Huggan On Weir Selection

John Huggan is so excited about the President's Cup, he actually wrote about it and loves the International selection of Mike Weir, a Canadian who loves his country so much he lives in the predominantly Mormon province of...Utah.

Quoting Captain Gary Player:

"Mike, as we know, won the Masters and has been a very, very good player throughout the years, a very, very good match player," babbled Player, who clearly had no idea that he was talking about a man who, four up on the 15th tee, lost the last four holes to Australian Geoff Ogilvy in last year's World Match Play Championship at La Costa. "Mike is a terrific competitor, a real fighter."

Yet again, that assessment has little basis in reality and more to do with the diminutive Weir's lack of inches because, as we all know, every little guy (see Player himself) just has to be a "battler," especially in head-to-head match play. Then again, maybe not. The Canadian, it should be noted, has only once made it through more than one round in the aforementioned WGC Match Play, a record that hardly commends him as a "fighter" or a man to fear when holes, not strokes, really count.

Plus, the numbers don't lie. This year the former Masters champion has but two top-ten finishes in 19 PGA Tour starts, lies 84th on the money list and his statistics are off the charts.

Driving distance? 110th.
Driving accuracy? 89th.
Greens in regulation? 155th.
Putting? 64th.
Scoring average? 54th.
World ranking? 46th

Comments

[Tuna]

Geoff, you live in the showbizz capital of the world,
right?

Why is the selection of Weir bothering you? You know what this is all about in the end. Player made the decision that needed to be made.

As for Huggan, I would imagine a lot of Euros wish that the PC would quietly go away.

[John]

Huggan's got some chutzpah attacking Weir's game, when the European Ryder Cup side has featured such legends of the game as Pierre Fulke, Philip Price and Thomas Levet. But I agree, it's obvious that the Euros really, really, really, really REALLY hate the President's Cup. Which makes me embrace the event just a little bit more, honestly.

[Wayne]

As a Canadian, I would not pull for the Internationals if a Canadian player was not on the roster. I would be neutral. Why would I pull for a South African over an American? But with a Canuck on the squad, obviously that makes a difference. I think Player had to put a Maple Leaf on the team just for the fan support.

[Hawkeye]

We Euros don't hate the President's Cup, we just don't really care about it. Plus, it seems to derail the yanks' competitiveness in the real thing - we've won five of the six Ryder Cups that have been played since the Prez came along in ´94. Whether or not there's a true connecion I don't know.

[Tim]

Being a Canadian living in England, I'm only partially biased, but what is Weir's record in the competition. He was their top player in one or two of the past tournaments. Woosey didn't pick Darren Clarke last year because of his world ranking, or Monty, but look at their record. I hope Mikey doesn't crash and burn, and I think he'll at least score .500 as he always has.

[Kerry]

Geoff,
Taking a shot at where Mike lives is cheap.
Canadians understand he works predomitely in the US. Secondly, he could not live in peace in Canada. The demands and invasion of privacy would be distracting. Not to mention what his kids would go thru at school here.
Gretzy, our other great athlete is in the same situation, he can visit, but living here would be very difficult.
It seemed a very "bad-Amercian" moment for you Geoff.

[Ronald Montesano]

Do Canadians understand that Kerry cannot spell or type, or both? Canadians DO care that he lives south of the border, Kerry.