It may never have the historical significance of the Ryder Cup, nor can it hope to attract the same level of attention, especially during this period of inexplicable European dominance, but the Presidents Cup, starting today at Canada’s venerable Royal Montreal GC (the oldest golf club in North America) is a very big deal.

This will be the seventh playing of the event. America has four wins, and the International side just one. The 2003 tournament at Fancourt in South Africa ended in darkness and a tie after Ernie Els and Tiger Woods halved three extra holes following a 17–17 scoreline. The States certainly have the upper hand, but it could be argued that its dominance of the Presidents Cup is almost as surprising as Europe’s in the Ryder Cup. At the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Lake Manassas, Va., in 1994, America won by eight points over a weak International side that boasted only one major champion, Nick Price. In 2000, the Americans handed out a 21 1 /2–10 1 /2 mauling of the Internationals who counted Els and Vijay Singh among their number . Two years ago, Chris DiMarco defeated Stuart Appleby on the 18th green in their singles match to secure a threepoint win for America over a team that featured Singh and Goosen again — but also the 2004 Players Champion Adam Scott, 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir, and a Kiwi, Michael Campbell, who had won the U.S. Open at Pinehurst three months previously.

The International side looks similarly potent this time around, and theoretically has home advantage, despite the fact that only one of its members, Weir, comes from Canada. The 10 who qualified for the team by virtue of being the top 10 international players after the PGA Championship are all in the top 25 in the world. And Captain Gary Player’s choice of Weir and Aussie Nick O’Hern as his two wild cards came as no surprise. Yes, Weir has not enjoyed the level of success most expected of him since winning his green jacket in 2003. But he has been playing considerably better of late and the swing changes he’s been making with “Stack and Tilt” pioneers Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett, are looking solid. Plus — let’s face it — he’s the reason the Presidents Cup is being held in Canada at all. Had he not been picked, the locals might well have come out only to watch, and perhaps even support, Woods. O’Hern, meanwhile, was an obvious choice, given his 2–0 record over Woods in match play.

Half of the International side are major champions who have eleven majors between them. Together with the other six players, the Internationals have 87 PGA Tour victories and their average world ranking is 18.5.

With Woods, Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson, and the new no. 4 in the world, Steve Stricker, on its books, the U.S. team is typically strong at the top. But it doesn’t possess quite the same depth as some Presidents’ and Ryder Cup teams have in the past. Its lowestranked player is Lucas Glover at 61st in the world. Glover won at the tail end of 2005, had a strong 2006, and five top-20 finishes in the first half of this year. He was therefore looking good for automatic inclusion in the team under America’s slightly more complex qualification system. But when Woody Austin finished runner-up to Woods at the PGA Championship in August, he got the last automatic berth and Glover was bumped to 11th, where he had to rely on a wild card selection. As much to recognize his growing status on Tour and to reward his play of 2005 and 2006, Jack Nicklaus, the U.S. captain for a fourth time, gave Glover the nod over the 10 players above him in the world rankings who didn’t otherwise qualify. Arron Oberholser, now 25th in the world, and Brett Wetterich, at 28th, probably felt the most hard done by after being omitted. Mark Calcavecchia, who won earlier this year at the PODS Championship and had seven other top-25 finishes prior to Nicklaus’s announcement following the PGA Championship, must have felt similarly aggrieved.

Austin, Hunter Mahan, and Zach Johnson, like Glover, will be making their first appearance in the Presidents Cup. Johnson, though, could hardly be described as a rookie, having played in last year’s Ryder Cup, won the Masters, and rose to 14th in the world. But with newbloods Mahan, Austin, and Glover, plus a couple of players who have endured a miserable second half of the year (David Toms and Charles Howell), the U.S. team should consider themselves underdogs. Indeed, their average world ranking is 21.92, nearly 3.5 higher than the Internationals.

If America is to overcome its inferiority and win for the fifth time, much will depend on Woods, of course. He will not only have to play at or near his best, but he will also have to bring the best out of whomever he partners, something he has not excelled at in the past — possibly through no fault of his own. The fact, is playing with Woods is equally as intimidating and nerve-wracking as playing against him, as the partner invariably regards himself as just burdensome baggage along for the ride. Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson probably never felt that way, but Justin Leonard, Steve Pate, John Huston and the 12 other players who have partnered Tiger at either the Presidents or Ryder Cups probably have.

In today’s foursomes, Howell will partner with Woods again, this time insisting he won’t feel Tiger’s heat because the two have become firm friends. They will play K.J. Choi and O’Hern in the last match of the day.

As for a winner, the tournament may well boil down to survival of the fittest. Having played seven weeks out of nine before last week’s much needed time off, most of the two dozen stars at Royal Montreal will be feeling weary. But if this match turns out anything like the last two, adrenaline will overcome tiredness, and we’re in for another pulsating weekend’s entertainment. Should Woods or Weir come to the last on Sunday, needing to win the hole to win the cup, then 2003’s tie might seem dull by comparison.

tonydear71@comcast. net