Making the best of it

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Adam Scott’s golf bag waited for him on the practice tee as he signed autographs before his round. About to tee off against Si Woo Kim, Daniel Berger doubled over on the first tee not with nerves but with laughter at one of the songs by the Fanatics. (One of them went acapella on “Eye of the Tiger.â€�) Patrick Reed, waiting on the first tee to start his singles match against Louis Oosthuizen, got a chuckle out of the “12-0â€� sign in the stands and motioned for the yellow-clad sign-holder to flip it upside-down, as in “0-12.â€� (Oosthuizen won 1 up, making Reed 0-1-1 in Presidents Cup singles.) The Presidents Cup is never supposed to be life or death, and neither team treated it that way Sunday, for obvious reasons. The U.S. Team needed to win just one point in 12 singles matches, and while the International Team won the day 7.5-4.5, that only made the final tally 19-11 in favor of the Americans.   There was suspense, if you can call it that, around whether Jordan Spieth would finally win a singles match. He did not, losing 2 and 1 to Jhonattan Vegas to go 0-3 in Presidents Cup singles. Dustin Johnson, trying to become the sixth player to go 5-0-0, was thwarted as he and Branden Grace halved their match. Oh, and Kim shushed the crowd, his index finger up to his lips, after making a birdie putt at the par-4 11th hole. That was fun. Berger, though, would beat Kim 2 and 1, pushing the U.S. Team’s point total past the 15.5 required to win, making it official as a cigar-chomping Charley Hoffman chased him around with champagne.   For a game day, Sunday’s vibe was relaxed. The only thing missing, perhaps, was Phil Mickelson starting the wave around the eighth green, as he had the day before. The International Team came out with something to prove, namely that they belonged on the same golf course as the Americans, and they did that. They were huge underdogs from the start, and everyone knew it. The U.S. Team, historically dominant, was on form and would have the crowd on its side. What could you do? Assistant Captain Geoff Ogilvy was among the Internationals who wore a New York Yankees cap during Thursday’s pageantry, with Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama in attendance. “You do what you can,â€� Ogilvy said with a bemused smile. International Captain Nick Price also did his best to enjoy the ride, and at least won the interview room. Early in the week, when a reporter’s cell phone rang as Price huddled with his assistants to set their lineup, Price popped his head up and said, “I’ll get it!â€� Later, when the U.S. Team had taken a 14.5-3.5 lead, he enjoyed a chuckle when U.S. Captain Steve Stricker was asked about complacency. “Tell your guys not to panic,â€� Price said, bringing laughter. But there were poignant moments, too. “This one’s going to sting,â€� Ernie Els said as he and his wife, Liezl, waited for players to come down the 15th fairway late Saturday. The cold wind whipped, and fans, assistants and wives crossed their arms in front of them, some in ski hats, many scooched together on the backs of golf carts. It will be left to Els, the presumed captain for the International Team that will take on the U.S. at Royal Melbourne, Australia, in 2019, to pick up the pieces after this loss. As points continued to accrue, national debt clock style, for the Americans, players and assistants from both teams fought the urge to rush to Price’s side with hugs and hot chocolate. Ever a good sport, he wore a yellow Fanatics cap as he watched the singles matches Sunday. His reign now ends after three losses, to U.S. Captains Fred Couples (Muirfield Village, 2013), Jay Haas (Jack Nicklaus G.C. in Incheon, South Korea, 2015) and now Stricker. The U.S. Team’s 18.5-15.5 victory at Muirfield led to a format change, trimming the number of matches from 34 to 30. It was meant to bolster the Internationals, who traditionally lack depth, and it seemed to work. The 2015 Cup came down to the anchor match, Captain’s pick Bill Haas beating local hero Sang-Moon Bae 2 up to give the U.S. the 15.5-14.5 win before his dad/Captain, Jay, broke down in tears. It was storybook stuff. The narrative at Liberty National, alas, took a different turn. The intrigue surrounded what songs would be sung. (“Jason Day, all my troubles seem so far away…â€�) And the tension came down to whether the Americans would clinch a day early. That they did not was due to Anirban Lahiri’s two late birdies, including a left-to-right breaker on 17 that even Jordan Spieth said was almost impossible. The match ended in a rare International W when Hoffman and Kevin Chappell gave Lahiri (and partner Si Woo Kim) his 4-1/2-foot par putt on 18. “I think it’s the spirit of the game,â€� said Lahiri, who halved his singles match with Kevin Kisner. It was left to the Internationals to look for such smaller victories in the blowout. Price appeared to be on the verge of tears as Els, sitting next to him Saturday night, came to his defense. “This guy deserves a lot of credit,â€� Els said. “It’s been a very tough week on him, obviously. We played an exceptionally well organized, very talented group of players, and they were on.â€� In the end, there would be no more eloquent epitaph than that. Yes, Stricker admitted, it would be odd to contest 12 singles matches Sunday with the Americans needing just one point. But players from both sides would keep grinding, PGA TOUR pros being a competitive breed and none of them wanting to lose, ever. Sure enough, while Scott signed autographs before his singles match against Brooks Koepka on Sunday (Scott won 3 and 2), Reed didn’t join him. Nor did Mickelson, even if one of those who asked for his signature was 1983 Sony Open of Hawaii champion Isao Aoki. Where did this U.S. Team rank relative to other great teams throughout history? Price paid due respect but said it was hard to tell, as the Americans were never tested. In any event, Els has a lot of work to do. He said he was already planning to huddle with Price and review what worked, and what didn’t, and begin to consider how the Internationals might regroup. Stricker, meanwhile, was done pulling the strings, though he admitted that as the week wore on his job was simply to get out of the way. Asked if this was the strongest U.S. Team he’d seen, top to bottom, he said it was. The licking at Liberty National was a bravura performance, the 12-man, four-day equivalent of a 59, but the event, he added, would go on. It always does.

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