The 2024 Presidents Cup completed with a lopsided rating however loads of drama alongside the way in which.
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MONTREAL — ALL MORNING, KEEGAN BRADLEY THOUGHT HE MIGHT THROW UP.
“I used to be within the staff room and I couldn’t eat,” he stated Sunday afternoon, as soon as it was throughout. “I can’t ever keep in mind feeling like that. Y’know, I’ve gained a significant, held leads in large tournaments — however this was so nerve-wracking, once you look across the room and also you consider what you want to do. For the fellows and, like, being a captain’s decide, you don’t wish to let him down.”
Bradley emphasised one particular phrase to explain the sensation.
“It was actually heavy this morning,” he stated. “It was heavy all week, however this morning I wakened and simply felt like I had electrical energy going via my physique.”
For years Bradley has talked overtly concerning the challenges of managing anxiousness beneath the pressures {of professional} golf. However even by his requirements, this weight was totally different.
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“My goodness — the final time I performed, I used to be the purpose to lose the Ryder Cup,” he stated, referencing the staff’s 2014 loss at Gleneagles in Scotland. Solely one in every of his teammates from 2014 was in Montreal on Monday: U.S. staff captain Jim Furyk. No one from the 2015 Presidents Cup made this staff both, nor the 2016 Ryder Cup staff. Bradley was the one one to succeed in again in time.
He carried the burden of those new teammates, and the burden of final yr’s heartbreaking Ryder Cup snub, and the burden of 10 years’ expectations, and the burden of understanding that he was residing the second he’d dreamt of yearly since. He shouldered it Sunday afternoon, when Bradley confronted Si Woo Kim, who’d been the Worldwide staff’s greatest participant all week. Bradley birdied the primary gap, after which the second, to take the lead. Kim battled again to 1 Up however then Bradley birdied 8 and 10 and 12 and 14, too, flipping the match and constructing a 3 Up lead.
He had a putt from lower than 4 toes to win the match at No. 16, however there was a silver lining to that miss: it prolonged the match and arrange the right end. When Kim’s birdie attempt at No. 18 slid previous the opening, it was official: The U.S. had gained the cup. Bradley, immediately weightless, shook fingers with Kim after which turned and virtually floated to his teammates, who swarmed the inexperienced; so did his household and their households, all of them celebrating the staff win and the perfection of the second, understanding simply how a lot it meant to the person who completed it off.
However that heaviness takes a toll, too. Some 10 minutes later, as soon as the TV cameras had left and the gang had cleared and his teammates had charged off within the path of different matches, Bradley lastly had a second to let it settle. He bent over double, fingers on his knees, and admitted one thing aloud.
“I can’t imagine it,” he murmured. “And I’m so glad it’s over.”
THERE’S AN INSTINCT, AFTER ANOTHER LOPSIDED PRESIDENTS CUP RESULT, to blow the entire thing up. I get that. I’m open to the concept of tweaking guidelines, rethinking the format, discovering a option to give the underdogs a preventing probability. However the assertion that it doesn’t matter? That doesn’t try. To not the tens of 1000’s of golf followers that lined the fairways of Royal Montreal Golf Membership on the weekend. And to not of the gamers, on both staff, who had been all in all week and proved, on and off the course, simply how a lot this meant to them.
To Corey Conners, who referred to as it “one of many coolest moments of my profession” when he was serenaded from the grandstands on the par-3 thirteenth inexperienced.
“With all people, 1000’s of individuals across the inexperienced singing ‘O Canada’ and to gap a putt like that was actually memorable and particular,” he stated.
To Mackenzie Hughes, Conners’ fellow Canadian, longtime buddy and faculty teammate. “Being with this group was the spotlight of my profession, and it was wonderful to go to battle with these guys,” he stated. “The week as an entire, being a rookie, attending to be round among the greatest gamers on this planet, it was magical. I knew it could be, and it lived as much as all of the hype and extra.”
To Taylor Pendrith, the third of their Canadian trio, who earned two factors for the Internationals after getting shut out in his 2022 debut and referred to as the ambiance “unreal.”
“The followers are all out,” he stated. “They’ve been loud. You may hear the roars from a couple of fairways over and you recognize what’s taking place. That’s what we had been hoping for, they usually’ve confirmed up.”
To Max Homa, who squeaked onto the staff regardless of a mediocre end to his season. He performed pretty nicely in two foursomes losses and went off final in Sunday singles, giving him loads of time to develop the chip on his shoulder. He began off in fashion, holing his method shot on the first for an eagle 2. And he completed in fashion, too, surrounded by his victorious staff.
