The President's Cup - What Did We Learn?

I took away a number of things from The President's Cup this week. The first is that Tiger Woods is very close to winning form, and I suspect he might just win his Chevron Challenge event coming up in December. It is clear that his iron game and short game are quite good now, and his putting is close. He was able to avoid his weakness, the driver, in each of his last two events, as both golf courses in Australia did not demand length off the tee. I am also not yet sure how well he can hit the high fade with his irons, and I do not yet quite see the distance control he once had with the irons.

Another thing I took away from the President's Cup is that some of the young guns still have a ways to go to be considered major challengers next year. Dustin Johnson remains an enigma to me. I know nothing of his work ethic, but with his length, he should contend more often. Ryo Ishikawa and Jason Day are nowhere close to living up to their hype. Day had a couple decent finishes in majors last year, but does not appear to know how to close the deal. Ishikawa seems to be just another player from Japan who doesn't compete very well when he leaves his homeland.

The veterans for the U.S. team played very well. Jim Furyk went 5-0, and Toms, Stricker and Mickelson also had good moments. This just suggests to me that the young international players from outside of Europe are just not up to snuff. Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy and Retief Goosen were the most solid performers for the international side, and they are grizzled veterans.

The bottom line is that most of the big challengers for Tiger seem to be from Europe. Sergio Garcia appears rejuvenated, and I believe that players such as McIlroy, Donald, Westwood and McDowell will look forward to the challenge of facing Tiger when he is in better form next year. Most of the young Americans still have a lot of learning to do when it comes to winning. I think many of the top prospects for the U.S. are actually in college now, and it will be a few years until they hit the tour. As a result, I look for Tiger to have a couple good years, starting at Augusta in April.

Scott Cole
Your Golf Swing Fix