Water Works a.k.a the 2007 Presidents Cup
Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007
Here I am - ready to shoot the Presidents Cup.
The Getty Images crew headed north of the border to work at the Presidents Cup on a small, pretty island in a suburb of Montreal. The event features the best 12 players from the USA against the best 12 players from the world (minus Europe).
The event is similiar to the Ryder Cup because it features several days of match-play golf with the final day of 12 singles matches that decide the cup. The Presidents Cup features none of the passion, tension or history that shrouds the Ryder Cup, but off we went to chase Tiger, Ernie, Jack, Mike and company around the amazing Royal Montreal Golf Club.
The event is in Montreal for 2 reasons. First, Mike Weir won the 2003 Masters. This was huge for golf in Canada. Here comes a tiny, left-handed player who fought his way into a play-off to win the green jacket. Secondly, it is an easy flight for the millionaires on the PGA Tour who have just come off an aggressive run of big money events starting at the PGA Championship thru the four-event FedEx Cup Playoffs. The talk later in the week was how many of the big name players from the USA would travel to Australia in four years time when the event takes place in Melbourne.
Our crew of David Cannon, Streeter Lecka, Sam Greenwood and myself roamed around the course following the practice rounds as the players and captains Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player sought to find the best pairings of players for the four ball and foursome matches.
Streeter Lecka (rt) and myself getting ready for a days work.
Most of the talk among the fans and in the papers was who would play Tiger Woods in the Sunday singles. It came down to two, Nick O’Hern and Mike Weir. O’Hern has beaten Tiger twice in match-play events and would not be scared at all by the biggest name is golf. Weir was the player nearly everybody at the event wanted to see face Woods. Weir has not played very well since his win at the ’03 Masters and even required one of the two captains pick to get on the team.
Streeter Lecka/Getty Images