MEDINAH, Ill. — The Presidents Cup isn’t over yet, but Brandt Snedeker is already shouldering some blame for what has happened thus far: his American team finds itself in a 3-point hole ahead of Sunday Singles matches.
At the end of an up-and-down day that saw the Americans narrow a four-point deficit to three, their captain conducted a TV interview in which he said he was proud of how they’d performed, “despite all my mistakes.”
Not long later, Snedeker had rolled out his singles lineup and was asked what he meant by “mistakes.”
“I tried to work my tail off to put these guys in the best situation possible, and I don’t think I’ve done a very good job this week to be where we are right now,” Snedeker said. “They look to me to put them in the best position where they’re comfortable. I hold myself to a high standard. I don’t think I’ve done the best job for them in that room.“
Snedeker was asked to elaborate a bit more on what he meant, and while he continued to explain, he didn’t offer many specifics.
“I mean, there’s several different ways, whether it’s through matchups, whether it’s through whatever,” he said. “There’s a thousand different ways I can think of right now. I’ve been honestly second-guessing myself a lot to be in this situation.”
Snedeker has found himself in an unenviable situation, leading the Americans into perhaps their first loss in this event in 28 years. That’s part of the bargain he signed up for. To some degree, he has plenty of control over the affair, and to some degree he has very little. He hits zero shots and has spent most of the week riding a golf cart. And at the same time, it was his decision to sit No. 1 player in the world, Scottie Scheffler, for the Friday afternoon foursomes session — a move that will inevitably be critiqued as the Americans split the session, 2-2.
“I had some ideas about — Scottie puts the world on his shoulders, and he puts his whole team on his shoulders and takes a lot on. I was really trying to get him some energy for tomorrow. I know tomorrow is going to be a big day.
“It’s obviously a tough decision, really hard decision to sit the best player in the world and probably one of the best players I’ve ever seen in person. I just want to put him in the best situation tomorrow to go out there and have a great day and get some rest.”
There’s an awkward balance for captains to strike between gut instinct and analytics and player form and friendships and relationships. Snedeker thinks he hasn’t gotten it right, focusing clearly on how much, or how little, “comfort” his players have felt.
Paul McGinley, a former Ryder Cup captain and one of the commentators on Golf Channel’s Live From (and also a very close counsel to Team Europe’s modern approach), shared some pointed remarks Saturday evening about Snedeker’s admissions.
“[It’s] a bit surprising,” McGinley said. “You’re giving a lack of confidence to your teammates who are watching that interview. He was too open. He was too honest. That’s not the time to say it. The fat lady has not sung yet … I don’t think he’s made massive mistakes here … have they come prepared? The closure here of these games is not what I see on the PGA Tour. I’m seeing stalwarts of the Tour, guys who close out with a cold heart, duffing shots and making mistakes at crucial times.”
Therein lies the crux of the matter. A captain is only as good as his prep, and Snedeker repeatedly stated how he holds himself to a high standard. But a team is often only as good as the performance its players put on, which to this point has resulted in Internationals 10.5, USA 7.5.
The good news for the Americans is they’ve got 12 matches to rectify their captain’s feelings Sunday at Medinah.
“These guys are ready,” Snedeker said toward the end of his press time. “I’m telling you, they’re ready. This place has a weird history. Lots of big things have happened here. Can’t wait to watch it all unfold tomorrow.”
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