“I do know lots of people didn’t suppose I must be on the staff, however I believe what I noticed within the final week or so, and particularly being right here, is that the people who mattered did suppose I must be on the staff,” he stated. The implication was clear: the people who mattered had been those that had been right here.
TOM KIM OFFERED AN APOLOGY.
He’d gone someplace he regretted.
All week he’d been delightfully uncontrolled as the guts and soul of the Worldwide aspect. On Thursday he’d gotten right into a shouting back-and-forth with Scheffler after back-to-back birdies — all good. Friday, when he wasn’t within the lineup, he spent the day operating and screaming and leaping and pumping up the gang as his teammates rolled to a 5-0 session win. On Saturday morning he and companion Si Woo Kim earned an important level of their four-ball match. And on Saturday night they confronted down Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele in an epic conflict of fashion and character which completed in an American win when Cantlay buried a 16-footer for birdie within the fading gentle. Kim was nonetheless salty within the press room a couple of minutes later and recommended some unspecified members of the American staff had crossed the road into poor sportsmanship. The response — from the American aspect and, later, from most people — appeared like a collective eye-roll. Dishing it out is all good, however you have got to have the ability to take it, too. That’s not simple. Nevertheless it’s sports activities.
After his Sunday singles match, then, wherein an exhausted and barely muted Kim floor out a gritty tie with Sam Burns, it was notable to see Kim observe down Schauffele and Furyk behind the 18th inexperienced. Right here’s how he described that alternate:
“Yeah, it was nearly my feedback yesterday. I simply informed him like, hey, I didn’t imply it to go in such a adverse means. If it did, I simply stated I’m sorry,” Kim stated. “I actually didn’t imply it to — as a result of once I performed with Patrick and Xander, clearly we’ve battled a couple of occasions they usually’ve at all times been such nice rivals. They’ve by no means — I’ve at all times felt like there’s such a great sportsmanship between us. It was simply exterior the ropes, and I felt like that was a little bit misunderstanding on my half, which I ought to have defined higher.
Presidents Cup Q&A: Greatest hero, largest mistake, what TV viewers missed
“So I went to him and I stated, ‘I didn’t imply it that means. I apologize if it got here out flawed. It was simply this and this occurred, but when it affected you guys so negatively, I actually do apologize. I didn’t imply to do it in that means.
“This occasion is all about doing stuff you would by no means do and creating power and doing all these items. I do sure issues on the greens once I make putts, and I count on them to do the identical factor. It’s all a part of the sport.”
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER SLAMMED HIS HAT ON THE GROUND.
We’d seen the World No. 1 fired up as early as Thursday, when he unleashed an uncharacteristic scream in Kim’s path after canning an extended putt. However on Saturday night, because the Cup’s chippiest session but neared a stirring conclusion, Scheffler reached one other degree.
It was powerful to know the place the fireplace originated. Maybe it was aggravation together with his opponent, Hideki Matsuyama, with whom he’d had an animated dialogue on a drop at No. 15. Maybe it was anger at a fan who’d crossed the road, yelling one thing vile sufficient in his path that Scheffler’s father — and, subsequently, his caddie Ted Scott — went beneath the ropes to confront him. Maybe it was pent-up frustration at current Cup failures; regardless of his ascension to world-beater, Scheffler has struggled in staff play, going simply 0-5-3 mixed in his earlier two cups. Or maybe we’re simply getting a greater take a look at the aggressive hearth that has at all times burned slightly below the floor, the fireplace that’s gotten him thus far, the fireplace that makes him a money-game menace at dwelling and a formidable opponent in any contest wherever. Maybe it was all the above.
Regardless of the inspiration, when Scheffler holed a match-ending three-footer for par at No. 16 on Saturday evening, he let unfastened. A chest bump with Scott. An aggressive embrace together with his companion, Russell Henley. A brisk handshake together with his opponents. After which again to yelling at (with?) his teammates earlier than spiking his hat, Gronk-style, on the aspect of the inexperienced.
By the point I requested Scheffler about it on Sunday night he’d snapped again into media mode: Skilled, well-spoken, humble, sharing the credit score, yielding no extra particulars than he wanted to.
“I believe it’s a enjoyable occasion. I liked taking part in away video games once I was in highschool, taking part in basketball. Listening to stuff from the gang I believe solely makes us extra motivated to go on the market and do our greatest,” he stated underselling each the crowds and the extent of his motivation. “I used to be simply proud to earn some extent for the staff, and it felt like an necessary one on the time simply to get some extent late on Saturday. I believe Russ and I had been simply each actually excited. I believe we’re each guys that normally maintain a reasonably even-keel perspective on the golf course most weeks, and I believe Russell is likely one of the most underrated gamers on our Tour. So it was enjoyable to exit and earn some extent with him.”
