My Cup Runneth Over

You might have heard that there are a few championship cups at stake this month. And for my money, it is yet to be determined which one will be the most exciting or the most important.

The FedEx Cup. I assume that the PGA Tour considered what would happen if only six guys actually had a chance to win the FedEx Cup in the final week. I also assume that they knew that the third round had a real chance to be concluded at more than twenty under par. In their defense, they had no idea that Atlanta would spend the year closer to the sun than normal and suffer through the worst summer in twenty years and perhaps lose several greens just before the Championship. We all hate that, but not as much as the Tournament Director who lost his Pro-Am and a couple of million dollars.

But it is what it is.

So, here’s what it comes down to: If Tiger wins first or is tied for second he wins. If Stricker wins he wins and if he finishes second and Tiger finishes third he still wins. Mickelson needs a little help. If he wins and Tiger finishes no better than third, Phil is the Champion. Rory Sabbatina needs to beat Mickelson and Stricker and have Tiger finish no better than thirteen. K.J. Choi needs even more help. He needs Mickelson to finish third or worse, Stricker fourth or worse, and Tiger to finish twenty-second. He may have to steal Tiger’s clubs for that to happen and that still may not be enough. The only other guy with any chance is Aaron Baddeley who basically needs to win on Sunday and have Tiger, Steve, Phil, Rory and K.J. to finish dead last.

Any of the other twenty-four players can win the Tournament, but they cannot win the FedEx Cup even if the top six players don’t play. For the Tour’s sake, I hope the top six play well. It might be a little embarrassing if the first FedEx Cup winner shoots 80 on the final day.


The Walker Cup. This may turn out to be the most exciting cup of the year. The U.S. team, with our guy Colt Knost, needed a 254-yard 4-iron from Jonathan Moore on 18 to set up a four foot eagle putt to win 12.5-11.5. By the way, it’s the first time the U.S. has won the Walker Cup on foreign soil since a couple of guys named Phil Mickelson and David Duval won at Portmarnock outside Dublin back in 1991.

Our boy Knost and the hero of the day Jonathan Moore were the only two players not to lose a match. Doesn’t Jonathan Moore sound like he ought to be playing for the Brits?

The Solheim Cup. In a grumpy old man sort of way, I like the ladies’ game and the Solheim Cup. Perhaps it’s because the ladies’ game is a lot closer to mine than Tiger’s. However, I must admit that I miss the craziness of Michelle Wie, but alas she is hitting the books at dear old Stanford. Fear not however, with only nine tournaments in the record books, the U.S. has already made it a habit of kicking European butt without Michelle Wie. The three European wins have been over there, but only one of the U.S.’s six wins has been away from home.

U.S. Team Captain and Hall of Fame member Betsy King brings veterans Juli Inkster, and Pat Hurst along with past team members; Laura Diaz, Cristie Kerr and Sherri Steinhauer are all three-time members of the American squad as well. Twenty-one-year-old Paula Creamer is making her second Solheim Cup appearance after leading the Americans in her rookie debut with 3 points in 2005.

The U.S. Team will also showcase four rookies including Nicole Castrale, Brittany Lincicome, Stacy Prammanasudh and Morgan Pressel. Natalie Gulbis, a member of the victorious 2005 U.S. Team, and Angela Stanford, who played on the 2003 U.S. Team in Malmo, Sweden, round out the 12-member team.

For the Europeans, all you need to know is that Swede Annika Sorenstam leads the way, along with England's Helen Alfredsson and long hitter Laura Davies, who has played in all nine previous stagings of the event.

They will tee it up at Halmstad Golf Club in Halmstad, Sweden this week with nary a Korean in sight.

The Nextel Cup. The Nextel Cup holds the honor of being the only cup that you could actually die winning, that is unless you drown at the America’s Cup, get hit between the eyes with a puck at the Stanley Cup, or break your putter over your head at the FedEx Cup. In any case, Jimmie Johnson has a chance to accomplish what Jeff Gordon last did 10 years ago and win consecutive Cup championships. First, Johnson will have to hold off Gordon and 10 other drivers in the Chase Cup.

Imagine, ten guys having a chance to win… what a concept.

The World Cup, Etc. There is one of these for every sport ever invented, isn’t there? And, let’s not forget the Stanley Cup, America’s Cup, the Ryder Cup, and a dozen other cups you never heard of.

But in case you missed it, the Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup four games to one. The Swiss won the America’s Cup and for the second time in a row; no Americans were even in the race. The Ryder Cup is next year, isn’t it? And just about everyone either has or will win a World Cup in their lifetime.

Stay tuned for the winner of the Tees2Greens Cup.