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Reader's Forum Question: After ending in a 17-17 tie, and having Ernie Els and Tiger Woods remain tied after three holes of a sudden death playoff, the captains of the Presidents Cup teams decided to share the cup. What do you think of this decision? Please note that some of these responses refer to a related commentary that ran in The Wire's November 26 issue. Your Responses: My opinion, for what it's worth, is that the best decision ever, was the one that was made to settle on a tie. Both teams played fantastically and at the end of regular play, the score, being tied, should have remained that way. No playoff! The playoff scene shouldn't have been even considered. This is a TEAM event, and should not be decided by a playoff of one man against another! If a playoff is to be, make it be another whole day of individual matches. That's the only fair way! C. Dzarnowski Absolutely the proper decision - no way should only 2 players out of 24 be the ones to decide a great week of competition like this one!! B. Hill Its a joke... you can't say it to much pressure or unfair for it to come down to Ernie and Tiger, what would have been said if Kenny Perry, or Chris DiMarco, hadn't made their putts on 16,17,18. How much pressure do you think those guys felt, grinding their guts out the last couple of holes knowing the whole thing depended on them. They stepped up, hit great shots, and then find out it was for nothing more than a tie. Then they are told its to much pressure for the next guy.... and thetas unfair to them. The argument that, its a team sport and it shouldn't come down to 2 individuals, just ask Kenny Perry, Chris DiMarco, they were individuals who were affecting the outcome. S. Mitchell The decision to share the President's Cup was perfect... it was the best solution to the darkness problem. Plan B would have been to have a team playoff the next day with 12 guys on each side. Jack and Gary have always been a class act and they continued that with this decision. It was the best decision for the game of golf. G. Konold What a magnificent ending to a terrific week of golf! The world is a bit better off because two captains of golf knew the spirit and fellowship of competition is more important than who wins or losses. In the end, we all won today. T. Neville Fitting for the occasion, both teams played their hearts out. With darkness upon them I think they made the right decision , neither team deserved to lose because of a mistake in reading a putt. Share the Cup and be Proud. J. Beatty A fitting end to a fantastic tournament.Both teams sharing the Cup was the right and equitable thing to do. E. Lalloo Golf should be a game for sportsman (and women) and this match was played in that manner. Couldn't have ended in a more perfect way! Congratulations to both teams and both captains. J. Garland What a great finish to a great tournament. The decision of a tie and both sharing the cup proves once again that Golf is truly a gentlemen (and Ladies) game. Hats off to all the competitors and to the Captains. Makes me proud to be a participant in such a great sport and to have been able to witness such great sportsmanship as this tournament has shown. B. Huish Once again some of the greatest competitors in the world reaffirm the classiness of Golf. I watched a documentary on television last week on sports fighting. One commentator stated that fighting is just natural in sports. That is not true for golf, with the exception of Happy Gilmore, of course. Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and both teams took the high road. I'm proud of them all. J. Neal It was the right decision. R. Blackwell It was absolutely the right decision. I'm surprised that it wasn't made sooner. The rule should be changed: If the tournament schedule is completed and the score is all square, the cup should be shared with the challenger getting it for the first six months and the previous champion for the second. I feel winning in a playoff in that circumstance diminishes the value of the accomplishment for both sides. D. Matzkin Thought it was great decision for all concerned. I do not see using a tiebreaker in such a competition. No tiebreakers are used in matches. If it ends in tie, that is just part of the game. J. McAfee Perfect decision made by two of the classiest men in golf and a tribute to the spirit of the game. M. Thayer The decision to share the title was proper. This tournament was the best that Golf can offer to its fans. Can it get any better? J. Box We expected no less from Jack and Gary....fierce competitors all their professional life but staunch devotees of what is best for golf. The decision is the only fair one.. M. Lavalle Given that the time of day it was,and the light situation the decision was fine with me. I am presuming of course that the players could not stay over one more day to finish it out. Any way it's over and there is another Year. J. Stoddard The right decision. Although ties in sports are usually perceived as nobody winning, this result clearly expresses that everyone is a winner. I am however a bit puzzled by everyone saying how magnanimous Jack was. I clearly remember him saying " Now Gary has to understand that since it is a tie we retain the cup". Thereafter, someone (probably Els) said "then we will play". Only then did Jack get magnanimous. E. Salantrie A magnificent victory for golf and sportsmanship. The ultimate in competition. A true example of what sport really can be at a time when so many other top level sports are tainted. A. Bushell Unfortunately the decision of sharing "The Cup" took the matches from competition to an exhibition. While the captains made an impulse decision as darkness fell onto the links, the decision was from their heart and not according to the prior rules established by the respective committees. Hopefully, the committee will restructure the payoff system to be a team event or like the Ryder Cup when the event id tied "The Cup" stays