Can Captain Jack drive a Ryder, too?

By: MARC FIGUEROA - Staff Writer | Wednesday, October 3, 2007 12:06 AM PDT ∞

Golf is fickle. We all know that. But when unpredictability can almost be predicted, you just know something is wrong.

Nothing was wrong when the U.S. team had its way with the Internationals in a 19 1/2 - 14 1/2 Presidents Cup victory over the weekend. But after winning for the fifth time in seven events, one has to ask: Why can't the boys in red, white and blue have the same winning formula in the Ryder Cup?

Jim Furyk, who has played on every U.S. Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup team since 1997, doesn't believe anyone should read too far into it. There's no magic potion, he says.

"I think that whole 'on paper' thing is kind of a farce," he told reporters before the matches started Friday at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Quebec. "One team goes out and plays better. It's pretty simple, really."

Furyk may not believe in hocus-pocus, but it's hard to accept that the Americans' consecutive nine-point defeats and five losses in the last six Ryder Cups is strictly a result of poor play, bad breaks and just plain dumb luck.

It's no secret that golf giveth and golf taketh away, but how can two international events with roughly the same U.S. team members produce such opposite results? Surely it's no accident.

The biggest factor, I believe, is Jack Nicklaus.

The U.S. captain in four Presidents Cups -- including the last three -- the Golden Bear has had the most impact on the outcome in the event's 13-year history -- player or captain.

The reason? Players simply love playing for the man. They respect him, they look up to him and they love winning for him.

"To say you played for Jack Nicklaus ... they can't take that away from you," Stewart Cink said in a story that appeared on the PGA Tour Web site. "He says something to you, and you listen. It's special. And you find yourself thinking you'll do anything to win for him because of what he means."

No offense to Ryder Cup captains, but I can't see anyone saying that about Paul Azinger, Tom Lehman or Hal Sutton.

Nicklaus is the godfather of golf. No other captain has the same kind of influence on superstars like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Nicklaus' tactics are simply to let the players do what they do best. He doesn't over-coach or give major pep talks or come up with contrived activities to generate team unity. Football coaches do that, and some Ryder Cup captains have been guilty of it too. Golf doesn't need cheerleaders, and Nicklaus knows it. His presence is enough.

When determining the pairings, he doesn't go into X's and O's to size up which duo will match up best with the other side. Under his guidance, he lets the players pick who they want to be paired with, a strategy that creates a comfort zone among his team. It certainly eases the tension.

"The thing that I've noticed between the Ryder Cup and here is Jack (has an approach that) is very much, 'Guys, do what you want to do, have a great time, tell me who you want to play with,' " Scott Verplank, who led the U.S. team with a 4-0-0 record, said in a press conference before the competition. "I hadn't particularly noticed it being that simple in the Ryder Cup."

Nicklaus is one of the game's great ambassadors, and he treats the Presidents Cup not as an intense competition, but almost as a goodwill exhibition. And that may be his smartest tactic of all.

Back in 2003 when Nicklaus and International team captain Gary Player chose to accept a tie and share the Presidents Cup for the next two years, I disagreed with the decision. At the time, I thought depriving the fans of a true winner was taking the easy way out. But watching Nicklaus these past few Presidents Cups has made me realize how wrong I was to think that way.

When Mike Weir and Woods were battling down the stretch in their Sunday singles match, Nicklaus said, considering the electric atmosphere, he was rooting for a tie. For Nicklaus, it's all about how you play the game, not whether you win or lose. His approach is so simple, yet so powerful. And in the end, he still wins.

You can make the argument that the Americans' Presidents Cup success isn't just about the presence of Nicklaus. The makeup of the competition obviously plays a role.

In the Ryder Cup, the European team always has a chip on its shoulder that's easy to rally around. Made up of mostly players from the European Tour, many players may feel they have something to prove to players on the PGA Tour, the world's No. 1 golf circuit. There's a cohesive us-against-them mentality that can fire up a team.

The International team, on the other hand, doesn't have that. Guys like Vijay Singh, Stuart Appleby and Weir may hail from different parts of the globe, but they live in the United States and are full-time members of the PGA Tour.

It's hard to imagine Argentina's Angel Cabrera and K.J. Choi of South Korea, who teamed up in Saturday's fourball competition, having much in common. Two guys who don't even speak the same language may find it tough to forge the same rallying cry as the Europeans.

It's a point worth considering. But in the end, Jack Nicklaus is the reason why the U.S.is ruling the Presidents Cup right now. Just crown him all-time captain for all professional American international teams and be done with it.

-- Marc Figueroa covers golf for the North County Times. E-mail him at marcfig@aol.com. The Golf Gallery appears every Wednesday. Birdie

U.S. Presidents Cup team

The boys went about their business and beat the International team to improve to an impressive 5-1-1 in the Presidents Cup. Although Mike Weir got the best of Tiger Woods in Sunday's singles matches, the U.S.squad set the tone in team play, winning 14-of-22 team matches to put the contest out of reach.

Bogey

U.S. Ryder Cup team

How come this same bunch of guys can't get it together when they face the Europeans? Tiger and the gang actually looked like a team this weekend in Montreal, something that never happens in Ryder Cup years -- at least not recently. Why is that? Maybe Jack Nicklaus just needs to be permanent captain for all pro U.S.international golf teams.

Buildup to Barona

With the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship at Barona Creek Golf Club just one month away, the chase is on to make the 60-man field.

The top 25 players on the money list at the end of the season earn full-time exemptions for the 2008 PGA Tour season. Miguel Carballo is currently in the No. 25 spot with $162,679. Torrey Pines grad Todd Demsey is currently No. 48 on the money list. San Diegan and former Ryder Cup player Chris Riley is No. 56 and in jeopardy of missing his hometown event, set for Nov. 1-4.

Roland Thatcher, who has won twice this year, leads the money list with $401,632.

Surfer girl

Danielle Frasier isn't a surfer, but the La Costa Canyon High sophomore now has two eight-foot surfboards to call her own. The surfboards are the "trophies" she earned for winning the Lady Triton Invitational the last two years, including her victory Thursday at San Clemente Municipal Golf Course.

Frasier, the 2007 San Diego Junior Golf Association player of the year, shot an even-par 73 to win by one shot.

"You would never think you would win a surfboard from golfing," Frasier told the Orange County Register.

The tournament brings together some of the top high school golfers from Orange, Los Angeles and San Diego counties.

Chip shots

+ Oceanside's Ajay Shah and Michael Szedlacsek of Temecula both earned spots in this week's Mark Christopher Charity Classic through Monday qualifying. Shah, playing at the PGA of Southern California Golf Club in Beaumont, shot 67 and was one of seven players to advance. Szedlacsek shot 66 at Yucaipa Valley and was also one of seven players to advance. The Nationwide Tour event starts Thursday at Empire Lakes in Rancho Cucamonga.

+ Membership applications are now being accepted for the Future Champions Golf Challenge Tour, a new junior tour in San Diego set to tee off Dec. 15-16 at Carlton Oaks. The tour, open to boys and girls under 18, is primarily for more advanced players and will hold tournaments on many of the county's more difficult courses. For registration information, call Chris Smeal at (619) 339-2377 or go to www.futurechampionsgolf.com.

-- Marc Figueroa