Warburg Cup is a winner

The most underrated Silly Season golf event has to be the UBS Warburg Cup (although I think the name Warthog Cup sounds a lot more powerful). For one thing, it's not just underrated, it's still largely unknown. For those who didn't stay glued to The Golf Channel all weekend, the Warburg Cup is a mini-Ryder Cup, a team match-play event for a combo platter of players in their 40s and 50s, led by playing captains Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.

The United States won the Cup over the weekend for the second time in the event's two-year existence. I hear the name may be shortened to the UBS Cup next year, and I wouldn't be surprised if it returned to this year's site, the Sea Island Golf Club in Georgia, despite a day of drenching rains followed by one with cold, biting wind.

MAILBAG All the recent articles about Tiger Woods vs. Jack Nicklaus for the title of greatest golfer pointed out interesting stat: Woods turned pro in 1996 and played in the '97 Ryder Cup and every one since. Nicklaus turned pro after college in 1961 but he didn't play Ryder Cup until 1969. Was the Ryder Cup criteria different then? I can't fathom Nicklaus not being among the 12 best players in the country during the 1963, '65 or '67 Cup years. Did he chose not to play, or was there a minimum-experience requirement? —Mike Meyer, Crystal Lake, Ill. For years, tour pros had to pass a PGA of America business course to be accredited and qualify to play for the Ryder Cup team. It was finally abolished in the late '80s, but only after Paul Azinger, who hadn't taken the class, was left off the '87 team. And, Mike, give my best to Garth. Good luck with the show. This is not an advertisement, but an FYI for all golf fans. I agree with others who have written in to say that large crowds and corporate tents have made viewing play difficult. However, one way to get an edge on the crowd is to invest in a periscope. The Mickelson group sells a great scope at many golf tournaments. I bought one at the 1999 PGA and used it at the 2000 U.S. Open and the AT&T every year since. It's also available on the 'Net. It's reasonably priced, about the same as a pair of binoculars. It's well-made and durable -- and for what it costs to get tickets to major events nowadays, it's worth every penny. —Dan Callison, Santa Clara, Calif. Phil Mickelson's father is the inventor/creator. Phil, this isn't you writing in under an assumed name, is it? If it is, I'll have to kick your butt in basketball. I saw an interview with Jack Nicklaus in which he said that he likes par-3s because: 1) they often are the more scenic holes on the course, and 2) they represent the only times on a course when you have a perfect lie and are shooting at the green. Quite often, I golf with people much better than me, yet some of them never use tees on par-3s; I always use a tee. Are they really depriving themselves of a perfect lie, or is the difference meaningless? —Ken Evans, Winnipeg, Manitoba I agree that you're crazy not to use a tee. However, if you're used to hitting irons off the grass and don't want to mess with your routine or don't like the look of a teed-up iron shot, I guess it makes sense. I'd be interested to see a scientific test on how teeing up an iron shot (or not teeing it up) affects the spin on the shot -- if it does. On the other side of the coin ... Lincoln's head.

Anyway, consider this your Warthog Cup primer. Here's my list of the top 10 coolest things about covering my first Warburg Cup:

1. The sandman cometh. Just so you know, it is not coincidence. As even a child of 4 knows (if only we could find one), Paul Azinger is a pretty good bunker player. He showed why again at Sea Island, holing a bunker shot for an eagle at the par-5 15th hole Sunday to win his match with Bernhard Langer. You may recall Azinger's other recent dramatic bunker shot, the one he holed at the 18th during the Ryder Cup in September to keep the Americans' hopes on life support. And don't forget his most famous hole-out, the one at the 18th green at Muirfield Village to swipe the 1993 Memorial Tournament title from under the nose of pal Payne Stewart. How many of us have never holed one bunker shot? OK, you can put your hands down now.