with the defending team. D. Ballenger My feeling is that the "Playoff" idea took away from the TEAM event. The Ryder Cup is a TEAM event with a very long history. I felt it was unfair to pit the 2 best in the world in a "no-win" position to fail their teammates. Thank God they tied and Nicklaus & Player did the right call. D. John I was totally fine with the decision to end in a tie. They did everything they could to declare a winner on Sunday and couldn't due to darkness. It wouldn't have been fair to make Ernie and Tiger sleep on having to come out and settle something on Monday for themselves, 11 teammates and two captains. Those guys don't deserve that regardless of how good a players they are. My proposed change to settle the tie, since they want this to be different than the Ryder Cup, is to make each team send their last 6 players back out on the course for a shotgun start tiebreaker. In other words, Davis Love and Robert Allenby would have gone to 18, Tiger and Ernie back to 17, Toms and Vijay back to 16 and so forth back to hole 13. Those 6 players play their holes outright, putting everything out. Then tabulate the scores from both teams and a winner would be declared by the lowest score. That way it doesn't fall on one person but over six and it would also play into the strategy of each captains pick's in that you would want your best 6 players at the back of the lineup in case of a tie. R. Cox The game of golf is richer for the decision to share the victory -- the birth to a new tradition of sportsmanship that distinguishes the Presidents Cup from the Ryder Cup. Perhaps the most striking aspect is that golf's worldwide ambassador, Gary Player, and that one of the most competitive golfers of all time, Jack Nicklaus, had pivotal roles in initiating that new tradition. Both teams played as winners. Both teams deserved to win, and a two-player sudden death playoff was not representative of the stellar efforts displayed by both teams. Vince Lombardi aside ("A tie is like kissing your sister."), this competition ended the way it should have ended. If, in the future of this event, winners and losers must be identified, then make sure the process is dependent on a team effort, not the luck or prowess of two individuals. J. Bradley Both the tie-breaking format and the final decision at the President's Cup bordered on the ridiculous. It became readily apparent that the decision to share arose more from the players' unwillingness to adjust personal schedules than it did from an overwhelming sense of sportsmanship. Yes, it would have been a shame for one of the teams to lose after such an exhilarating competition - but that's why they went. If that same mindset were applied to any other golf tournament, how many golf fans would have heard of Bob May? Greg Norman would have numerous majors and a green jacket would have been put on the shoulders of both Mike Weir and Len Mattiace. Sorry, gentlemen. The argument holds no water. Every player on both teams (along with viewers around this country) deserved a conclusion more decisive than "you get the cup for six months, then we'll take it." Viewers were provided with a surreal example of why the Ryder Cup will always be the premiere team event in all of golf - it has a definite conclusion. See you at Oakland Hills where we will witness competition that is friendly, fierce, and finalized. B. Hobson The Presidents Cup attempted to be different than the Ryder Cup by instituting a playoff, a commendable idea. Although their playoff format was flawed, with 2 players representing the entire team, the 2003 Presidents Cup followed through on their premise and started the playoff. Then things went wrong, starting with a late TV start, Tiger and Ernie ran out of daylight, which then crashed into the travel schedules of the 24 players and their charter flights, and the rest is history, or lack thereof, as the Presidents Cup ended up in a meaningless compromise. A rain delay would have been better, at least then the 2 squads would have been compelled to stay through Monday and finish. The suits at the TV network are also open for blame, not anticipating enough time for a lengthy playoff, travel schedules, and so on. And the most important question looms larger, when is the Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup finally going to work out a round robin schedule so the USA team doesn't get burnt out from the annual competitions, this annual flag-wave-a-thon is in need of fixing just like the BCS bowl debacle in college football. T. Johnson I think it was a great idea. Either team could have won.... The sharing of the cup was a very sportsmanlike agreement. R. Crosby Although I agree with both Captains and the members of each team, It would have been extra to see a team of players chosen from each side to play sudden death. i.e. team captains play each other, #2 player from both sides play each other and #3 player from each side play each other for three different holes. P. Allas The two greatest players in the world proved their incredible abilities by each making long "must putts" on their last putts after three playoff holes. The game of golf was the big winner. K. Jacobson Concerning the President cup 2003, Jack and Gary agreed with their share of the final game between Els and Tiger, My opinion is same as done because their honor of the game is definitely maintained not to hurt their competitors. This is the history of no defeat but victory for both of them. This is not ending in a draw, Both of them are the winner for the golf, as I watched with my tear and Samurai spirit. Too enough to make me excitement and moving and the peace of the world. T. Koga This Tournament is and never will be on par with the "Ryder Cup" But I thoroughly enjoyed the Saturday and Sunday Play I watched on Sky television , I thought the end result was a little chaotic to understand But surely a Team game requires a Team result ! Maybe all Team members playing a Par 3 with the best total against Par winning, it would