Long-suffering Els, Scott
get sweet smell of success
SAN FRANCISCO -- Not to overwork the Bard – well, what the hell. Let’s go ahead and overwork him. An upset by any other name couldn’t smell any sweeter than this one – Ernie Els and Adam Scott beating Hunter Mahan and Sean O’Hair in alternate-shot matches of the Presidents Cup Thursday.
Necessary to understanding the grins on Els and Scott is the knowledge that each has been a mere shadow of his former self. Succinctly put, Els is the former Big Easy from South Africa, who came back from knee surgery and then limped around even more noticeably on a frazzled game. And Scott, once bubbly when he was considered the Australian answer to Tiger Woods, is now a weary-looking 29. Spinning one’s wheels can leave tracks in the countenance. Worse yet, Scott got on this International team not through points earned from the way he’s been playing but as a captain’s pick, meaning that International captain Greg Norman, Florida-based but forever an Aussie, was taking him on a pure hunch. And perhaps with the strains of “Waltzing Matilda” stirring in the background.
And for opponents, Els and Scott drew no less than two of the more promising prospects on the PGA Tour. O’Hair, who keeps flirting with victory, did pull in the Quail Hollow championship this year, the third of his career. It was a lofty thing, coming as it did against a classy field on a tough course. He’s a rookie in Presidents Cup play. Mahan, a pick of U.S. captain Fred Couples, with one Pres Cup to his credit (a 2-3-0 performance), also flirts with winning, and has the distinction of missing only one cut in 24 starts. He’s won once on the tour, that in 2007. If the British betting halls were taking bets on this one, it would be a no-brainer: Don’t bet the limpers.
And lo, the limpers combined for a 2 and 1 victory, salvaging their part in time to leave the U.S. with a narrow 3 ½-2 ½ lead (each match counting one point). And when was the last time you felt like that?
“Probably last year,” Scott said. His miseries aren’t on any hospital chart. They’re on his record for 2009. In 19 PGA Tour starts, he missed a whopping 10 cuts, and six of those in a row. A skid like hardly means little trouble. As for winning – and the seers predicted a lot of them for him – his last was early in 2008, and he did win another in ’08 on the European Tour. Els also won in ’08, after a four-year dark spell.
Scott and Els went 1 up with a modest par on the first hole, and the match went to all-square on the U.S. birdie at No. 2. From there, the Internationals led the rest of the way, if by the skin of their teeth for nine holes from No. 7.
At the par-4 16th, Els put Scott in great position with a 311-yard drive, and Scott returned the favor by flipping a wedge from 72 yards to 18 inches. The Americans conceded the birdie and were 2-down. Then at the 17th, Scott holed a birdie putt from over 4 feet to close out the match.
“Any victory is important,” Scott said, “but personally, for me, it feels great. But more important, we need it for the team because things were looking good early on, but some matches were turning around and we really needed this one.”
Els also was much relieved. “I missed a lot of birdie putts,” Els said. “Adam hit it so good today. I had so many birdie looks, but I couldn't quite make the putts. If I make putts, it could have been over long ago, probably should have been over three or four holes ago but we had to make some par-saving putts. I had a great partner and obviously a great pick.”
This success has to be kept in perspective. It didn’t mean total liberation or even near liberation for the two sufferers. Any high feelings have to be tempered by the knowledge that in alternate shot (also known as foursomes), you take turns hitting one ball. So each guy can get into a mess only half the time. Not to oversimplify.
Nevertheless, after all that time in the swamps of unrewarded effort, this little thing has to count for something.
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