THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 19, 1994 TAG: 9409190137
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GAINESVILLE, VA. LENGTH: Long : 108 lines
Fred Couples added another great shot to his lore Sunday evening and gave the Presidents Cup trophy its first jewel.
With the United States' lesser-experienced players unwilling to play the role of hero, the mild-mannered Couples hit a 9-iron from a fairway bunker to within two feet at the 18th hole to cap a come-from-behind 1-up victory over Nick Price.
Couples' win locked up the Americans' victory over a team of International stars in this inaugural event at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
The final score of 20-12 in this three-day match-play format went beyond being deceptive.
True, the U.S. team held a 16-9 lead with seven matches still undecided. All the Yanks needed was one victory to end it. But they trailed or were tied in each of those matches late in the day.
And the traffic jam at the 13th hole, where the sudden-death playoffs were beginning, was starting to look like a typical Friday afternoon tie-up on nearby Interstate 95.
First South Africa's Fulton Allem sent his match with Phil Mickelson to extra holes. Then Fiji's Vijay Singh did the same to Tom Lehman. The excitement rose again as South Africa's David Frost came from 2-down with three to play to send his match with Scott Hoch into sudden death.
Then New Zealand's Frank Nobilo and Loren Roberts went to extra holes.
When Couples pulled his bit of magic out of his visor, all four playoffs were declared halves. Davis Love III beat Australia's Steve Elkington, 1-up, and Aussie Craig Parry beat Corey Pavin, 1-up, for the final margin.
Americans Hale Irwin, Jay Haas, Jim Gallagher Jr. and Jeff Maggert had won earlier in the day, while Australia's Peter Senior posted the International team's only other victory Sunday, a 3-and-2 decision over John Huston.
But those matches all gave way to the Couples-Price match, which took center stage.
Price, the world's top-ranked player, and Couples, who two years ago held that distinction, had a horde of fans following them throughout. Even Greg Norman, who'd pulled out of the event after losing 13 pounds following hemorrhoid surgery and a bout with the flu, showed up to cheer.
Although both Price and Couples were disappointed in the way they'd played much of the day, Price admitted it added to interest.
``That sometimes lends itself to great competition,'' Price said. ``In relation to par, neither one of us was tearing it up.''
Couples was 3-down with seven holes remaining, but birdied four of those seven to pull out the win.
He said the thrill of his shot at the 18th hole rivaled that of past Ryder Cup victories. ``I knew it was going to be really, really good when Jay Haas stood up and started running towards the green with his arms up in the air,'' he said.
Still, after his putt was conceded, Couples had to watch Price nearly hole his 20-foot chip shot from the left rough to send the match to yet another playoff. Price's chip skimmed the right side of the cup and stopped inches past the hole.
Ironically, Couples had asked U.S. captain Hale Irwin Saturday evening to pair him against Price in Sunday's individual matches. But despite going 3-0 in his matches, Couples didn't ask for the honor out of extreme confidence.
``I figured why put one of our better players against Nick and have Nick shoot 66?'' Couples said. ``That would have been like giving them a point.
``For most of the day it was fun watching the leaderboard and I was having a great time getting beat. And then things got interesting.''
Price, who has won the two majors and four other events on the PGA Tour this season, had pulled out of Saturday's competition complaining of fatigue.
He hit some tired-looked shots on the back nine, but the only thing he was complaining about when it was all over were the international players who'd passed up a chance to compete in this event.
``The hardest thing for us now is to tell the other eligible players that they've got to come to this (in 1996),'' Price said. ``I'm taking nothing away from the guys who played here. But we could have used Greg Norman, Ernie (Els), Jumbo (Ozaki), Tommy Nakajima.
``They all hit it long and their length would have made a world of difference on this course.''
``I wish they'd have come and I can't help it that they didn't bring their best team, but that's not to say we couldn't have won if they had,'' Couples said. ``Two years from now it will just get bigger and better. And I hope I'm back.''
Individual Presidents Cup records:
United States: Davis Love III 4-0-1; Fred Couples 3-0-0; Jim Gallagher Jr. 3-1-1; Jay Haas 3-2-0; Scott Hoch 2-1-1; Loren Roberts 2-1-1; Phil Mickelson 2-1-2; Hale Irwin 2-1-0; Corey Pavin 2-2-1; Tom Lehman 2-2-1; Jeff Maggert 2-2-0; John Huston 1-3-0.
Internationals: Vijay Singh 3-1-1; Peter Senior 2-1-0; Steve Elkington 2-2-1; Craig Parry 2-3-0; David Frost 1-2-1; Mark McNulty 1-2-1; Tsukasa Watanabe 1-2-0; Fulton Allem 1-3-1; Frank Nobilo 1-3-1; Bradley Hughes 1-3-0; Robert Allenby 1-4-0; Nick Price 0-2-2. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Scott Hoch, left, and Jim Gallagher congratulate Fred Couples after
his 18-th hole shot.
by CNB