Golf: Sharing Presidents glory

GEORGE - World No 1 Tiger Woods described the decision to share the fifth Presidents Cup between the United States and the Internationals yesterday as the perfect solution.

But he was less happy with having an individual playoff in a team event.

Woods and Ernie Els had just completed the third hole of their sudden-death playoff when team captains Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player agreed it was too dark to continue.

The captains conferred for some time with US PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, as well as with their team members, before agreement was reached.

"The way the week has gone, it's the right decision for the game of golf," Woods said.

Both teams had ended regulation play deadlocked on 17 points and Woods and Els were chosen for the playoff.

"But we didn't like it," Woods said. "It's a team event, not an individual event. We're here as a team together and we'd like to decide as a team together and not on an individual basis."

Nicklaus said: "When the tie occurred, both Gary and I, as we were walking to the extra hole, felt like both teams had played too well to lose this match.

"We really had two winners out there."

The controversial decision to share the trophy and stop the playoff came after Australian Robert Allenby won the final hole of his match against Davis Love to lock the team scores after 12 singles matches yesterday.

But confusion abounded when Nicklaus said on television at The Links at Fancourt soon after that the US would retain the cup as defending champions in the result of a tie.

Els immediately rebuked Nicklaus' comment, saying he wanted to play on rather than let the US hold on to the cup.

But after further discussion between the two teams, Nicklaus eventually relented to Player's idea of the cup being officially shared.

Nicklaus, an 18-time major winner, later said he and Player felt it was wrong for a team event to be decided by two individuals.

"We just felt like there just should not be in any way, shape or form, not have everybody a winner," he said.

"So Gary and I stepped in and at that point, we felt it was too dark to play anyway because they really could not line up the putts at No 2 when they hit."

He said the confusion over who should hold the cup had come from Finchem, who had told Nicklaus the Americans retained the trophy.

Finchem said he saw no problem with the final decision to split the cup and said it was in the spirit of the event.

The drama undermined an extraordinary day of golf in which the momentum swung with almost every shot.

The US proved their mettle by taking the singles 7 to 4 , including 2 of the last three points to be decided.

The performance under duress was no higher than on the third and final playoff hole they played when Woods holed an uphill 15-footer for par to stay in the match while Els responded by knocking his ball in for par.

Earlier in the day, Woods comfortably saw off the challenge of Els in their crucial singles match. Els lost 4 and 3 against an inspired Woods.

- AGENCIES