From left: Sungjae Im, Tom Kim and Min Woo Lee for a brief moment on Monday at Royal Montreal.
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MONTREAL – Talk turns to Sunday, even though it's now Monday. They are playing advanced golf, but the conversation is about soccer.
About Tom Brady. The GOAT-turned-TV-analyst seems to still be dominating the conversation, even if he's throwing out nouns and verbs now, rather than pigskin. Or at least TB12 did here, on the 12th green of Royal Montreal, as four Americans prepare for the start of the Presidents Cup on Thursday, pitting America against the best in the world outside of Europe.
“Did any of you catch what Tom Brady said yesterday?” said caddy Ted Scott, whose employer, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, is currently scrubbing golf courses to the same level that Brady once did his defense. Scott then continued his anecdote about Brady's thoughts on Sunday's Dallas Cowboys-Baltimore Ravens game, and laughter followed from Scheffler and Sam Burns, Scheffler's teammate this week and close friend.
The takeaways here are few. For one thing, Brady at least gets people to sing, whether or not he's worth nine figures is a debate to be debated on another web page. This is, of course, a golf article. And the thought in golf is that the quick back-and-for gave a look at the Scheffler-Scott dynamic, which should not be underestimated in the rise of the pro – and that the attitude of the American seemed to be easy on Monday, when the spectators were limited to different officials and a few journalists.
Including this one, you hope to give 17 more considerations next week in the following sections.
In Brady's words, let's go!
2. If you go into the history of this event, know that the American team has won 12 of the 14 games of the Cup, lost once and tied once. However, this impressed me. It is the second time Royal Montreal has hosted, following 2007, when Tiger Woods was defeated in Sunday's singles by Mike Weir, this year's captain, in Weir's home country.
Two years later in the Presidents Cup, and 15 years ago now, Woods and partner Steve Stricker then defeated Weir and partner Tim Clark in a match – where Woods wrote THE club twirl on his way to close things out, which you can watch below.
3. More history!
And in the event of 2007, during the four-ball match on Friday, while trying to drive the 4th hole 14th, Woody Austin hit his shot in the water on the left of the green, this happened on his second turn – again. aka Aquaman:
4. You will hear about the shooting this week.
On Monday afternoon, Golf Channel analyst Johnson Wagner was scouting the area, and then attempted the swing later in the day, which you can watch here. He was great at recreating images in live air.
5. Right after Wagner looked at the place, the writer did it. It's a climb.
The water was warm though.
6. MORE History!
Only five Americans – Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Tony Finau, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele – were on the 2021 team that won the Euros in the Ryder Cup.
The following year, LIV Golf took off in a big way.
7. It will likely be talked about this week how US captain Jim Furyk and international captain Weir feel about the PGA of America's recent announcement that LIV players can be selected for the US team.
The Presidents Cup, of course, is played by the PGA Tour – which has been in a three-season battle with LIV.
8. Should the Presidents Cup be a mixed event? US Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis thought so.
“To be honest, I would like to see the President Cup mixed,” he said two weeks ago. “It is the perfect way to bring these two tourists together. The international team will improve very quickly.
“I think it would be amazing to have two tours together like that.”
Tour Confidential: Presidents Cup preview, LIV Golf changes and more
GOLF Organizers
9. If you are wondering if the issue of paying for last year's Ryder Cup match will continue, know that the players will not be paid for the President Cup.
Here is the official wording, from the Presidents Cup website, in the “frequently asked questions” section:
“The President's Cup is an international team competition held every year between the United States and an international team representing the entire world outside of Europe. The contest alternates between US and overseas locations. The President Cup is a unique golf event in that there is no purse or prize money. The players are not paid for their participation, but the contestant gives an equal share of the proceeds to the charity of their choice. Since the Presidents Cup was established in 1994, more than $56.4 million has been generated from the event's profits. Over the past 25 years, the President's Cup has impacted more than 475 charities in 18 countries around the world. Cognizant and Rolex are global partners of the Presidents Cup. “
10. On that note, below are Cantlay's thoughts on this year's outfit.
11. Speaking of clothes, Keegan Bradley's caddy, Scott Vail, was asking Scheffler about his shoes as he walked after the tee shot, making one touch to follow Scheffler's slide.
Scheffler also assured him that the grip on his shoes was good.
12. If you want to read about the President's Cup, Furyk has been on fire in this article since. Golfweek's Adam Schupak.
13. Also Golf Digest Shane Ryan makes the case in this article here that the Presidents Cup will one day be bigger than the Ryder Cup.
14. Here's how Min Woo Lee is a rising international star.
15. Here Sahith Theegala is America's top star.
16. Here's hoping that Max Homa will come out.
In case he, assistant captain Kevin Kisner promised to take off his tea, two weeks ago at the Solheim Cup.
17. So who wins this?
Our Tour Confidential team has their say here. At odds, as of Monday afternoon, BetMGM has the US at -250, and the Internationals at +260 (and the odds at +1,400)
Me? There is no guesswork here. But if you believe in the depth of talent, the world ranking will tell you that it favors the Americans (US: Scottie Scheffler, No., 1; Xander Schuaffele, No., 2; Collin Morikawa, No. 4; Wyndham Clark, No. . Patrick Cantlay, No. 9, No. 23, and No. 37, Corey Matsuyama.
If you believe in the benefits of homeschooling, that should fall into the international curriculum. The Canadian Open is every year a party. This Thursday through Sunday should be a highlight.
18. On that note, the Avis rental car stand on Monday at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport was full of outbound vehicles. The reason the cashier told the poor soul ahead of me in line:
“A golf tournament.”
19. Bonus!
Once you get here, and you love your Montreal, tell me where I need to eat. Give me your info at [email protected].
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