Forward Press: Presidents Cup, British Masters

I know once the matches get going I'll get excited about watching the Presidents Cup. At least, until I fall asleep because it's on in the middle of the night.

And I know Jack Nicklaus Golf Club will provide some good fodder if the matches don't.

But as I note in this edition of the Forward Press, with the all important Prez Cup TV time breakdown, there is a lot riding on these matches. A blowout on a bad course probably starts to sink the event. But a thriller with a nice knockdown, dragout man-spat or two, and there is hope for the planet.

Though I'm probably more excited about the British Masters returning to the English countryside, where Cara Robinson and I discussed today on Morning Drive. Good crowds are expected and Ian Poulter is all in as a member of Woburn.

Comments

[BrianS]

Throw in the LPGA back in action in Malaysia, and there will be tons of golf taking place during the nighttime hours (at least for us here on the East Coast USA). Looking forward to catching lot of it, and not enough sleep.

[John Matthew IV]

Is it wrong to say I am more interested in the British Masters than the President's Cup?

At least we don't know now who will win in England.

[Tee vee]

Not sure why NBC bothers with a Sunday afternoon replay of the singles. Anyone who cares to watch will either stay up late to watch it live or DVR it. Otherwise they'll watch NFL or a baseball playoff Sunday.

Very '70s thinking at work.

[jjshaka]

British Master will be great.
The Presidents Cup on another Nicklaus atrocity...not so much

[Eamon Ginson]

Woburn was short off the tee 15 years ago, will be interesting how badly it is dismantled.

[Tee vee troller]

Will Feherty be part of NBC/GC coverage? Or is he still under contract with CBS til year's end? interested to see/hear how he fits in

[ol Harv]

Any word on the WAG's outfits or results from ping-pong matches?

[Bernie in Tampa]

ol Harv -

You might not have heard this before but Kuchar is really good at ping pong. Phil can get pretty competitive too - he even hired his own "ping pong consultant" a few years ago. The guys have a ton of fun in the team room. Did I mention they play ping pong? Kuchar is the best one I think.

[Mike Clayton]

Not sure which event will be better - the British Masters or the Presidents Cup - but I will let you know on Monday having been to both. Woburn until Thursday and the PC on Sunday.

Eamon,

They are not playing the Dukes at Woburn - the one they used to play but rather the Marquis which is wet and long.

[DTF]

If a person or media outlet are concerned about the growth of golf the Presidents Cup should be their sole focus this weekend -- as Steve Elling said, "Asia is the only market where the game is growing."

As such we owe it to the game to be all Presidents Cup, all the time, all week.

Let's get busy...

[Original AG]

@ol Harv +1

Must admit... golf viewed out. Dropping trees and adding to the wood pile is in order.

[ol Harv]

Bernie, thanks for the Ping Pong info, had no idea. How bout the WAGS outfits or golf cart assignments for the WAGS?

[Greg V]

The present format of the President's Cup leaves me cold, and actually, upset.

In a better world, the US would play Europe in the Ryder Cup. The winner of that would play the Rest of the World in the President's Cup. The winner of that would play the loser the year before - in the Ryder Cup if the two teams were from Europe and the US, or the Presidents Cup if one of the two teams were from the Rest of the World.

Think of it. A winning team might play every year. They would deserve that distinction through winning. The losing team would sit out one year. No team would be worse than playing every other year. That would be sort of like that Stanley Cup Champions playing the All Stars from the rest of the league. If you are the Stanley Cup Champions, you get to play the All Star game the next year. If you are the winner of the Ryder/Presidents Cup format, you play the other team the next year. Losers sit out the next year.

It is a world game. There is no reason in 2015 for the US to be playing every year, if they lose the Ryder Cup.

The other format that makes sense is for the US to play Europe in the Ryder Cup, the US to play the REST in the Presidents Cup, and Europe to play REST in the third year for the Dawson Cup - or something along those lines. That would be a format for these events that makes sense. And, now that golf is a world game, I see golfers in the US watching a Europe - REST competition with interest, because guys like Rory and Jason and Adam would be playing. Good stuff there.

but I like the first format better. If you win, you play the next year. If you lose, you sit out a year. To me, that makes all the sense in the fact that it would certainly get the player's interest. If you really like these competitions, you want to play every year. Well, if you want to play every year, you have to win to do it.

[Jess Daddio]

I wonder what activities Phil has in store for the boys tonight and what time his speech is?

[DTF]

Greg V...your first scenario is an awesome idea, love it! How would you go about getting the sanctioning bodies on board? Seems like someone might starting missing a payday(s) in there?

Jess...who cares?!?

[P-Dog]

Greg V for president!

[V. Diloufo]

" If you win, you play the next year. If you lose, you sit out a year."

Then the Americans would want to lose on purpose.