Golf

U.S. discovers team spirit

By BOB HARIG
Published September 27, 2005

Tom Lehman might as well go ahead and pencil them in now.

Tiger Woods - Jim Furyk . Phil Mickelson - Chris DiMarco .

American players might grumble about the Presidents Cup and how having to play it and the Ryder Cup every year is a detriment. But this time, the competition against an International team from outside of Europe produced a couple of huge positives.

Not only did the Americans get a much-needed victory Sunday, they found a couple of teams that worked well.

And why wouldn't they work next year in Ireland against Europe in the Ryder Cup? Lehman, the U.S. Ryder Cup team captain, has half the puzzle figured out.

Woods, who has been surprisingly ordinary in both the Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup, went 2-0-1 playing with Furyk, including victories in the better-ball competition in which he had never won at the Presidents Cup.

Mickelson went 0-5 at the Presidents Cup two years ago and was the subject of criticism at last year's Ryder Cup, where a pairing with Woods the first day turned into disappointment. But he went 3-0-1 with DiMarco, who clinched the Cup for the Americans when he won his singles match over Stuart Appleby with an 18th-hole birdie.

"I would say that there is a pretty good chance that Captain Lehman will put us together," Mickelson said. "We really jell well as a team, and it's hard not to jell well as a team when you have somebody rolling in every single putt and hitting the ball fabulously."

The four players who emerged for the United States did not have the best of records coming in. Before this year, Woods' combined record in the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup was 15-18-2. Furyk was 11-15-2. Mickelson was 15-20-5. Only DiMarco, at 4-4-1, did not have a losing record.

This U.S. team also did something Lehman will have no control over: it won the 18th hole. So many times in previous Cup competitions, the Americans could not get it done at the last hole.

"The 18th hole this week won us the matches," U.S. captain Jack Nicklaus said. "You've got to be able to play the last hole and finish the event, and believe in yourself, and believe that when you get to the next level as an individual, you can do it again."

"That's why I'm so happy about it. It really elevated every one of these guys so that the next time out, they will believe in what they can do."

REMEMBERING ARCHER: George Archer , who won the 1969 Masters, died Sunday after a yearlong battle with lymphoma. He was 65. Archer, who was 6 feet 51/2 and appeared awkward hunched over a short putter, was nonetheless one of the game's best on the greens. He won 12 times on the PGA Tour and another 19 on the Champions Tour, which is tied for 10th best. He had a memorable duel with Jim Colbert at the local Champions Tour event, now known as the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. The tournament moved to the TPC of Tampa Bay for the first time in 1992 after four years at Tampa Palms and Archer and Colbert ended up tied after regulation. It took four extra holes before Colbert prevailed.

MOVING UP: Dunedin's Bob Heintz had his best finish of the year, a tie for fifth at the Texas Open, earning him $133,000. He moved from 201st to 172nd on the PGA Tour money list with $292,517. Heintz now needs to focus on getting inside the top 150, which would give him some status for 2006, along with the ability to get unlimited sponsor exemptions.

PRESSEL ADVANCES: Boca Raton's Morgan Pressel took care of business in stunning fashion, shooting 63 Friday during the final round of a sectional qualifier for the LPGA Tour. The score helped her finish among the top 30 and advance to the final qualifying in Daytona Beach in December. Pressel had been hanging around the cut line for the first three days, then shot the best score of the week by three strokes. Had she failed to advance, she could have taken advantage of another sectional qualifier next month in Venice. That is where Brooksville's Kelly Lagerdrost will have to go after missing by one stroke. Pressel, 17, is still an amateur and will turn pro if she makes it through qualifying.

[Last modified September 27, 2005, 02:45:31]