Finchem Rolls The Dice on Presidents Cup
Battling a lack of time, and enthusiasm, Tim Finchem launches the Presidents Cup
On this week’s journey through the past, we go inside the planning of the first Presidents Cup and the campaign to enlist player support for the new international event. Scroll down to learn more about how the new commissioner, Tim Finchem, with very little time, organized and promoted the event. Next week, we will cover the action inside the ropes at that first Presidents Cup.
I did most of the work on this week’s Tour Backspin while on the road. I was in Oakland to do some more work on the Tony Lema documentary movie and in Alameda for the Lucious Bateman Foundation fundraising tournament at Corica Park Golf Course. We’ll be writing about the Bateman Foundation, the tournament, and Corica Park in an upcoming article that will first be sent to our premium subscribers. Consider upgrading for access to our premium content.
The PGA TOUR was in wine country, in Napa at Silverado, for the Procore Championship where Patton Kizzire returned to the winner’s circle for the first time in six years. He did it with the help of a new mental coach. Scroll down to learn how and I provide a few of my thoughts, as well as the Clips You Might Have Missed.
We’ve got a question for you to weigh in on with the Tour Backspin Poll. This week’s Music Clip features Oasis doing “Cigarettes and Alcohol” live in 1994, and Tour Backspin Goes to The Movies, has the trailer for “Pulp Fiction” in 1994. Scroll down to listen and watch.
Peter Jacobsen talks about the swing of John Daly in the Swing Like a Pro feature. You should be able to figure out the WHAT HOLE IS IT? Presented by Rota Golf this week and then you may just win a golf swag prize pack. Rota Golf has a cool way to map out your bucket list journey of playing the top 100 courses in the U.S. We’ve got some links for you in the Check it Out section and an ad about a new cable TV network coming in 1995 with a 1994 Vintage Ad. Scroll down to view.
Last week we wanted to know if you planned on watching the Procore Championship or football and there were 43% of respondents who planned on watching both utilizing the modern technology of recording the golf broadcast. There were 36% of respondents who planned on watching football because their team is still in it, and 21% of respondents admitted to being a sicko who watched all they golf they could during the weekend.
How do you feel about the comparisons between the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup? Let us know in this week’s Tour Backspin Poll.
We’re playing Presidents Cup Trivia in this week’s Tour Backspin Quiz. Scroll down to play.
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Okay, we're on the tee, let's get going.
Enjoy!
Larry Baush
Tim Finchem Faces Immediate Challenges Upon Taking Over as Commissioner
Tim Finchem, Deputy Commissioner of the PGA TOUR addressed the press on Wednesday, March 2nd, 1994, and teased a new international team event christened The Presidents Cup matches. Finchem detailed that the new matches would be a contest between 12-man teams consisting of players born in the United States versus players born in international nations excluding those from Europe who made up the Ryder Cup team. The Presidents Cup matches were designed to replicate the Ryder Cup matches giving international players the opportunity to compete in a team format event.
Finchem announced that the goal was to conduct the first matches later in the year, on September 16th through the 18th at a course to be determined. The matches would be televised on ESPN and CBS. CBS had lost the rights to broadcast NFL games to the Fox Network, who would begin broadcasting games in the fall of 1994, so they had a convenient “broadcast window” that the matches could fill.
“If it’s done the right way, if the best players play, it’ll enhance the Ryder Cup.”
On Wednesday, April 13th at the MCI Heritage Classic in Hilton Head, Finchem held another press conference and updated the plans for the inaugural Presidents Cup matches that would be played at a Washington D.C. area course in September. Finchem wanted to stress that the Presidents Cup matches would enhance the Ryder Cup matches, not detract from them. The Presidents Cup would be played in alternating years with the biannual Ryder Cup matches.
“Nothing in the last 10 years has been more important in golf than the Ryder Cup,” Finchem said. “Players from around the world have not been able to play that format before. We don’t see this as competition with the Ryder Cup, but rather enhancing the Ryder Cup. No one wants to detract from the Ryder Cup.”
“It’s a made-for-TV event, that’s all it is.”
Brad Faxon, a member of the PGA Tour policy board, said, “If it’s done the right way, if the best players play, it’ll enhance the Ryder Cup.”
Even so, Faxon acknowledged that U.S. players were unsure of the new event.
