NAOAGA News
Journalist Andrew Dewson reflects on three days of Humana Figthmaster Cup competition and sportmanship
Sometimes just getting three friends together for a Saturday morning fourball takes all week. So it is perhaps not surprising that when Alan Gentry and Scott Lusk got the Fightmaster Cup ball rolling back in 2004 it would be another four years before a ball was hit in anger. Even in this age of immediate and mass communication, getting 24 amateur golfers, based from Edinburgh to New Mexico, together at the same time and place took more effort than anyone could have imagined.
But it happened. And it was worth every day, every hour and every minute of effort.
The Cardinal Club was a fitting scene for the inaugural Fightmaster Cup - after all, it’s where the man it was named after plays his golf. And if the US Ryder Cup Team wanted some ideas on how to play as a team rather than as 12 individuals, it could have done far worse than send some scouts out to Simpsonville.
In a sense the performance of Team North America in The Fightmaster Cup was a mirror image of recent performances by the USA in the Ryder Cup (although that may have changed by the time anyone reads this!). With Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson the USA has always had better individuals, but the Europeans have played more as a team and so triumphed, at Oakland Hills and The K Club, in crushing style. And it was through team play that the North Americans triumphed in the Fightmaster Cup.
So, as someone who saw more matches than most at the Fightmaster Cup, for me the three best individual players on display were all European. Robert Paul was long and straight off the tee and accurate from the fairway. Despite his singles loss to Laurent Hurtubise on Sunday, with some more improvement Robert could easily become a scratch golfer.
By his own admission, six-time world champion Nick Champness’s radar was off all week, and there is only so long you can scramble effectively, especially when playing 36 holes a day or battling against the tail end of Hurricane Ike. Perhaps he was weighed down by his own expectations, but despite his troubles off the tee and his failure to secure his fair share of points for Team Europe Nick showed bags of class around the greens and with his long irons. It’s clear to see why he has been so successful - if he brings his "A" game next time around the final scorecard could read very differently.
However, there was no doubt in my mind who played the best golf - at 23, Darren Grey was the youngest player on either team, and the only player to win every match in which he participated. Five wins out of five attempts, including three alongside Robert Paul, was an outstanding effort in a losing cause. Without doubt the best 15-handicapper I have ever seen, and if I were a member of Darlington Golf Club I would have a word with the handicap committee before allowing Darren to play in the monthly medal. It would not surprise anyone if Darren were playing off low single digits by the time these teams meet again.
But as Tiger and Phil have discovered over the last few years, the Ryder Cup isn’t about having the best individuals, it’s about having the best team, especially if your big guns don’t fire. And there is no doubt that the better team won The Fightmaster Cup. The North Americans all brought their best game and made key contributions, allowing their captain the luxury of not having to worry too much about pairings.
Tournament golf, team and individual, is all about bringing your "A" game when it counts. Compare the Ryder Cup records of two very contrasting golfers - Colin Montgomerie and Tiger Woods. Monty in a major and Monty in the Ryder Cup are two completely different beasts - it is hard to argue that there has been a more influential or inspirational player in Ryder Cup golf over the last ten or so years. Just don’t mention the majors... while Tiger is arguably the opposite. Team play brings out the best in Monty just as it seems to make Tiger mortal.
Good team play isn’t just about inspiring your own team - it’s also about knocking the stuffing out of your opponents. Watching Steve Day drain two monster putts in quick succession around the turn on Saturday didn’t only inspire his own team - the looks on the faces of European opponents Michael O’Grady and Brendan Swan told another, very different story. Swan’s missed short putt following Day’s 25-footer on the 10th was probably more down to Day than to Swan.
By his own admission, Scott Lusk had not been playing well in the run up to the Fightmaster Cup. Given that Scott is one of "Don’s boys" who grew up just down the road in Guston, Kentucky, and who along with Alan Gentry was one of the driving forces behind The Fightmaster Cup, his own form must have been a big concern. So to not only bring his best golf to the party but to inspire so many of his team was obviously a great delight - and a great relief. His chip in at the short 7th was one of the highlights of the first day and Scott maintained his form throughout the tournament, coming back from 3 down with three to play against Nick Champness in Sunday’s singles to claim an unlikely and well-deserved half.
