA Tour is.....? That title is still open. We thought it was Anthony Kim but he hasn't put together the full body of work. Neither has Hunter Mahan. Who is the best young player on the tour? That remains to be seen.
5. Best young player in the world is no doubt, Ryo Ishikawa. The kid is 18 and a sensation. The only question is how old will he be when he wins a major on the U.S. tour? Great putter and his ball striking can only get better. What a future!
6. How will Kenny Perry and Fred Couples perform on the Champions Tour? Perry will be eligible soon but he's still got a lot of gas in the tank for an old guy. Freddie's a different story. The Champions Tour is perfect for him -- short events, no cuts, laid-back atmosphere -- it's all Freddie.
7. Send the San Francisco weather to Florida! While Florida was baking in 90-degree temperatures, everyone in San Francisco was wearing sweaters and jackets. Send some of that stuff way.
And finally -- why the heck were they interviewing Michael Jordan and asking him about golf? The guy's a solid 12 handicapper who never broke an egg in a real amateur event.
Send Jordan back to the rough, where he spends most of his time.
Original Story:
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