“If it doesn’t get the support from players like Fred (Couples), (Tom) Kite, and (Davis) Love (III) . . .” he said as his voice trailed off.
Faxon’s fears came to fruition when Fuzzy Zoeller said, “It’s a made-for-TV event, that’s all it is.”
Finchem was certain that TV would propel his new event forward asserting that the networks had pushed the idea of the international matches for three to four years.
“We think it’ll make for excellent TV,” he said at the press conference in Hilton Head. “We anticipate substantial airtime. We want the exposure in the U.S. and around the world we think this deserves.”
“It’s going to be a full-court press, but I think we can do it.”
On Wednesday, April 20th, the selection of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, MD, as the site for the upcoming matches was announced by Finchem. The short runway to September posed many logistical challenges including the infrastructure for the broadcast, ticket distribution, and what sort of role would President Bill Clinton would play.
“It’s going to be a full-court press, but I think we can do it,” B.P. Russell, president of the Jones Club said.
On Monday, May 9th, Finchem was named commissioner of the PGA TOUR and on Wednesday, June 1st, Finchem took over the reins from Deane Beman. He spoke with the press at the Bruno’s Classic, a stop on the Senior PGA Tour (which became known as the Champions Tour until October 2022 when it became known as PGA Tour Champions). His main talking points were increasing purse sizes on both the PGA TOUR and the Senior tour, and his desire to change IRS rules concerning corporate sponsors of tour events. He did not mention the President’s Cup matches, even though Hale Irwin was named the captain of the U.S. team the previous week. Australia’s David Graham was named the captain of the International squad at the same time.
Players came out of a meeting with Finchem in the summer with generally favorable opinions about the new commissioner as he came across more favorably than Beman. While still focused on the IRS rules, as well as allegations from the FTC concerning the tour’s practices regarding player releases and rights, the details for the Presidents Cup still needed to be ironed out and finalized. And then he also had to deal with the dumpster fire that John Daly had become culminating in Daly getting into a scuffle with the parents of a fellow pro at the World Series of Golf in Akron, OH in August (see this week’s Bonus Story below).
“What happens if the U.S. keeps winning the Ryder Cup but loses the Presidents Cup the next couple of times? How important then is the Ryder Cup?”
The September issues of Golf Magazine and Golf Digest previewed the matches. Golf Digest, in their preview written by Frank Hanigan, lauded the depth of the International team that featured Greg Norman, Nick Price, David Frost, and Ernie Els. Hanigan also pointed out that the candidates for the American team, “have been notably restrained in expressing their enthusiasm” for the event and wrote that if the players lose interest after the inaugural event, it could take on the feel of a spring training, intra-squad game in baseball and if that happens, “it will go away.”
Golf Magazine pointed out that a handful of American players gave some thought of passing the matches but that by the time of going to press it appeared that there wouldn’t be any no-shows. Still, the lack of player enthusiasm for the event was still obvious. Davis Love III, Tom Kite, and Scott Simpson all expressed concerns about the new event diluting the importance of the Ryder Cup.
“What happens if the U.S. keeps winning the Ryder Cup but loses the Presidents Cup the next couple of times?” asked Simpson. “How important then is the Ryder Cup?”
Simpson also expressed that he would have no problem turning down a selection to the team.
“A lot of guys don’t want to be the first to pull out,” he said. “But I wouldn’t have that big a problem turning it down. I’ve always been a rebel.”
The preview also pointed out that some of the players had schedule conflicts, most notable the Japanese players Jumbo Ozaki and Tommy Nakajima who were scheduled to play in the ANA Open on the Japanese Tour, as was American Corey Pavin.
“I don’t want any player on my team who has reservations. This is a commitment.”
Davis Love was the picture of ambivalence about changing his schedule for the matches saying, “I cancelled a hunting trip for that week, and I wish I hadn’t. I’m not against the Presidents Cup, but I’m not excited about it either. It’s not a threat to the Ryder Cup; the only question is, why have it at all?” He appeared in ads promoting the event two weeks later.
Team captain Hale Irwin was adamant about having players who wanted to play in the matches.
“I don’t want any player on my team who has reservations,” he said. “This is a commitment.”
“Their attitudes will change when we beat them.”