Speaking of inspiring your own team, no-one more encapsulated the spirit of The Fightmaster Cup than Steve Quevillon, proving beyond doubt that the best player isn’t necessarily the most inspiring. Watching "Stevie Q" get around on his crutches, pick each leg up by hand to line himself up and then hit amazing golf shots was a wonder to behold, and a humbling one at that. His 50-yard chip from the rough to the tricky 18th green in the gathering dusk on Saturday, leaving partner Dennis Ithal a three foot putt to win the game, broke European hearts gathered to watch. If Tiger had hit that shot ESPN would be playing it on a permanent loop... and when the opposition is hitting shots like that, you know it’s not going to be your week.
David Hensley’s amazing sporting gesture - calling a penalty stroke against himself on the 18th green in his singles match against David Waterhouse to halve the match - was another great example of the spirit that the Fightmaster Cup was played in. It would be easy to say, well, the Cup was already won by then, it was an easy call in what was a dead rubber anyway. Perhaps that’s true, but impossible to believe if you had seen any of the matches. It’s also missing the point. These guys wanted to win each and every game, and to sacrifice that chance by calling yourself out must have been heartbreaking. Hats off to David.
It is tough to pick out other highlights from the three days, but this wouldn’t be a review if I didn’t at least try. Some I have already mentioned - Steve Day’s big putts, Scott Lusk’s chip in and the shot of the week, Stevie Q’s sensational approach to the last on Saturday.
There is no doubt that the overall standard of golf was itself a highlight. Like most people, I hadn’t previously seen much one-armed golf, but was truly amazed at the confidence and skill all of the players displayed, off the tee and around the greens. Of course some swings were unorthodox, but the one thing any beginner can pick up from watching The Fightmaster Cup is how still the players kept their heads. Team North America’s Bobby Baca explained: "When you’re swinging with one arm, inevitably the rest of your body moves more than it would with a two-handed swing. That’s why we have to learn to keep our heads so still." Most amateurs, and I dare say even some pros, could learn a thing or two from these guys.
Another highlight was watching Scotland’s Brian Crombie. Or rather that should be listening to Brian Crombie. Born in St Andrews, golf is coursing through his veins and, apparently, through his vocal chords as well. Lee Trevino was once asked why he only hits a fade. He replied: "Because you can talk to a fade. A draw doesn’t listen." Well, Brian made Lee Trevino seem like he had taken a vow of silence, even if his ball didn’t always appear to be listening.
Was playing in 75-mile an hour winds on Sunday a highlight? Well, none of the players will forget it in a hurry so in that sense it was. But the wind was not an excuse for the Europeans, not that any looked for an excuse - both sides were out there in it and the Americans still won the singles convincingly. I was reminded me of a round I played at the wonderful North Berwick course on the east coast of Scotland half a dozen years ago. I played out of my skin in the most benign conditions imaginable, and won with something like 44 stableford points. One of the other competitors remarked, rather snidely, that my score was inflated because I would never get to play the course in easier conditions. "Maybe not, but neither will you," I replied.
David Waterhouse won’t forget his Sunday at The Fightmaster Cup in a hurry - not only was he on the receiving end of David Hensley’s sporting gesture, he also found out that The Cardinal Club is in a dry county on a Sunday. The look of horror on his face when he was told he couldn’t buy a beer after his game must have been a sight to behold, although David was more than happy to retell the story to anyone who missed it. The look also appeared to stay on his face for some time... welcome to the States, David. My wife went to university in a dry county, and not just on a Sunday, every day of the week. Imagine that - sober students.
But for me the wind provided the funniest sight of the week. Two European players, who would probably prefer to remain nameless, insisted on picking up some grass and throwing it in the air before each shot - when tossing a brick in the air would have resulted in it landing fifty yards away. It wouldn’t have been a surprise to see a cow floating across the course on the "breeze"; I half expected to see the Wicked Witch of the North to pass by on her bike. So Nick Champness and Stuart Griffin, if you’re ever playing in a hurricane again, leave the grass alone.
