Why the Price was right

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Anirban Lahiri was dirty on himself. Sang-Moon Bae was near inconsolable. Jason Day had had a week to forget in a year he’d otherwise bottle for life. Adam Scott was cut deep, emotionally wallowing in the pain of a sixth consecutive defeat. But in those first few moments after the heartbreaking loss in the 2015 Presidents Cup in Korea the International Team captain Nick Price proved – for the 1000th time – why he is the man for the job again this week at Liberty National in New Jersey. Price told Lahiri, who had missed a four-foot putt that could have clinched at worst a tie, and Bae, who had chunked a chip trying to win the now tying point, that they would never face pressure like that again in their lives. He lifted the world off their shoulders and tried to place it on his own. He shifted the focus and told the pair it was their first crack at the event and they would get another chance and be better for it. It wasn’t lip service. While Bae was not in the mix this year thanks to leaving the game for military service, Lahiri was one of Price’s captains picks. There were five players ahead of him on the points list but Lahiri got the nod. Price believes in his man. And in return, Lahiri and the rest of the team believe in him. “He’s a player’s captain. The boys usually rally around him. When he talks, everyone shuts up and listens,â€� Day says.  Showing the brave face in Korea can’t have been easy. After taking over from Greg Norman for the 2013 Presidents Cup, the former world No. 1 Price came into the job ready to rumble. He’d played on five International teams, including the only two successful ones. A win in 1998 and draw in 2003. But what he found was a sense of defeat before the competition had even begun. The players liked to represent their countries but just felt like they were on a hiding to nothing given the 34 points they played for. With nowhere to hide the depth of the International Team was being severely tested. For context – Lahiri is the 68th ranked player in the world this week, the lowest mark of all 24 players involved. Phil Mickelson sits at 30th in the world, the “worstâ€� of the Americans. All up, there are currently 34 American players ranked higher than Lahiri in the world. So, the disparity had made life hard on the International Team and the mounting losses had affected morale. Price had already begun campaigning for a points reduction prior to 2013. When his team fell 18.5-15.5 at Muirfield Village despite a rousing effort in singles where they began six points in arrears, he really ramped it up. He called for it publically in the post mortem press conference. He then spent every effort he could pleading his case with the powers that be before having success. In 2015 they played for a total of 30 points and bar those late mistakes an “upsetâ€� would have transpired. Not only had he worked his butt off to get the change, but he had learned from his first trip out and focused heavily on team unity and comradery in the lead up. Price affected more change also. Now there are four Captains Assistants on the books of both teams allowing someone to cover each match during team sessions. “Americans play every year under their own flag. We don’t have that, but Pricey has made everyone feel like we are under the same banner,â€� Day adds. “He has us together. He has us wanting to fight for the guy next to us as well as for ourselves. And that’s huge.â€� In the reception after the loss in Korea, Adam Scott stood up to thank their captain. It was expected to be his last go around at the top and gratitude was in order. It wasn’t a prepared speech. It wasn’t fully polished. But it was emotional and powerful. “Adam was incredibly kind to both my wife and I, because I think they appreciated the amount of time that we put in,â€� Price recalled of the night. “This wasn’t something that we took lightly. We put in a lot of time and effort into this, and so that was what made me feel so good was I think the boys recognized that. “It’s a time‑consuming thing, but I think the guys understand the passion that I have for the Presidents Cup, and I want to pass that passion on to the other guys.â€� By the time Scott was winding up the speech he made a point to say he wanted Price back again in 2017. The players hadn’t planned it or really spoken of it but to a man they started to bang their fists on the tables in agreement. Their cheers grew more raucous. Glasses were raised in toast. It was clear, Price was their man. “Nick is such an incredible guy. It’s been documented his entire career. An amazing champion, an amazing competitor,â€� Scott says. “He’s a very relaxed guy. He can make anyone feel comfortable around him, and that’s important for all players on the team.â€� Scott was also extremely impressed in the no stone unturned strategy improvement from Price from 2013 to 2015. It was evident Price had spent many late nights planning from the moment they left Ohio in 2013. “He learned so much from doing it the first time on how to manage his team, have a strategy, get the team to embrace it,â€� Scott adds. “It just was a different level for me when he was in Korea than the time before and the captains before that. “He really had a great plan and executed it. When we didn’t execute on the course, he had a backup plan for us. He was really prepared, and I think he led so well.â€� And so, Price left Korea finding positivity in his efforts. He thought about the Ryder Cup in the early 1980s when Europe came close to winning and the late Seve Ballesteros called it a victory because they were finally competitive. Perhaps Price is overseeing the changing of the guard. With the 2019 Presidents Cup heading to Royal Melbourne in Australia, the International team is quietly confident the trend could continue to shift towards them. There is a real hunger to get the Cup now. A hunger that had dwindled with each drubbing they’d taken. But this International Team is inspired to not only win for themselves, but also for Price. “He will be the first guy who should get to touch the Cup if we win it,â€� Day says. “He’s earned it.â€�

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