Some players on the U.S. side were excited to play in the matches including Jeff Maggert.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Maggert said. "My goal is to make the Ryder Cup team, and this should be a good learning experience for me and the other younger players. It’s a chance to possibly fail and learn something, whereas at the Ryder Cup you can’t fail—it’s do or die.”
The International players were very enthusiastic about the matches, especially since they could not play in a Ryder Cup. David Frost had the solution to getting the U.S. team more motivated for the event.
“Their attitudes will change when we beat them,” he declared.
The U.S. team was finalized at the conclusion of the World Series of Golf, the last qualifying event for the Presidents Cup, on Sunday August 29th at Firestone Golf Course in Akron, OH. Scott Hoch and Fred Couples secured spots on the team with high finishes at the WSOG and joined Tom Lehman, Corey Pavin, John Huston, Jeff Maggert, Loren Roberts, Jim Gallagher, Davis Love III, and playing captain Hale Irwin. The players were selected through a points system. Paul Azinger, coming back from his bout with cancer, was named the non-playing assistant captain while Jay Haas and Phil Mickelson were named alternates.
The International squad, chosen from the Sony World Rankings included Greg Norman, Peter Senior, Steve Elkington, Craig Perry, and Robert Allenby, all from Australia; Nick Price and Mark McNulty of Zimbabwe; David Frost of South Africa; Frank Nobilo of New Zealand; and Vijay Singh of Fiji.
“They’ve seen how much money the Ryder Cup has made over the past few years, and they think they can produce a second Ryder Cup. I don’t like imitations.”
The first week of September, Seve Ballesteros threw some gasoline onto the fire concerning the Presidents Cup versus Ryder Cup comparison.
“I think it is bad, very bad,” the Spaniard declared. “There’s only one Ryder Cup. I think it’s all business and money more than anything else. They’ve seen how much money the Ryder Cup has made over the past few years, and they think they can produce a second Ryder Cup. I don’t like imitations.”
One bit of bad news for the event was the sidelining of Greg Norman on the Tuesday of the week of the event due to gastrointestinal ailments. He was replaced on the International team by Bradley Hughes, also from Australia. The loss was disappointing to the International team, but also to the U.S. team.
“I think all of us were chomping at the bit to have a shot at Greg,” playing captain Hale Irwin said. “Anyone wants to play against the best.”
The sand had run out in the hourglass and it was time to get the inaugural Presidents Cup underway. Tim Finchem had done all he could as far as preparations, promotion, and recruiting support from the players, and it was time to see how his dream of an international match-play competition would play out.
Next Week: We take you inside the ropes and cover the action at the 1994 Presidents Cup.
BONUS STORY
Even before Tim Finchem took over as commissioner of the PGA TOUR on May 9th, 1994, he had been working on the planning of the Presidents Cup. This new international team competition pitted a team from the U.S. and an international team made up of players who were not geographically eligible to compete in the biannual Ryder Cup competition. The Presidents Cup was modeled after the Ryder Cup using the same match play formats and would be held biannually in alternating with the Ryder Cup.
As depicted in the feature story, the matches were scheduled for the middle of September leaving Finchem little time to complete the preparations. But this was not the only headache Finchem faced as he took the commissioner’s seat. To steal from “The Sound of Music,” he had a “how do you solve a problem like John Daly” challenge.
The problem started on Deane Beman’s watch as the former commissioner suspended Daly for three separate incidents during 1993. The first occurred at the Kemper Open in May when Daly, upset with his score of 77 in the first round, threw his unsigned scorecard at the scoring tent and was disqualified. Later that year at the Southern Open, he walked off the course without informing his playing partners. At the Kapalua International Open, an unofficial PGA TOUR event played at the end of the season, Daly again walked off the course in the middle of a round. The final straw came when allegations of spousal abuse arose and Beman handed down a suspension that included the first months of the 1994 tour season and Daly entered alcohol rehab.
“You’re an asshole. Why were you hitting into me?”
After returning to the tour, Daly again landed in hot water. In August, at the NEC World Series of Golf at the Firestone Golf Club in Akron, OH. in the final round, on the 14th hole, Daly hit into the group in front of him which included Jeff Roth, a club pro from Michigan. Roth was addressing his ball in a swale and Daly’s ball landed three feet from Roth. On the next hole, Daly’s approach shot rolled up onto the edge of the green while Roth was putting.
