Final Thoughts on 2011 Presidents Cup

As the 2011 Presidents Cup is now in the books (USA 19, Internationals 15), the world was treated to an exciting exhibition event that included most of the world's best players on quite possibly the toughest golf course on the planet. I have shared my thoughts on the first two days of the Cup over the past few days, so I figure I will wrap everything up with my final thoughts on the 2011 Presidents Cup from Royal Melbourne in Australia.  Just to get this out of the way, Tiger Woods was pretty much a disappointment throughout the week. While he would eventually sink the Cup-clinching putt for the Americans on Sunday, the former World #1 went through a nasty two-day stretch where he only won 1 hole in team play. In fact, his play was so irradic and inconsistent that the phrase "former World #1" just seems silly nowadays when referring to Woods. Still, it was somewhat nice to see him actually smiling at the end of a tournament.

Jim Furyk was by far the MVP of the Presidents Cup for the Americans. He went undefeated throughout the week (5-0) and made a ton of clutch putts and solid iron play to hold off any opponent(s) he faced. His pairing with Phil Mickelson turned out to be an ingenious move by American Captain Fred Couples, and is definitely one I would like to see again in a Ryder Cup.

Adam Scott played solid throughout the week even when his partners seemed to let him down on a regular basis. While I have no doubt that caddie Steve Williams offers Scott a new way to manage golf tournaments, the buck stops there as far as I am concerned with Stevie. Scott is a tremendous talent that is on another upswing in his career, which will hopefully yield a major win or two in the near future.

The team of Ernie Els and Ryo Ishikawa was simply fun to watch for most of the event. It honestly reminded me of a father playing golf with his son in the respect that Els was showing the young superstar 'the ropes' in front of the world. A trial by fire, so to speak; and the young Ryo responded. His clutch putts in days two and three were awesome to watch for the International team, and the reactions by Els was just as cool to watch.

Bill Haas and Charl Schwartzel. Well. Thanks for showing up, I guess?

Royal Melbourne was repeatedly compared to Augusta National throughout the week. This obviously did not bode well for Greg Norman. Oops.

A great event all around. The course showed its teeth often and in an array of different ways, often changing throughout the day and in-between morning and afternoon sessions. Play was exciting, and the prime time coverage was an awesome compliment for the weekend.