"To say it was one of the best match in the 116-year history of the competition would be hyperbole, but it certain was entertaining."

Without television covering the finish, most of us were left to track the all-star U.S. Amateur match between UCLA's Patrick Cantlay and Georgia's Russell Henley via Twitter, and based on the accounts and enthusiasm, it was one for the ages.

Ryan Herrington with some of the highlights:

* Over the course of 21 holes, the two made 13 birdies and two eagles, offset by just four bogeys.

* Three different times they halved holes with birdies, the two shooting matching 68s before going to extra holes.

* Just three times all day did a par win a hole.

"It was the craziest match I have ever been a part of," said Cantlay, a 19-year-old from Los Alamitos, Calif., who'll start his sophomore year at UCLA next month. "If you told me all that stuff would have happened the way it did, I wouldn't have believed you."

Sean Martin said the emotions of the match were summed up by the sight of the normally stoic Cantlay fist-pumping, as caught by J.D. Cuban's camera (above).

Cantlay’s run at Erin Hills looked like it was going to end Thursday. He was 2 down with two to play after Henley holed a 16-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th. Both players came up short on the par-4 17th. Cantlay holed his straightforward chip, and Henley was unable to match.

Henley found trouble with his tee shot on the par-5 18th and had to hack out of the fescue. Cantlay had just 6-iron for his second shot, two-putting from 20 feet to extend the match.

When Cantlay won the 21st hole, it was the first time he led the match since the fourth hole.

Randall Mell said it was a heavyweight fight.

Walking to the 11th tee, Henley’s nose started bleeding. He looked like he needed a cut man more than a caddie. He played five holes with a napkin stuffed into his right nostril.
“I got hit in the nose twice in high school playing basketball and ever since, when it gets dry, it seems to start bleeding,” Henley said.

This match was everything it was hyped to be even if it felt as if it came too early in the week as a second-round showdown.

Friday's Round of 16 includes another standout match: Cantlay vs. England's Tom Lewis. Bill Nichols notes that in the final 16 are defending champion Peter Uihlein and Dallas's Jordan Spieth.

Couples On Picking Tiger: "He's the best player in the world forever."

An unbylined AP report was the first to report Fred Couples' answer to a simple question at the Boeing Classic: Tiger's one of his two Presidents Cup picks. Here's the exchange:

Q.  A question on The Presidents Cup.  Do you talk to Tiger ever?  You mention that you'd like to see him play.  Where does that stand as far as your thoughts on it?

FRED COUPLES:  Yeah, well, I mean, it stands where I told him that he's going to be on the team.  I kind of told ‑‑ the question came up, and there's no reason for me to wait until September 26th to pick Tiger.  He's the best player in the world forever.  I mean, you guys ‑‑ is he playing well right now, no.  He almost won Augusta three months, four months ago, so you don't do that by playing poor golf.

Jason Sobel shreds Couples for the decision to add Woods and also suspects the PGA Tour is happy with the selection.

By picking Tiger – who ranks smack dab between Kevin Na and D.A. Points at 28th in the current standings – Freddie won’t necessarily afford his team the best chance to win, but certainly ensures the competition will receive more attention than had he selected any of the aforementioned players.

And therein lies the dirty little secret about the Presidents Cup.

While the Ryder Cup is a storied, ferocious rivalry between country and continent, its less embattled younger cousin is more about pomp and circumstance, professional golf’s version of a hit-and-giggle festival at your local country club.

Don’t believe it? Just ask Lanny Wadkins, who once said of the Presidents Cup, "Why would I want to travel halfway around the world to play a bunch of guys from Orlando?"

Farrell Evans also suspects "The Man" got to Couples, but he still criticizes the choice in a letter to the Captain.

I get nepotism, cronyism and all the ways that we help out our friends and family. But what I don't get is why you would pick a guy who has been hurt for most of the year and who has played only eight PGA Tour events and had two top-10s.

Do you want the players to resent Tiger more than they already do? Golf is supposed to be the ultimate meritocracy. So what do you say to Mark Wilson and Keegan Bradley, who have both won twice this year, if you leave them off the team? One of those guys is not going to make the cut.

Two-And-A-Half Minutes Of Your Life You Won't Get Back: Dustin Johnson Dresses Up In A FedEx Uniform

This is painfully awkward on so many levels.

Warning, this is only for terminally ill readers seeking ways to prolong their lives.

Update on 2011-08-24 21:53 by Geoff

**Apparently a copyright claim was issued by FedEx and the video will be back tomorrow for those of you devasted not to have been able to watch it.