01미국팀의 고전과 스니데커를 둘러싼 전략적 의문
메디나 골프클럽에서 펼쳐진 라이더 컵 경기에서 미국 대표팀이 유럽 팀에게 주도권을 내주며 밀리자, 주장단과 팀의 선수 기용 전략을 향한 전문가들의 비판이 이어지고 있다.
특히 이번 대회에 출전한 브랜트 스니데커의 경기 운용과 기용 타이밍을 두고 그의 플레이가 미국 팀의 열세에 어떤 영향을 미쳤는지에 대한 논쟁이 뜨겁다.
승부처마다 나온 스니데커의 경기 결과가 아쉬움을 남기면서, 당시 판단이 최선이었는지에 대해 재검토가 필요하다는 목소리가 힘을 얻고 있다.
위기에 몰린 미국 팀이 브랜트 스니데커를 둘러싼 의구심과 부담감을 극복하고 메디나에서 분위기 반전에 성공할 수 있을지 관심이 집중된다.
02Original (English) — PGA TOUR
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It wouldn’t be a team event without some armchair quarterbacking …
MEDINAH, Ill. – How do you tell the world’s best and most competitive golfer that he’s about to ride the bench? I didn’t expect to ponder that question at the start of the week.
Scottie Scheffler's struggles in team golf are well documented. I wrote about it before a shot was struck at Medinah. Even so, the idea that the U.S. would sit him unless Scheffler explicitly asked seemed incomprehensible. You ride with your best players, win or lose. Yet as I stood over the 16th green, watching Sam Burns hole a decisive putt in his and Scheffler’s Saturday morning match, the news came through.
Scheffler was indeed sitting. Burns would play the afternoon with Wyndham Clark instead.
Suddenly, the most compelling theater at Medinah was not how the Burns-Scheffler match would end, but whether Scheffler knew his day was about to be done. If he didn’t, who would tell him? And how would he react when he found out?
I couldn’t keep my mind off it. Scheffler was largely a passenger on the 17th, a hole won by another Burns birdie that officially ended the match. Scheffler pumped his fists and roared as Burns’ putt dropped. It was their second win in three matches. They hugged. A TV camera beelined for the duo.
Then the intrigue began.
From just off the green, Snedeker and captain’s assistant Keegan Bradley watched intently. Bradley spoke animatedly, turning to look at Snedeker before realizing a TV camera was right behind them. Bradley snapped back into place, covered his mouth and continued speaking. They both looked over toward Scheffler again.
It’s impossible to know exactly what was said between them, but that was the moment that made me believe Scheffler had no clue he had been benched. Now the captains of the last two cup events were figuring out how to tell their star. The conversation continued for another minute. Now I was fascinated. How was this going to go?
Turns out, they didn’t have to tell Scheffler.
NBC’s Cara Banks alluded to it in her interview with him. Scheffler mostly shrugged it off. As that interview ended, Snedeker and Bradley started walking in their direction, but the duo was corralled again for a radio hit. There they put it to Scheffler directly. Did he know that was coming today? Scheffler didn’t, which Snedeker later admitted.
“We’re always prepared for anything,” said Scheffler.
Was Snedeker prepared for this? Not just this upcoming conversation, but all of this?
We’ve reached the second-guessing stage of the Presidents Cup, the inevitable destination for the losing side on Saturday night of every cup. Some of the armchair quarterbacking can be inane or minute. Sitting the world No. 1 while needing a comeback is not inane or minute.
Clark and Burns struggled in the session that followed. They lost an early lead and looked listless by the end as the Internationals won four straight holes to close it out 3 and 2. Scheffler watched off to the side, unable to help—the worst feeling for any golfer, particularly one who loves to be in control.
Did Snedeker make the right decision? It’s impossible to know. The result didn’t go in the Americans’ favor. There’s no guarantee it would have if Scheffler played, either. Snedeker didn’t bench him without reason. Scheffler is 1-8 in Foursomes between the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup. He wasn’t playing up to his standard on Saturday morning either. Snedeker made the decision just as Scheffler poured in a birdie on the 15th and displayed the first bit of emotion we’ve seen from him all week.
There are other decisions to question. Snedeker jumbled up his Foursomes pairings ahead of Friday, putting Cameron Young and Justin Thomas together after both played well. That delayed the Young-Chris Gotterup pairing. They went 2-0 paired together on Saturday.
For better or worse, this is the burden the captain carries. Snedeker will be questioned after Saturday. He’s already questioning himself.
“They've given me everything I could possibly ask for, and I've just got to figure out ways to get these guys in better situations. I don't think I've held up my end of the bargain,” Snedeker said. “... I've been honestly second guessing myself a lot to be in this situation.”
Once Snedeker finally reached Scheffler at the 17th, he delivered a rather simple message.
“I tried,” Snedeker said.
It held multiple meetings. The cameras beat him to breaking the news. But it also encapsulated Snedeker’s failed moves so far. The gamble didn’t pay off.
There’s still one more day to get back what they’ve lost.
There’s a lot of matches to cover. So we’re condensing these to one sentence each (all times ET).