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Strategy move Tiger plays his best when he's focused, or ticked off. He hasn't make a big deal about the silly comments from Rory Sabbatini, but he hears them. So if I'm the captain, I try to get Tiger and his partner into every match against Sabbatini and his partner, and I have Tiger play Rory in singles. I like Tiger's chances to go 5-0. Sorry about that, Rory.
Top six singles matches I'd like to see
1. Tiger Woods vs. Rory Sabbatini: The mouth of the south against the king of the hill.
2. Tiger Woods vs. Nick O'Hern: Let's see if this Aussie really is made of kryptonite.
3. Phil Mickelson vs. Mike Weir: The most popular golfer in the game (sorry Tiger) against the most popular man in Canada.
4. Zach Johnson vs. Angel Cabrera: The Masters champ against the U.S. Open champ.
5. Steve Stricker vs. K.J. Choi: A rematch of their back-nine duel at Westchester in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
6. Stewart Cink vs. Stuart Appleby: No reason, really, except fans would be able to yell "C'mon, Stuey!" without upsetting anyone.
Most likely guest appearance (not counting the former President Bush, who's sure to show up since he still hasn't found a job) Potential future First Spouse Bill Clinton, hoping to bump into Canadian babe Shania Twain.
Second most likely guest appearance: Wayne Gretzky All those great hockey players are hooked on golf.
The MVA (Most Valuable Architect) Rees Jones, known as the Open Doctor, has also made Royal Montreal one of his Rees's pieces. His changes to Dick Wilson's design? He turned the par-3 12th into a downhill par 5 and the par-5 13th into a par 3. In designer lingo, that's called wife-swapping.
Best place to have the next U.S.-based Presidents Cup Castle Pines, the former host of the International tournament. Its collection of dangerous par 4s and reachable par 5s would be the perfect stage for match play.
Captain's log Captain Jack Nicklaus and his let's-have-fun style could help relax the Americans, who normally pucker up in the Ryder Cup. Captain Gary Player brings a nonstop flow of positive energy that is nothing short of inspiring. Edge: Tossup
Biggest surprises Stricker has played too well for too long to be considered a Cinderella or even a surprise, but look for him to have a big week. He drives it in play and is a great scrambler, the kind of guy you hate to face in match play. Ditto for Scott Verplank, who won the 2001 Canadian Open at Royal Montreal... The International team's surprise stars will be Weir, who will rise to the occasion, and K.J. Choi, who is probably the top gun for his team. Choi is a surprise only because of the language barrier that keeps the public from learning too much about him. If golf had another Big Five (and it doesn't), he'd be in it.
Sing, sing, Singh Players from seven countries will be competing (Australia, Canada, Fiji, South Africa, South Korea, Argentina and the United States). The best national anthem you'll hear at the opening ceremonies belongs to Canada. Give yourself double bonus points if you recognize Argentina's anthem. If you don't, well, don't cry for me.
