I know the Europeans will cringe at this suggestion, but the interest
and popularity of the President's Cup is really gaining quickly on the
Ryder, and there are several logical and good reasons for it:
1. Strength of the field
There are few "no name" players in the President's Cup, but typically
4-5 on the Ryder Cup teams. The quality of golf I've seen the past few
days surpasses anything I've seen in recent Ryder Cups. Heck, Toms just
had to Eagle a hole to halve it against Immelman!
2. Interest of the US Players
Because the European Ryder team often includes lower-ranked players, I
think the US team is often in a no-win situation, since they are
expected to win each time and have nothing to gain and everything to
lose. That is not the case in the President's Cup, or anyone who
watched the Singh/Appleby vs Woods/Furyk matches yesterday. Singh vs
Woods head to head (or Woods vs Els) means much more than Woods vs any
European player.
3. Quality of the Broadcast
Even with today's video technology, the video feed from the BBC to the
USA is plain dreary, making the beautiful European courses look like
cow pastures on American television. I have been to Europe many times
and know the grass is just as green over there, but you would never
know it by watching the televised broadcasts.
I hope more people would agree with Frank Nobilo's suggestion that at
some point in the future the President's Cup and Ryder Cup are somehow
merged or tied together, but given the egos involved, I don't think it
will happen anytime soon. It is too bad.