A golf lover's Nirvana
Brad Morgan
20 November 2003
Okay: I under-estimated just how big the Presidents Cup is on the sporting map. It's impossible to miss the excitement the event is generating around the world. Surfing the Internet, I come across story after story, angle after angle on the competition between the International Team and the United States taking place near George in South Africa from 20 to 23 November.
It makes me proud to be a South African. Who wouldn't be, with four fine golfers representing South Africa in the event? It's not just about the prowess of Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Tim Clark and Gary Player on the golf courses of the world, it's about them being such fine role models too.
Then there's the Fancourt Hotel, Country Club and Golf Estate - you could not ask for a more beautiful setting,
or a better golf course for the Cup.
Gary Player designed The Links. It's a par-73 course that plays long and has what fans of the game want to see for match play competition: testing holes that reward well-executed, risk-taking shots, but punish anything that is wayward. On many of the holes the question is asked: Do I try a long iron into the green or do I lay up short and pitch?
Blessed by the Golden Bear
It's not just about Fancourt, either. It's also about its surrounds. It is a magnificent part of South Africa, with spectacular scenery that begs for wide-angled lenses on cameras.
But don't take my word for it, because the greatest golfer in the history of the game, 18 times major winner Jack Nicklaus, has given it his blessing. The man known as the Golden Bear reckons the Garden Route will become one of the best golf destinations in the world.
The golf courses that already exist are stunning, but Nicklaus feels the area
could be developed even more, with attention paid to the area's natural offerings.
Then there's the intrigue, the excitement, the anticipation of two golfing juggernauts going head-to-head as the International Team and the USA give it their best shots.
The Americans boast slightly better world rankings, while the Internationals, arguably, boast the more in-form players. Ernie Els says the course should favour the USA, but Jack Nicklaus has labelled the International Team the favourites.
It's another chapter in the great battles between Nicklaus and Player. Could the South African have a slight edge over his long-time rival because he designed the course?
Who will face Tiger?
Then there are the pairings. The big question for the Internationals is, no doubt, who will face Tiger Woods. The South African public would love to see Ernie Els tackling the Tiger, but Vijay Singh, who produced 18 top-10 finishes on the US PGA Tour in
2003 (more than anyone else) as well as four victories on his way to winning the money title, is a man who has shown he is unafraid to meet the challenge of the world number one head-on.
But it goes so much further than that. Take a look at the other players in the line-ups. They include US Open winner Jim Furyk, four-time winner on the US PGA Tour in 2003 Davis Love III, three-time winner Kenny Perry, the classy Nick Price, the ice-cool Retief Goosen, US Masters champion Mike Weir … the list goes on and on. It's enough to get any golf fan drooling.
Come Sunday 23 November, late afternoon, the result will be recorded in history. By the time the Presidents Cup is over, I have no doubt that golf will have more fans and South Africa will entice more visitors to the country's lovely shores. Maybe some of them will make it a golfing holiday…
Presidents Cup schedule:
Thursday 20 November
10am: opening ceremonies
1pm: first round (foursomes - 6
matches)
Friday 21 November
7am: 2nd round (fourball - 5 matches)
1.10pm: foursomes - 5 matches
Saturday 22 November
11.30am: third round (fourball - 6 matches)
Sunday 23 November
12 noon: final round (singles - 12 matches)
Closing ceremonies - approximately 30 minutes after close of play
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