Monday
Aug132007
With All South African Family Friends Already Qualified, Player Tabs Weir To Ensure President's Cup Exhibition Status
Convinced that his 2005 selection of No. 22 points man Trevor Immelman vaulted the family friend rising star to even greater success, International team captain Gary Player expects to boost gate receipts resurrect the career of Mike Weir by adding him to the President's Cup team.
Mike, as we know, won the Masters, and has been a very, very good player throughout the years, very, very good match player. Even though he didn't finish in the Top-10, you know, it's a different story when you're playing match play and medal. And Mike is a real -- he's a terrific competitor. He's really a fighter, and I've got tremendous confidence in him. He's a wonderful -- you couldn't ask to have a better team member than Mike. If you don't put him in, he doesn't sulk. If you put him in, he always says he's willing to play anybody. As a captain, you know, it's always a difficult position because you can't satisfy everybody, even though you're trying your best. But he is a terrific team member.
And being played in Canada, if we didn't have a Canadian in the team in my team and playing in Canada, I can assure you in my opinion only, the series would be quite flat amongst the Canadian people. Mike is a hero in his country, deservedly so. And I'm sure the Canadian people are going to be relieved, because I continuously had questions every week: "Are you putting Mike, are you putting him in?" And I said, we have to wait till the end obviously.
Jack Nicklaus rounded out the American squad with Lucas Glover and Hunter Mahan. I'd make a joke, but the state of American golf just isn't very funny anymore.
Monday, August 13, 2007 at 09:25 AM
Reader Comments (25)
Don't be so hard on the old guy, Geoff. :)
Besides, I'm sure neutral parties (initials T.F. and T.V.) may have provided helpful counsel in the matter. :)
Love that quote by Nicklaus.
I said I wouldn't watch this thing, but I might be compelled to if Woody flips out and does something awful. :)
Ames was born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago and is of English/Trinidadian Portuguese descent, and much of his family resides in the Caribbean.
I would guess that the PGA Tour asked the nets to list him as from Canada (where he has since moved) in an attempt to hype up our friends north of the border, in the event that Weir didn't make the team. But I would guess that's a pretty tough sell...at least tougher than Weir is.
I agree...Ames is a much better pick from a competitive standpoint...but that isn't really what the branding of the Presidents Cup is all about, is it?
But I agree he's a hero, and they should get him in there. I'm just not sure Ames should have been passed up. Nick O'Hearn was chosen instead...
http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/245778
And I'd love to see Tiger & Woody Austin in a four-ball...
I would have picked Allenby, Romero, Baddeley, Pampling, or Tim Clark ahead of both Weir and Ames.
Yes, all of those would have been better, I was just thinking like Gary Player and assuming you had to take at least one Canadian to get people to show up! Not that Ames is really Canadian!
almost as good as Lucas Glover!
Agreed,based on season's play neither Weir nor Ames
should have made it.But if one had to be picked - and,
politically,one did - Mikey has the lock on the vitally
important endorsement file up here.
However, it goes deeper than that. Weir is far and away a bigger golfing hero in Canada than Ames could ever be. The President's Cup in Montreal is probably going to be the most important golfing event in Canadian history. For months, Weir's name has been plastered all over Canadian media in conjunction with publicity about the event. It just makes sense to have Weir on your team, and give the home crowd a big rooting interest in your team which may lift the other team members, too. So from that standpoint alone, choosing Weir was also the best choice for the team as a whole.
Besides, Weir is a good player. He'll lift his game for the PC, watch and see.
Mike is a national hero in Canada, and the Montreal crowd will now be jazzed in their support of the Cup matches. Without Weir, there would not only be little fan excitement, the Tundra writers would be blasting Gary, Finchem and George Bush for not including a local, eh?
Stephen Ames might have filled the quota for a Canadian, but he's not nearly as inspiring as the little lefty.
Ultimately, it's a good branding positioning leveraging synergy thingy.
Weir should play every session, and the crowds will root crazy mad for him AND his partner.