MEDINAH, Ill. — Michael Phelps and I high-fived.
Fourteen years ago here, at Medinah Country Club, swimming’s greatest of all time had been following the 2012 Ryder Cup from inside the ropes when his arms started working harder than they would in any pool. The Americans were surging at the finish of day one, and Phelps was slapping hands with anyone he could find to the left of the 17th hole — and his paw hit mine. It was a moment. I remember it. He sure as hell doesn’t. But I’m pretty sure we both left thinking Team USA would win, and I’m pretty positive we thought that even more so the next day.
Three pals and I had driven in on Tuesday night of Cup week. The previous October, one of them told us he’d won a ticket lottery, and he planned everything over an email thread that included Ian Poulter’s name in the subject line and I’ll leave it at that. Entry for the week — for the week — was $680, and I think that gets you in for a day now. We saw a couple practice rounds. We stood near Michael Jordan at one point. Phelps and I connected. I couldn’t leave him hanging.
And we were there Sunday.
We posted up near the 16th green, though we did watch Bubba Watson start the day by calling for the crowd to cheer during his opening tee shot in his match against Luke Donald — who eventually won. The first five Europeans did that day, and the Euros won what has become known as the Miracle at Medinah.
Lot’s changed since then. Some things haven’t.
Just look who’s back at Medinah for this Presidents Cup week. Me. Maybe Phelps; he remains a golf nut. Probably Jordan; he’s still a Chi-town icon.
And interestingly, a third of that American squad — Brandt Snedeker, who’s the captain; and Jim Furyk, Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson, who are all vice captains.
Let’s make that thought No. 1, then, as we look at the week ahead. The goal is to take things to 18.
2. The Bradley suitcase story also started that week. He’d been given Team USA luggage, packed it — and it’s been unopened ever since. An Instagram post about it from Bradley is below.
3. The week’s biggest change, though, is Medinah itself, following an extensive restoration. GOLF’s wonderful course raters described the new look this way:
Originally completed in 1932, No. 3 was arguably Tom Bendelow’s boldest and finest design, but playing host to major events took a toll as the narrow, heavily treelined course strayed far from its Golden Age roots. OCM removed poorly positioned trees and reverted to Bendelow’s bold bunkering as a unifying theme. The rolling property is once again both striking and spacious, and it’s laced with great holes throughout. The use of a split rail fence (which demarks out of bounds) at holes 5-7 provides excellent strategic tension, and holes 15 and 16 (the Cape 16th is one of five new holes created by OCM) are a blockbuster one-two punch.
4. As for a non-wonderful course rater’s thought? It’ll make for good match-play viewing. There are shots contending with Lake Kadijah, including the tee shot on this week’s 12th hole. [The Presidents Cup starts on hole 5 this week, in order to make sure the traditional closing holes are played.] On holes 1 through 3 this week, there is out-of-bounds fencing all along on the left side. There’s a lot of sand. There’s a 600-plus-yard par-5. Monday afternoon, it was breezy. And muddy, after recent storms. There’ll be some funkiness.
5. The twist in the new-look Medinah? One of the designers is International team captain Geoff Ogilvy. What influence that could have is likely negligible, but it makes for an interesting storyline.
6. In a story written by the PGA Tour’s Bradley S. Klein previewing the week, I thought this was interesting:
“At the suggestion of U.S. Team Captain Snedeker, a 5-foot-wide collar of 1.5-inch intermediate rough was introduced to frame the fairways, with the cut of rough raised to 4 inches, meaning the likelihood of heavy lies and fliers for approach shots following wayward drives. This also suggests Snedeker’s assumption (or hope) that the U.S. Team will drive with more accuracy than the Internationals.”
7. Let’s name five Americans to watch, and that list starts with Jackson Koivun, who was 7 when the Ryder Cup was here in 2012. There’s no questioning the talent. He won everything in college, and he’s already won on the PGA Tour. How will he handle a national team event? What if he has a moment that wins a match — or the Cup? Where will the hype go then? Of course, he could lose too. On Monday, he played a practice round with Justin Thomas, Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa.
8. I think you could say a lot of the same things about Chris Gotterup. On Monday, he played with Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and Cameron Young. Cash also appeared to be on the line.
9. Will Chicagoans cheer for Wyndham Clark, who’s heard some non-cheers this year?
10. How’s Collin Morikawa’s back holding up?
11. Scottie Scheffler. Every player to watch list should include the world No. 1. He’s also 3-6-3 in the Ryder Cup and 3-5-1 in the Presidents Cup.
12. Let’s name five International players to watch. There will be a Si Woo Kim moment this week. Moments probably. Wins, too.
13. The same thing could be said for Tom Kim, who has made his name in this event.
14. I’m watching how Ryan Fox, the son of a former rugby player, handles an opposing crowd.
15. How many more Presidents Cups will Adam Scott play? This week, the 46-year-old makes his 12th appearance. Will he be a playing captain soon?
16. A few weeks ago, Sungjae Im mailed Justin Thomas one of his “Him Sunjae” sweaters made by Malbon. This must be a Sunday singles pairing. Must.
17. At some point this week, President Donald Trump is expected to be at Medinah.
18. So … who wins?
Hard to say the Americans won’t. The American MVP will be Young. The International team’s will be Nick Taylor.
And here’s what a few of my colleagues had to say when asked in this week’s Tour Confidential what needs to happen for the Internationals to win:
Dylan Dethier: On paper it looks as lopsided as ever — perhaps even more so than usual. But this event does have a habit of getting slightly closer than you’d expect, at least until late on Sunday. It would be awesome for the Internationals to contend; their blueprint for getting there is channeling the energy of Si Woo and Tom Kim plus the unpredictable nature of match play. Look, they have plenty of good golfers too; why not Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee, Ryan Fox, Hideki Matsuyama and Co.? I dunno. I’m hoping desperately for a fun Sunday finish.
Josh Schrock: They need their top players — Hideki, Si Woo, Tom Kim and Adam Scott — to be a firewall and then hope that the match play variance works in their favor in singles. If their big names get beat up, they don’t have a chance.
Zephyr Melton: They need … a miracle? Only kidding (kind of). But without the talent they lost to LIV, along with being without stalwart Jason Day, I just don’t see a path to victory for the Internationals.
19. One more! Here’s how to watch it all:
Thursday, September 24: 12:30-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Friday, September 25: 2-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Saturday, September 26: 8-9 a.m. ET (Golf Channel); 9 a.m.-7 p.m. ET (NBC)
Sunday, September 27: 12-6 p.m. ET (NBC)
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