Earlier in the week, Daly had a confrontation with the caddie for Greg Norman for hitting into their group. Andrew Magee and Daly had a confrontation during Saturday’s round over the same thing.
After shooting an 83 on Sunday, Daly was confronted by Roth in the parking lot.
“You’re an asshole,” Roth said. “Why were you hitting into me?”
As the two players spoke, Roth’s parents, who were there to watch their son play in a PGA TOUR event, joined the argument. Delores Roth told Daly that he needed to learn something about golf etiquette to which Daly replied with a string of obscenities including calling the 62-year-old mother a “whore” before turning to walk away.
Bob Roth grabbed Daly from behind and Daly then threw the older man to the pavement. Roth suffered some road rash on his elbow and knee as the two scuffled on the ground before Terry Travis, a caddie for Ikuo Shirahama, separated the two. Akron police later announced that neither party was pressing charges. Daly left the course after the incident and could not be reached for comment.
Finchem was at Firestone but did not witness the altercation, although he did issue a statement.
“It was a voluntary withdrawal from the rest of the year.”
“I have been informed of the incident that took place in the parking lot and I have asked the staff to look into the matter and give me a full report,” the statement read. “I will talk to the people involved before I make any public statement.”
A few weeks later, Daly announced that he was sitting out the rest of the year. In November, he explained to the Atlanta Constitution that it was his decision to leave the tour.
“It was a voluntary withdrawal from the rest of the year,” Daly explained. “My back was killing me. I told Tim (Finchem): ‘Look, I’m not going to play the rest of the year because of my back. I need some time off, and it’s not fair to the tour to go overseas and play when I’m not playing the regular tour.’ He said: ‘That’s fine. That’s a very smart decision.’ “
On the incident at the World Series of Golf where he hit into Jeff Roth, Daly said, “I just don’t feel like I did anything wrong. I accidentally hit into Jeff. I tried to apologize. Apology was not accepted.”
Roth had said that Daly never offered an apology.
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PGA TOUR Wrap-Up | Procore Championship
The Procore Championship on the PGA TOUR never had a chance to help improve the dismal TV ratings that has plagued the tour this year. It was broadcast only on the Golf Channel and, in addition to college and professional football, it had to contend with the golf action in Ireland and the Solheim Cup.
In the Irish Open, Rory McIlroy continued his season of not being able to close out the deal when he lost the Irish Open in the final holes. This time, he three-putted the 17th hole to lose the title to Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard. The Solheim Cup was must-watch golf as the U.S. team won for the first time in seven years.
At the Procore, Patton Kizzire cruised to a five-shot victory, but it was how he won that was interesting. On PGA.TOUR.com, Cameron Morfit described it as “a version of “What About Bob” the 1991 Bill Murray/Richard Dreyfuss comedy of unconventional therapy.”
Kizzire has been working with a new mental coach, Amiee Smith-Schuster, who has some interesting therapy of her own. She had Kizzire picking the range barefoot, hugging a tree, and singing both a Disney tune and a rap song during the week. It sure seemed to work.
“I was a little skeptical,” said Kizzire. “But it’s just bringing light to life, not taking yourself so seriously, doing silly stuff and just breaking the ice, you know?”
Watch the top five shots of the week here:
Clips You Might Have Missed
Danger! Topless caddies.
It’s not how, it’s how many.
Incredible scene.
I could watch this all day long.
More people need to follow Carolyn on Xetter. She’s funny.
Tour Backspin Quiz | Presidents Cup Trivia
How many Presidents Cup records does Phil Mickelson own? What are they?
Scroll down for answer
Swing Like a Pro
John Daly swing in 1994 with analysis by Peter Jacobsen.
Blind Shot
Click for something fun. 👀
Tour Backspin Music Clip
With the Oasis reunion coming up, we go back to the band’s “Cigarettes and Alcohol” live in 1994.
Tour Backspin Quiz Answer:
Phil Mickelson owns four Presidents Cup records. He set the record for Most Appearances on a team with 12, Most Points with 31½, Most Foursome Points with 14, and Most Fourball Points with 13.
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Final Thoughts
That quote from Scott Simpson in this week’s feature story about the Presidents Cup compared to the Ryder Cup did not age well.
That “one cup out” discussion is a great one. What do you think of when you’re given that advice?
Please know that we are not getting political with two Trump bits in this week’s issue. But we do like highlighting funny.