Enjoyable, for certain. One thing else, too.
ADAM SCOTT WINCED.
He’d entered the week with optimism in spades. One thing about this staff felt totally different, he stated. His sport felt totally different, too — significantly better than a pair months in the past. All summer time he’d used the Presidents Cup as a motivator to work more durable, to get higher, to dial in. And now he was right here, taking part in the eleventh Cup of his profession, nonetheless chasing his first win.
“These guys are not any joke. They’re unbelievable gamers,” he stated in his Wednesday press convention. “They’ll step up this week.”
5 days and 5 matches later, on the identical podium, Scott tried to remain optimistic. His staff had battled again from that devastating 0-5 opening session with a 5-0 session sweep of their very own. He and companion Taylor Pendrith misplaced an in depth match towards the top-ranked American squad of Scheffler-Morikawa on Saturday morning, after which they earned the Internationals’ lone level in afternoon foursomes. On Sunday he, like a number of of his teammates, had a glimmer of hope (a 1-up lead) that was ultimately extinguished by Morikawa down the stretch. His staff had formally misplaced their tenth Cup in a row, and it wasn’t shut.
“Like I stated earlier within the week, I had a fantastic feeling for this staff coming in. I felt like there’s been an evolution beneath this Defend the final two Cups, 4 or 5 years of that, and buy-in from all of the worldwide gamers. It’s one thing that they aspire to play for,” he stated.
“However you recognize, the outcome, sadly, is identical. With a deep dive, I believe there are positives, at all times, to see, and hopefully this competitors evokes all of us sitting up right here to play actually exhausting, go on with our careers the subsequent two years, win large occasions, and are available again higher ready and able to win in Chicago.”
As soon as once more, Scott went all 5 classes; he’s now been on the staff for 55 classes and performed 54 matches. At 44, he was considerably older than his next-oldest teammate. However stats reveal he was one of many Internationals’ better-performing gamers, he earned two factors and he exhibits no actual indicators of slowing down.
“I believe I can play for one more couple years. I’ve come this far,” he stated, to applause from his teammates. “If I can play in a pair extra years and contribute some extent, then I’d like to be on a profitable Presidents Cup staff. I’d like to push alongside and provides it another shot if I can.”
AS THE AMERICAN TEAM WALKED OFF THE STAGE, one man stayed again. Xander Schauffele had been Group USA’s first man out within the morning, and he’d scowled his option to six front-nine birdies and a 4-and-3 beatdown of Jason Day. He’d worn a smile each minute of the three-and-a-half hours since then.
All week, Schauffele had appeared totally different. He’s at all times thrived in these staff weeks however for his first few Cups he was snug with a mischievous presence, because the staff’s entertaining little brother who doubled as match-play killer. This week, whereas extra mischievous than ever, he appeared in cost. Main in early-week betting video games. Main off Sunday singles. And main the staff with a 4-1 report, gaining essentially the most strokes of anybody within the occasion within the course of (Cantlay, his ever-underrated companion, was the one one to match his degree). Whether or not he’s freed up by his main championship wins, by his continued elite play, by the altering of the guard on this staff, by turning 30 or one thing else, it was clear that this was Schauffele’s staff.
“I prefer to have a great time,” he’d stated after his match. “I didn’t actually develop up taking part in staff sports activities. I performed soccer once I was a very younger child, and that doesn’t really matter. However I actually get pleasure from this staff side and the ambiance and having all of the captains and the wives and the caddies, simply everybody, all our supporting workers multi function room having dinner and having a great time — I actually get pleasure from that bit.”
And now, carrying a smile and a buzz, he stood on the finish of the stage, holding his hand out to each teammate that walked previous for a high-five and a back-slap like he was a basketball coach greeting gamers as they got here off the courtroom.
On his means out the door, a reporter flagged down Schauffele to ask him another query: When did he turn into a pacesetter?
“While you say chief, I simply suppose I sound outdated,” he stated as he walked out within the path of the afterparty, an opportunity to have a good time a staff win, a person win, the shut of a season, a particular, particular second in time. He shouted one factor again earlier than disappearing into the evening.
“I’m not able to be outdated!”
Dylan Dethier welcomes your feedback at dylan_dethier@golf.com. You may subscribe to get his Monday End publication in your inbox right here.
