Price may rethink role as captain of International team
(Reuters) - Nick Price said he will consider stepping down as captain of the International Presidents Cup team unless a more competitive format for the biennial team competition is introduced. The International team has managed just one victory in 10 attempts and Price wants to see changes before committing to his captaincy role when the Ryder Cup-style event resumes in 2015 in south Korea. "I'd love to be (captain again) but I don't know if I'd do it under the current points format," the Zimbabwean said in this week's edition of online magazine Global Golf Post. The Americans triumphed by 18-1/2 points to 15-1/2 in the Presidents Cup at Muirfield Village Golf Club earlier this month. The result was close only because the Internationals dominated the final day singles matches. Price wants six matches cut from the Presidents Cup so the event, which pits a 12-man team from the United States against a line-up of international players from outside Europe, would fall in line with the format for the Ryder Cup, which has 28 matches - eight fourballs, eight foursomes and 12 singles. By cutting six matches, Price believes the great depth of the Americans would be somewhat negated. But the competition is owned and operated by the PGA Tour, and Commissioner Tim Finchem has so far resisted calls for changes in the format. "Everything I basically said to Finchem in my (pre-event) proposal came true," said Price. "Tim probably had great intentions at the beginning to create something that was different than the Ryder Cup but now that it's 10 Presidents Cups on, why try and reinvent the wheel?" In the Ryder Cup, which is a competition between teams from Europe and the United States, only eight players need to be used before the final day singles, which gives the captain with less depth at his disposal a chance to "hide" his weaker players. At the 1999 Ryder Cup, for example, Europe used only nine players until the final day, building a big lead which they ultimately surrendered as the Americans stormed to victory. In the Presidents Cup, all 12 players on both teams must play on all four days. "It's not a question of hiding players. It's putting our best eight forward," said Price. "Having players sit out really breeds competition within the team, which I think is a healthy thing." (Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Frank Pingue)
