Weir feels the love at President’s Cup

You couldn’t see much, but the noise was deafening on the 18th hole of the President’s Cup on Sunday.
Canada’s Mike Weir had just closed out an epic victory over the world’s number 1 golfer Tiger Woods.
Known for choking under the pressure on his home soil, Weir played masterfully all week. He won the most points in a losing effort for his international team, and he got the respect of the some 250 million viewers watching him across the globe.
The icing on the cake was the win over Woods.
Close to 35,000 blaring fans cheered him on for 18 holes at the Royal Montreal Golf Club.
“Woods just put his drive into the water!” yelled one fan running down 18.
Thanks for the info buddy. Not that the Canadian jersey you’re wearing is giving you away.
“It’s overwhelming really,” said Weir right after the historic match. “When I look back on my career, this may be something, maybe even more special than the Masters, the support I’ve gotten here.”
“When Mike started making birdies it was like a rock concert, a lot of cheering going on,” said South African teammate Ernie Els.
A rock show on a golf course? Almost.
“I think this year we are going to put face paint on and ribbons in our hair,” said Woods during a press conference on Tuesday.
The statement set the tone for a surreal week of golf.
The highlight was Woody Austin aka Aqua Man falling face first into the water while trying to hit his ball on Friday.
Austin took it in stride wearing a scuba mask walking down the same hole Sunday.
“I thought ‘damn that water must be cold’,” said international team captain Gary Player. “I was just glad to see his head come up.”
Patriotism was in the air as international team wives proudly wore Canadian jerseys.
“I feel like we’ve got 11 adopted Canadians here this week,” said Weir.
Accents from across the world were heard in packed galleries the holes.
Think you can tell the difference between a South African accent and Australian one? With four players from each country their fans has lots to cheer about.
Forget air guitar, air golf was the rage as wannabe Tiger Woods practiced their swings, imaginary golf club in hand, looking like actors of an ugly cross between aerobics and Tai Chi. Beer tents strategically placed on the course gave a pro international crowd enough juice to follow their idols around the 7,171-yard track.
It was strange to see grown adults sprinting from green to tee-off yelling “Go Tiger!” as they tried not to kill themselves on the slippery wet grass. Even more bizarre, these adults were dressed in chic apparel usually worn by more reserved individuals.
The President’s Cup is a little like the Ryder Cup without a chip on it’s shoulder. Fair play and ‘gimmees’ are common with all the money, approximately $3.5 million, going to charity. The PGA pulled out all the stops for this one, sending tournament executive director Tom Clark to live in Montreal two years before the event to research Quebecois culture.
The place was pristine, with the most litter on the ground coming from the apple trees along the 8th hole.
The most exiting aspect was the match play format. Having the best go head to head was great for the fans and the PGA should consider expanding it to something like the Fed-Ex Cup playoffs.
The Internationals lost but, regardless of the final outcome, it was the golf fan that was the real winner after this memorable week.