2. Size matters. The most surprising stroke of the week was probably the 50-foot putt drained by Palmer during the second day's best-ball play. Palmer, looking all of his 73 years in a soggy rain hat and rain jacket, acted as if he knew this one was in all the way. When Palmer later was asked in an interview how long the putt was, he said, "Oh, probably 20 feet." At which point Player, sitting next to him, leaned back in his chair and erupted in laughter. Palmer intentionally underestimated the putt's length. "I just like to hear Gary laugh," he said.

3. Paper Gopher. Anybody remember Tom Lehman? He played some of the week's most impressive golf. If you're in a rotisserie golf league, you should pencil in Lehman somewhere on the 2003 schedule. Based on his Warthog performance, I expect him to have a bounce-back year after a disappointing 2002. "I don't like failure," Lehman said, "and I consider this year a failure." Lehman's golf has improved markedly in the last month or so, ever since he videotaped his current swing and compared it to film from when he was playing well a few years ago, winning the British Open and Colonial, to name a couple of tournaments. Turns out there was a marked difference between his former and present swings. Lehman had delayed the comparison because he doesn't like to use video. The reason? He doesn't like the way his unique, squatting swing looks, and when he sees it he's tempted to make changes.

While it wasn't a good year for him, it was a good year for his alma mater, the University of Minnesota, which won the NCAA golf title and started 7-1 in football, thanks to a soft schedule, before a recent dose of reality. "They were paper tigers," Lehman said of the gridiron team. "Paper Gophers, I guess."

4. A wind-wind situation. It was a little too cold Sunday (temperatures dropped to around 50 with wind chills of, gee, I don't even want to know -- I just know I should've been wearing gloves). But I enjoy watching pros play in adverse conditions. When the weather is calm, these guys are too good and it's a birdiefest. I liked watching Azinger and Eduardo Romero and the other guys try to hit low bullets under Sunday's howling winds. I liked seeing them challenged. OK, it was a little extreme Sunday when Romero's ball, after coming to a rest on the seventh green, was twice blown back off the putting surface by strong gusts.

5. Partners. Where else can you see Palmer and Tom Watson play together as a team? Or Player and Nick Faldo? Or Lehman and Raymond Floyd? Or Team Grit -- Hale Irwin and Tom Kite? The mixed-age teams have interesting potential.

6. Better raise the limit on your credit card. The Lodge at the Sea Island Golf Course is way cool. Each room comes complete with its own butler. Some players' wives felt a little self-conscious about that and told tournament officials they didn't really need butlers. Sorry, ladies, they come with the room -- for everyone. The Lodge has a five-star rating, and let's just say it's at the high end of expensive. It has two pretty cool golf courses, though. Worth a trip back.

7. Checkmate in three moves. One difference between the Ryder Cup and the Warthog is that the pairings at the latter are done by a draft instead of a blind draw. Palmer put up a pairing, then Player put a pairing against Palmer's. Then Player put up the next pairing, and Palmer answered. It's kind of fun, and it gives the captains a chance to set up matches and rematches. It was a foregone conclusion, for instance, that Ryder Cup captains Sam Torrance and Curtis Strange would play each other in singles for the second straight year.

8. RoW your boat. Sorry, but calling the international squad the Rest of the World, and abbreviating its name as "RoW" on the bags is just about the worst team name I can think of since Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Let's just call it the World team. Or Earth. Or the Sharks. Something.

9. Appearing knightly. The spunky Player remains one of the most entertaining players to watch, especially in the high winds they endured Sunday, which exaggerated his off-balance follow-through and made for some exciting staggering. Also, he's still probably the best bunker player ever. He and Faldo beat Palmer and Strange in the opening round on the last hole. After Faldo hit their second shot into a greenside bunker, Player found the hole with his bunker shot and seemed disappointed, like he expected for it to go in.

10. MVPs. Floyd and Lehman were the only players from either team to go 3-0. Honorable mention: The tournament official who reserved rooms for the media in the Village Inn & Suites, right across the street from a Dairy Queen that must be reordering more malt mix now that I've finally left town.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Gary Van Sickle writes for the magazine's Golf Plus section and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send him a question or comment.

 

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