Fred Couples - the can teetered, wobbled but didn't fall over

Prior to the start of last week's Presidents Cup, the Ryder-Cup-but-without-the-media-coverage-or-the-competitive-intensity, I wrote about how Fred Couples had risked dropping a massive clanger by taking Tiger Woods and Bill Haas as his captain's picks, leaving the in-form and luckless Keegan Bradley to watch the event unfold on TV at home.



In the end, it was a good pick. Haas played ok and Woods sunk the winning putt to ensure the trophy stayed in US hands for another two years (at least). That said, it wasn't all plain sailing.

There were a couple of occasions, early in the competition, when Freddie's backside must have been squeaking thinking about the headlines. To try and ensure some level of interest in the 'competition' outside of the protagonist's home nations, captains Couples and Norman engineered the plum draw to anchor day 1 - Tiger Woods & Steve 'my neck's really ok' Stricker against KJ 'the talker' Choi and Steve Williams Adam Scott. When the Internationals handed the good ol' boys a dog licence, wrapping up the point on the 12th green, the media went into a feeding frenzy over the selection of Woods and his performance, conveniently bypassing the fact that his playing partner on the day hadn't exactly ripped it up either.

It took Woods a while to find his feet, particularly on the marble-like greens but, once he did come Sunday, it was like slipping into a familiar pair of shoes, a favourite coat or returning home after a long absence. Amid all the chaos & uncertainty in the wider, real world, it was comforting to see Woods go -6 for the 15 holes he played against Aaron Baddeley and discover his mojo again. He even had a red shirt on.

I saw it mentioned more than once that Bradley should have been there, the Woods pick was a ridiculous choice, Couples had clanged, etc, etc, blah, blah, but there was no guarantee that Bradley would have faired any better than Woods or Haas (yet again little mention or question marks over his inclusion - good job, Daddy). Personally, I think that could be a blessing in disguise for young Keegan. It gives his an opportunity to reflect on a damn good year and make sure he gets 2012 off to a flyer to ensure qualification for a real team golf event at Medinah.

To write Woods off before the event, which Greg Norman and Geoff Ogilvy tried to do, was always a risky strategy and turned round to eventually bite them in the arse. The growl isn't yet a roar (Tiger needs an individual W for that to happen) but it was definitely a snarl.


I am The Part-Time Golfer