The TOUR Insider: Presidents Cup/Viking Classic  PGATOUR.com Senior Correspondent The United States, without question, has had a better run of things in the brief history of the Presidents Cup than it has had of late in the long-running trans-Atlantic contest against Europe in the Ryder Cup. See the 4-1-1 record, which includes a three-point triumph two years ago against an International team with an average world ranking of 22.  Ernie Els shakes hands with Vijay Singh (right) during the dramatic 2003 Presidents Cup tie in Els' native South Africa. (WireImage) Numbers never lie, but they can be manipulated, so it looks like the U.S., which has 18 victories collectively this year compared to seven for the Internationals -- plus two U.S. major champions to one for the opposition -- is a slight favorite for this week's seventh edition at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Ile Bizard, Quebec. The U.S. also boasts the top four players in the Official World Golf Ranking in Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker. The Internationals then counter with nine of the next 15. But here is the one stat that the TOUR Insider just can't ignore: It has been 14 years -- or the year before the first Presidents Cup -- since the Americans have won a team event on foreign soil: the 1993 Ryder Cup at The Belfry, in England. Now, that 4-1-1 Presidents Cup mark is heartening to the Yankees, but it includes a whopping nine-point setback in Australia in 1998 and the famous, sportsman-infused tie in 2003 in South Africa. This is the trend Jack Nicklaus and his charges have to overcome at Royal Montreal, which is the closest home game they're going to get, and will be contested on a course -- the Blue Course at Royal Montreal -- that is not altogether foreign even if it has undergone a facelift directed by Rees Jones since it hosted the 2001 Canadian Open.
Royal Montreal's reconfigured layout will play 7,171 yards, par 70, nearly 300 yards longer than in 2001. This is hardly a consideration for either team, but the wide landing areas are a clear equalizer for the home team, which has only two players in the top 90 in driving accuracy compared to eight Americans. The most significant alteration to the course is the recontoured greens, which native son Mike Weir, one of Gary Player's two captain's picks on the International team, says are perhaps a bit too dramatically sloped with tiers and quadrants reminiscent of early TPC Sawgrass. Also worth noting: the bunkers have been reworked and many have been deepened; some playing areas have been rerouted; and the 12th and 13th holes have been reversed, with No. 12 a par 5 and 13 a par 3. Regardless of records or player experience or the course examination, the quality of the golf should be spectacular when you consider that the 24 players rank among the top 60 in the world. Worth knowing: • This Presidents Cup is different from the previous six in that it's the first one to be contested after the PGA TOUR's first Playoff series, the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, which ended just eight days ago at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. Seven players from the U.S. team and five players from the International team played all four Playoff events. • The last time the TOUR stopped at Royal Montreal was 2001 for the Canadian Open, which Scott Verplank won. Only four other players competing this week at the Presidents Cup finished in the top 25 six years ago in Quebec: K.J. Choi (tie for eighth), Steve Stricker (T18), Stuart Appleby (T23) and Tiger Woods (T23).
• Nine Americans have combined for 18 victories this year. Tiger Woods accounts for seven and Phil Mickelson three more. Add Steve Stricker and you have the top three finishers from the FedExCup. International players, meanwhile, have only seven wins this year, with K.J. Choi and Rory Sabbatini finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, in the FedExCup standings. • The Internationals have a slight edge in experience with only two first-time players -- and those players are Sabbatini and 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy. Four Americans make the Presidents Cup debut: Masters champ Zach Johnson, Woody Austin, Hunter Mahan and Lucas Glover. Only Glover is without a win this year among that foursome. • It will be fascinating to see how Player employs his two captain's picks. Taking Canada's Weir at No. 20 among ranked International players was motivated by nationalism to fuel support of the natives. His 8-6-0 record helps his cause for playing often, too. Nick O'Hern, meanwhile, is the designated Tiger buster, having defeated him twice at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. • Davis Love III is one of the headliners for this week's Viking Classic at Annandale Golf Club in Madison, Miss., the supporting event for the PGA TOUR opposite the Presidents Cup. The former PGA champion, missing his first Presidents Cup, is appearing in the Viking Classic for the second time in his career; his only previous start came in 1987, when he finished tied for 43rd.  D.J. Trahan earned a two-year exemption with his playoff win over Joe Durant at Annandale Golf Club in 2006. (WireImage) • Love is one of nine former Presidents Cup players in the field at Annandale Golf Club. Joining him are Americans David Duval, Fred Funk, Lee Janzen and Jim Gallagher Jr. and previous international team members Mark Hensby, Steve Elkington, Peter Lonard and Shigeki Maruyama. D.J. Trahan is the defending champion. • David Duval, who has played in Madison, Miss., the last three years, is entered again this year. Duval last appeared on the PGA TOUR at the Nissan Open in February, where he missed the cut in his fifth event of the year. He has been home in Colorado taking care of his family as his wife, Susie, has suffered through a difficult pregnancy. • Fred Funk, winner earlier this year at the inaugural Mayakoba Golf Classic, in Mexico, might be a dangerous player this week, given that his history at the Viking Classic includes two wins and five straight top-10 finishes dating back to 1998. • Other players worth watching this week in Mississippi, given their track records: Bo Van Pelt, who has finished tied for fifth in each of last two starts; Chad Campbell, who in his only two appearances in 2001 and '02, finished fourth and second, respectively; and defending champion D.J. Trahan, who tied for 12th before winning in '06. • There are 32 first-time starters at the Viking Classic. Most prominent among them is 42-year-old Jesper Parnevik, who won the last of his five TOUR titles in 2001. TOUR Insider's Presidents Cup outlook: Presidents Cup Men of the Match: TI's power ranking for the Viking Classic: |
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