Although I find the Ryder Cup to be an amazing event, and a joy to watch, I always ask myself, “Wouldn’t it have been great if Gary Player had a chance to add this event to his resume?” How about Peter Thompson? Today, we have the contrived President’s Cup to allow Ernie, Mike, Vijay, Retief, et.al, to say, “We can beat the Americans also.” Yes they can, and the President’s Cup is enjoyable, but the Americans have admitted it does not hold the same intensity and meaning as the Ryder Cup.
I have a strong and bold proposal, and I will outline my plan as follows:
- Starting with the next Ryder Cup (or when they can truly have time to implement this idea), the losing team will play The International Team in the President’s Cup.
- Then the Winner of that event would earn the right to play the winner of the last Ryder Cup at the next Ryder Cup. A semi-final type concept-now adding great importance to the President’s Cup!
- In order for the Americans to play in the next Ryder Cup, They have to beat the Internationals at the President’s Cup. That should add some true intensity to that contrived event-making it as important as the Ryder Cup. If the Internationals win, then they get to play Europe at the next Ryder Cup!
- I guarantee that 2 out of the 3 teams involved would love this idea. In fact, the only thing holding back this great idea (if I don’t say so myself) is the TV networks and the USGA/PGA whining that Americans not being involved in either tournament would kill ratings. Maybe, but the best and most fair version of golf would take place. It is my hunch, and only a hunch, that only true golf fans watch both the Ryder and President’s Cup. If that is correct, then those same fans would continue to watch, regardless of who is playing.
Finally, and it is a small matter, but it drives me crazy that Mike Weir plays on the International team. For crying out loud, he is a short car ride away from New York. How far away is Mike to Vijay’s house, or Ernie’s house? Florida homes not included! Is it too much to ask to have a North American team? Hell, we are being challenged by so many combined countries, I don’t think adding Canada to our side would destroy golf. Remember, the integrity was challenged when we added all of Europe to the English side years ago. Such a change to the integrity of the game helped golf.
Thank you for your time!
Dan Green
