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Lucky Men at The Presidents Cup

As the Presidents Cup teams head home to add their team golf bag and other paraphernalia to their trophy room I can’t help but think that the Americans were blessed with a bit of luck this past week.

The old saying goes “I rather be lucky than good” and these three men should be thankful for a little bit of luck they shared at the Presidents Cup.shake 2

First off is our man Phil “The Thrill” Mickelson. Now, by all accounts Phil had a great week on the course (3-0-1) and in the team room. He kept the team loose and made sure the Americans had plenty of fun.

But Phil nearly did in the American team with his knucklehead move during Friday’s fourballs. He purposely used a different and “firmer” golf ball to try a squeeze a few more yard on the par five. After teeing off with it he then decides to ask if the “one ball rule” is in effect. Oops.

Of course that is when things went sideways and he was incorrectly told he was disqualified from the hole and picked up. Zach Johnson went on to lose the hole and then the Americans were penalized another hole for the rules violation. So the Americans went from all square to two down in a matter of one hole.

To their credit Phil and Zach fought back to halve the match and instead of thanking the golf gods Phil zings the Internationals by saying their best team couldn’t beat him even when they were spotted a two hole lead.

Maybe it was ego or maybe Phil thought that half point wouldn’t matter and in past history he was right. But on Sunday as the Internationals mounted their comeback and drew within a shot or two of winning the cup Phil should have been thinking back to his bonehead move. He was a lucky man.

Bill Haas spent all season trying to earn his way onto his dad’s Presidents Cup team. He fell just short and finished eleventh, one spot short a guaranteed spot on the team. His selection by his dad was justified by his standing on the points list and there was little controversy in it. Jay Haas’ selection of Bill was certainly justified in my eyes.

But as this week went on I thought Capt. Haas may have been blinded by a father’s natural perception that anything his son does is just slightly better than reality.

The elder Haas sent Bill out in Friday fourballs with Chris Kirk and he proceeded to lose by making zero birdies. He missed plenty of short putts which may be construed to mean he was feeling the pressure. He didn’t have his best game.

But that didn’t stop his captain from sending him right back out again on Saturday morning in foursomes with Matt Kuchar. They were able to earn a half point but Bill still could not manage the pace of the greens and his putts were coming up just short.The Presidents Cup - Round Three

Granted there are many considerations when a captain fills out his lineup but it is on Sunday that Jay Haas may have been pushing his luck.

He named Bill as his final golfer to head out in the anchor slot to battle with the local hero Sangmoon Bae. It could have been his thinking that the cup would be decided by then and Bill’s point would be moot. Maybe he saw his son through a father’s rose colored glasses and pictured him winning his match to claim the cup and earn his place in Presidents Cup history.

But when asked why Bill was last he rambled on about trying to get certain match-ups early and it coming down to just Matt Kuchar and Bill for the last two slots. Really? Shouldn’t there been a bit more thought than that?

So here’s my issue with Jay’s decision. Kuchar and Bill were both a less than stellar 0-1-1 heading into singles. The anchor spot holds a certain bit of responsibility and honor as the last and possibly very critical slot. Nick Price put his local star out last in Bae.

If the breaks fall the other way and Bill actually has to finish on the eighteenth to win the cup and he fails it would look bad for the the captain. Jay tried all week to treat Bill like just another player and for the most part he did. But as things played out having Bill anchor the singles may have been pushing his luck. He was a lucky man.

Now Bill Haas is being hailed as a President Cup hero as the clincher of the cup. And Sunday worked out great for the former FedEx Cup Champion.

Bill is a great guy and I have had an affinity for him since I saw him blasting balls as a young, skinny kid at the U.S. Open. But Bill was a lucky man on Sunday.

Bill hadn’t sank a putt of consequence all week until he canned a 35 footer at twelve on Sunday. Maybe that was enough to get his confidence back and maybe he finally figured out the speed of the greens.

But on Sunday when Anirban Lahiri missed his four footer against Chris Kirk the Americans had secured at least a tie for the cup. Now it was the final match of Haas versus Bae that would determine if we saw a victory for the Americans or a shared cup.

Here is where Bill got lucky. He hit three shots on the last hole and he did make a fine blast out of that bunker for his third. But he never had to make a putt.

Bae’s chunk of his third did the Internationals in. If Bae manages to hit a decent chip both he and Haas are on in three and it’s a putt off for the tie for the cup.

But Bae’s second chip ran far past the hole and he knew all Haas had to do was two putt form five feet. Being the sportsman that he is Bae conceded the hole, gave the point to Haas along with the cup and took Haas off the hook.  bae n haas shake

If Haas has to make that five footer and missed it his and his father’s legacy from this cup is significantly different.

Young Bill would be the man that couldn’t make a putt to win the cup and dad is the captain that put his son in a position he didn’t deserve.

They say every shot makes someone happy on the golf course and Bae’s flub was lucky for Bill. He never had to putt and for that is was one lucky man.

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