1998 PRESIDENTS CUP
ROYAL MELBOURNE
DECEMBER 11-13, 1998

INTERNATIONALS DELIVER A 20 1/2 -11 1/2 PASTING TO THE U.S.

Almost from the start of play in the 1998 Presidents Cup, it was as if there were 36 holes at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club -18 big ones for the International team and 18 tiny ones for the Americans. The Internationals sank all manner of chips, pitches and long putts over the three-day competition. The Americans putted like a team of high school boys playing a ring-toss game on a carnival midway. Not much went in.

The result was a rout for the Internationals, a 20 1/2 - 11 1/2 pasting that represented the worst defeat ever in a match-play event for a group representing the PGA Tour.

Frank Nobilo, of New Zealand, set the tone for the Internationals in the first match on Friday, rolling in a 40-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to win his match and a point for his side. By Sunday, the Internationals needed to win only two of the 12 singles matches to take the cup. They did so right off the bat, with Craig Parry brushing aside Justin Leonard by 5 and 3, and Nick Price defeating David Duval, 2 and 1. That reduced the stakes in the widely anticipated match between Greg Norman and Tiger Woods to pride.

Woods salvaged a bit of that, winning one up.

The matches produced a surprise star in Shigeki Maruyama (pictured top and bottom), who complied a perfect record of 5-0-0.