Presidents Cup: Response to Farrell Evan's letter to Fred Couples
Fred Couples has two coaches discretion choices for the Presidents Cup team. Any choice he makes is the right decision.
They are his choices. Further, if any other golfer who did not make the team has a question, the answer is simple. Next time score enough points to make the team. Or amass enough wins to not only establish yourself as one of the best golfers in history, but also develop yourself as one of the great competitors in any sport.
After reading Farrell Evans open letter to Fred Couples, I was struck by a handful of his comments as they relate to Champions. In his third paragraph he refers to players resenting Tiger. Any golfer who spends the energy resenting a fellow competitor has no chance for victory and certainly should not be on the Presidents Cup team. Ultimately, a golfer who competes with resentment will never be a champion. What should be said to Mark Wilson or Keegan Bradley or any other golfer who does not make the team is answered in my first paragraph.
Further down Evans refers to pressure from the higher-ups in the "golf industrial complex". Again, this does not matter and is irrelevant. Fred Couples can choose any golfer that he wants for those two spots. Also, the facts are clear when it comes to professional sport. For the competitors it is a game and a profession, for the fans it is entertainment and for the sponsors it is a business. Without sponsors the professional tour would not exist. Any golfer who wants to fight the "golf industrial complex" will have no chance unless he is at the very least a winner and in the case of the Presidents Cup a bonafide qualifier.
When Evans blames Tiger for part of this decision and stating that Tiger should have said "he is not fit to play." Champions ironically would rather not play if they did not think it possible to win. Tiger is one of sports greatest competitors of any era. Thus, by accepting this bid it would seem that Tiger is saying, my injuries are in the past. I am able to practice without an issue and I am capable of winning. If this is true, Tiger is the top choice for any coach to be on the 18th with a 6 foot par putt necessary for victory.
Coaches discretion choices to fill out a team always generate questions from those not sitting at the decision table. This is normal. The best way for an athlete to make the team is to score enough points. Otherwise, when it comes to coaches discretion there are no rules. This is the place where a coach gets to be a coach in building his team. Given Tiger's career history, his return to health and the prospects of his game, he would be an obvious discretionary choice for any coach.