Valspar Championship, Round 3: Leaderboard, tee times, TV times

A Bahamas retreat. Decreasing the overall points played for. Increasing the Captain’s picks. Changing the criteria to get on the team. Playing more together. Infiltrating a European think-tank. Importing a vocal football crowd to Royal Melbourne. These were just some of the suggestions thrown up as the International Team began the post mortem on a lopsided result at Liberty National. Having fallen to the U.S. Team 19-11 to go 1-10-1 all-time in the Presidents Cup the Internationals know they need to blow it up and start again. They’ve lost seven straight. Due credit to Steve Stricker’s team. They are possibly about to start a scary good dynasty in team play. But outside of that, the Internationals need to do more. “We need to just find a way like Europe had to at one point,â€� Captain’s Assistant Geoff Ogilvy said. “For a long time, they were outmatched on paper, but they found a way to be the best team. It forced the Americans into their task force and now they’ve found the formula… and we’re paying for it.â€� It is true that this U.S. Team, with an average age of 31.8 years, is the youngest red, white and blue team in the events history. And that includes a 47-year-old Phil Mickelson. The future looks very bright with the likes of Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger, Patrick Reed, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka in form. “Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler are the best team in the world – but they’re not even the best team in the American line-up,â€� Ogilvy says. “Dustin Johnson is actually the best player in the world right now and he’s probably part of their third best combination. That’s hard to beat.â€� But the International Team was even younger at 30.3 average age. They have young stars at the helm also. They just need the magic European formula. Perhaps a call to Paul McGinley or Jose Maria Olazabal or Colin Montgomerie is in order to ask about the secret sauce. They love beating America. Perhaps they’d love to see the Internationals do the same. Adam Scott, who now has tasted defeat in the last seven Cups, couldn’t hide his disappointment. As a stalwart very likely to make his ninth appearance in his home country in two years’ time at Royal Melbourne he is calling for a collective investment. “Unfortunately, it was a bit of a slaughtering this week but we’ve got to stand up and take our ass-whipping like men and walk out of here with our heads high,â€� Scott said. “Then I think everyone who is involved in the Cup going forward should get together, talk about it, talk about what the United States Team have done the last few years, what the European Team (Ryder Cup) has done in years gone by, and try and come up with something to get our guys a little more invested in it. “That’s kind of the key. The players are really going to have to invest more in this as a group collectively on the off-year, and somehow get better, if we don’t want this kind of stuff to happen.â€� One of the suggestions was getting the top 18 or so players on the standings together in the Bahamas, or somewhere similar, during Ryder Cup week for a retreat. Wives, girlfriends and families could bond together while the players also competed and practiced in team events while also strategizing of what they saw on TV. The bonding part isn’t the issue though, as the team was likely the closest International Team on record. They specifically spent extra effort to come together as one off the course. The boys certainly enjoyed each other’s company. They just didn’t play smart. “We had some new guys again this year, and I think some of that showed up a little bit in all of our strategy on the golf course,â€� Scott said. “It’s not everything, because I think they played better, but when you are playing it every year; they are getting good at it now, and they are breeding.â€� Scott admitted to not making clever choices or being more vocal with teammate Jhonattan Vegas in team play to promote better strategic decisions. It was clear in other pairings also. There was not enough discussion on clubs or positioning or things of that nature. Rather players just assumed the individual would do better making his own choices. Match play though, is always a different beast. Away from the course prospective International Captain Ernie Els foreshadowed some heavy negotiations with the powers that be at the PGA TOUR. In 2015 – after heavy lobbying – Nick Price managed to get the overall points played for down from 34 to 30. He wanted 28. It was a hard negotiation as the TOUR is overseeing the interests of both teams. Unlike in the Ryder Cup, where the PGA of America and European Tour handle their respective sides and venues and set up and criteria etc. the Presidents Cup is run solely by the TOUR. “There’s a couple of things we have to sit down and talk to the TOUR about,â€� Els says. “Format is one, and definitely to get our hands on our business personally to make our own decisions, I think that’s definitely a point that we can discuss. “It’s gotten to a stage now where we have to do whatever we can to try and benefit our team. Whether that is logistics, scheduling, golf course setup… I think we have to be more in control, especially when we have a home-course advantage.â€� Els also voiced his want to see more choice in the selection process. Currently the International Team is picked via 10 automatic qualifiers from the world rankings and two Captain’s Picks. The issue there can be form as the world rankings are based on a two-year rolling cycle and players can be terribly out of form as the Cup approaches. Els is calling for up to six Captain’s picks, or just a revolutionary method of qualification. Perhaps a split points list like Europe where players can either make their way via world points or FedExCup points that are heavier weighted as the Cup approaches.  “The Presidents Cup is owned by the PGA TOUR. They have written down the rules. So to change rules to benefit us; there’s got to be a two-way street going,â€� Els said. “But If negotiations don’t go our way I don’t think the guys want to walk away from the Cup. I think the guys are invested into the Cup. The guys want to play. They want to compete. “We just want to feel that we are being treated fairly and that we get something going our way a little bit. The future of the Cup is important.â€� The next Cup is in December 2019 in Australia at Royal Melbourne – the site of the lone International win in 1998. After hearing the New Jersey and New York crowds in their ears all week, the Internationals are already calling on their fans to provide a hostile environment for the Americans. The Fanatics were very vocal at Liberty National for the visiting team, but in small numbers, were easily out gunned. “Obviously the Americans got a lot of support this week. They were big crowds. It was almost a football crowd. I feel like if we could have that in Australia, that might benefit us,â€� Marc Leishman said. “We have to play better golf. But it is possibly on a course that may suit us a little better. And if we can have Aussie and International fans really roaring like they would at an Aussie Rules or rugby match at everything we do I’m sure that might help gain momentum in matches we were just unable to find this week.â€� There is no doubt the next few months will be interesting in terms of what happens next but the losing side do not want to be seen as sore losers or whiners. Credit where credit is due says Price. “You can always blame and point fingers and say this and that and whatever but to be honest, I think we were simply outplayed this week.â€� It doesn’t take a task force to see that.

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