by Jeff Skinner
The victory by the American Presidents Cup Team was a real team effort. Each player earned some points but there certainly were some Studs and Duds in Australia. The big winner was the Royal Melbourne Golf Course which was the toughest stud of all.
The Stud of the Week has to go to Jim Furyk and his 5-0 record. He may have had an off regular season but he was money this week. He was 3-0 with Phil Mickelson, 1-0 with Nick Watney and took down course record holder, Ernie Els in singles. And to top it off he’s humble about it.
Super Stud: Hunter Mahan had only one blemish for the week and finished 4-1. His singles match was a cake walk as Jason Day struggled but when Day tried to make some noise he shut him down with a matching birdie to close him out 5 & 3.
Stud: Phil Mickelson cruised through the first three sessions with wins, took Saturday afternoon off and left his game in the team room on Sunday. He looked lost early against Adam Scott and could never recover but his leadership and victories early on show how much Phil loves these events.
Studs: Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson ripped off three quick wins to give the U.S. their insurmountable lead.
Stud: David Toms flew under the radar all week but his 3-1 record qualifies for Stud Status. His Sunday 7 & 5singles win over Robert Allenby was almost painful to watch.
Players: Nick Watney and Bill Haas were left to fend for themselves by Captain Couples and they had mixed results. They halved their first match but narrowly lost to the more experienced team of Ogilvy and Choi. Watney’s win over Choi on Sunday gives him a step up on Haas who lost to Ogilvy in singles. Given the fact they are rookies four points between them is respectable.
Player: Tiger Woods earned two points for the week but after he and Steve Stricker got blown out on day one he played better and better each day. Unfortunately Woods got no help from a struggling Dustin Johnson on two occasions. Tiger was in form on Sunday as he pasted Aussie Baddeley.
Player: Steve Stricker is usually a stud on these teams but he was playing hurt this week. He still managed a respectable 2-2 record.
Dud: Matt Kuchar had a difficult week winning only one match and halving another. A ball striker like Kuch should have fared better on this course.
Big Dud: Dustin Johnson looked out of sorts all week. His short game hurt him and his putting was worse. For such a huge talent and large personality to play so poorly, he has to be viewed as the American’s biggest disappointment.
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