It’s also worth mentioning the contribution of the Canadians to the North American cause. Hearing Steve Quevillon, Laurent Hurtubise and their caddies yacking away in French Canadian was the first time I had heard the language spoken. So what, you may ask - but remember I’m from London, one of the world’s great melting pot cities, where every language under the sun is spoken. Except French Canadian it seems. Regardless, Laurent and Steve were welcomed into their team every bit as warmly as the Danes, Swedes, Spaniards and Germans are welcomed into the European Ryder Cup team.
And in John Getchell, Canada also provided one of North America’s best golfers - not many players "nutted it," as he might say, off the tee as far as John. Klaus Schaloske’s quiet efficiency made him an excellent team player, and even with the Ryder Cup in town there probably aren’t many people who can claim to have played a tournament in Slovakia, never mind led it while playing with only one arm.
So maybe there’s a lesson for the US team members if they keep on losing Ryder Cups - look north of the border. After all, wouldn’t the likes of Mike Weir and Stephen Ames rather tee it up in the Ryder Cup than the President’s Cup?
Aside from Alan Gentry and Scott Lusk, extra thanks must go out to a few people without whom there would not have been a Fightmaster Cup. Tournament officials Drew Conliffe and his assistant, Marty Storch, managed the rules and scoring in impeccable style, with the help of expert referees that accompanied each group of players. The staff at The Cardinal Club looked after everyone involved superbly and provided a course that did the club a great service. Club Pro Chris Hamburger and his staff were spectacular, general manager John Sobieski and his team managed every detail. It’s a superb track, and Tom Musselman, the man behind the club, should be very proud of what he has created and the staff that run it. As home for the University of Louisville men’s and women’s golf team, the Cardinal Club course, as well as the Musselman Center locker room and clubhouse, can’t be bested by many US university golf facilities. And for the Europeans at least, it was a real eye-opener to see the appalling hardships and second-rate facilities American student golfers have to put up with. (British humor, as it were)...
And finally, Karl Schmitt worked tirelessly to make it happen, while at the same time running many of the events Louisville is putting on as host city of the Ryder Cup. He’s been a busy chap. Humana must also be thanked for its sponsorship, without which many of the players would have found it difficult to pay for all of their transport costs.
If I’ve missed anyone out, which I know I have, players included, then all I can do is apologize. It is impossible to put into words the work everyone involved contributed in making the Fightmaster Cup such an outstanding success. But I would be remiss to leave out the two team captains - Don Fightmaster and Malcolm Guy. The Fightmaster Cup wouldn’t have happened without their contributions, and at least in Don’s case it wouldn’t have a name either. Both spent three days exhorting their players to give their best and made fine captains, although for Malcolm it must have been incredibly frustrating to see the North Americans dominate his team which, on paper at least, looked more evenly matched than the scores indicated.
I love golf, if I haven’t already made that abundantly clear. But I’m also aware of the negative perception non-golfers might have of the Ryder Cup, going on just down the road from The Cardinal Club at Valhalla. There is no doubt that the world’s best golfers worked incredibly hard to get where they are - but once they’ve arrived, they become among the most pampered sportsmen on the planet, which is saying something. Playing for the kind of money most of us have only ever seen on a monopoly board week in, week out, rarely putting their hands in their pockets, treated like royalty wherever they go and travelling most of the way first class - it’s a universe away from the lives most of us lead.
But the Fightmaster Cup was played by ordinary people, most of them taking a week’s vacation time to participate and some ending up spending more money than they could reasonably afford. In that sense it was the antithesis of the Ryder Cup and the epitome of what real sport is about - bringing ordinary people together, gathering around the love of a sport most of us pay to play and producing extraordinary results.
So here’s to Wales 2010 and the second Fightmaster Cup. And as Alan Gentry rightly said, the locals had better be ready to be inspired.
Copyright © The Cup Louisville 2008 Host Committee and Louisville Events Inc. (LEI)