make for good drama for both spectators & TV viewers. Roll On "The Ryder Cup" !! C. Collins The event was mortally wounded by the captains' decision to share the trophy. It was obvious that many of the players simply did not want to remain over the weekend only to have 1 player from each team to play in Sudden Death. It simply wasn't worth their valuable time. T. Green First, it's an exhibition match that proves nothing, so a tie is a fitting end. Second, should the Committee desire a winner, the tie-breaker should be consistent with the team concept; hence, down in the corner of the leaderboard should be a running aggregate score for all the games. Simply total all the games and the team that "dominated" the competition by winning its matches by larger margins is the ultimate winner. Third, it's an exhibition match that proves nothing, but at least it lacks the thinly-veiled ugliness of the Ryder Cup, which should be abolished in order to prove to the world that golf promotes friendship and goodwill. R. Crowley Jack and Gary used level heads in their decision to share the Presidents Cup. The thought of having a twelve member team play off a tie with one member was ridiculous. If a tied had to be played off both teams should take the field the next day. Great tournament. L. Merlano Who are you to criticize what the Captains and all of the Players endorsed - I think the rule has just been changed, and for the better. C. Eskridge One of the few times I've disagreed with your commentary but boy I really disagree. The decision was perfect. Please get off your high horse with the hollow gesture thing. It would have made no sense to continue in the dark and less sense to continue the next day. Captain's agreement be damned! If they agreed to it they can agree to amend it if circumstances dictate. I don't think anyone should be second guessing two great gentlemen, sportsman and competitors as Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. Happy Thanksgiving. R. Dosedlo Jack and Gary both handled the situation with class. The game is bigger than the egos involved. D. Treadaway I think your comments on the outcome of the Presidents Cup is full of "BullShit". These matches were will played and I don't feel that either side should have lost. The President Cup like all other golf tournament are really for TV watchers and this was great from that stand point. If you really believe what you are saying then why don't you work hard to get this tournament off TV and then no one would care. I like many golfers enjoy good competition but sometime we don't want anyone to have to lose when the matches are well played. B. Klevesahl There should not be a tie in this event. V. Havorka Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player should have come back the next day for an 18 hole match to decide the fate of the President's Cup. That way all the players who had big money engagements could leave and the two guys who wanted the wishy-washy tie in the first place could duke it out for their teams. B. Schwartz They should have continued playing until there was a winner. G. Minsky I think it's OK in this case. It is an exhibition after all and everyone agreed to it. I would not feel the same if it was a regular Tour event. N. Wilks I agree with the editorial. The tie was baloney! J. Hartley The decision that was made to share the Cup was the RIGHT decision. It no more broke the rules than returning on Monday with all players participating in some kind of tie breaker. To place that kind of pressure on the shoulders of one player from each team is ridiculous. True, the tie breaking set up should have been changed prior to the start of the matches. It wasn't so the captains did the next best thing. This is a win-win situation. Someone finding fault with that needs their head examined. M. Halicke The decision by Player and Nicklaus was one of convenience......the players did not want to stay, there was money to be made elsewhere. It simply magnifies that these matches are exhibitions for television and not true competitions....competitors give their best until a victor is determined. P. Shabay I believe your scorn while justified is misdirected at the captains. It is the players who make up and event and who decide the public's level of interest in an event by their every thought, action, statement and deed........ if allowed to by the organizers. This is fundamentally where the event is weak. The prevailing US cultural attitude is one of not caring about anything international The players (firstly) let their own public and the traditions of the game down by not insisting on continuing the playoff on a simple short exciting (nearest) par three. Worse still the organizers let their own event go downhill with such poor planning. As far as I am aware, sundown is a highly predictable event, perhaps with sunrise the most predictable in this world ... G. Cornish How disappointing: they should have finished the playoff. J. Learman Great finish to a great golf match. A. Keller A team event should not be decided by individual players. If there has to be a playoff, all team members should be involved.One solution would be, to have the same pairings play a par three( ie.# 17) and the wins or losses totaled. It wouldn't last more than one hole, and everyone would be a part of the playoff. J. Hutchinson As much as the Presidents Cup is for the players, it is certainly for the fans as well. In the case of the Ryder Cup, everyone knows how a tie is handled and have planned their itineraries with this in mind. Both Tiger and Ernie should have planned their agendas so that the Monday was open for them to complete a full 18 hole playoff. I'm sorry, but these guys are spoiled, especially Tiger!! M. Hammond
Opinions expressed in Reader's Forum are those of the individual letter writers and not of The Wire, its staff or its editorial board. Letters are edited to remove spelling and grammatical errors where possible, and The Wire staff reserves the right to edit for space. |