Mikes Diary - Presidents Cup Day 4

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 01:30:24

At the end of a long, wonderful week, I'd have to say that I'm of mixed emotions. It was a great way to end up for me personally, beating Tiger Woods in my match. But overall, I'm disappointed that we weren't able to win the cup. This is the fourth Presidents Cup team I've been on and I've yet to win one. I was hoping this might be the time.

However, it was still a fun way to finish in front of a wild crowd. I know it may seem hard to believe but I was quite calm on the first tee, really. I think that's a testament to how good my game is right at the moment. When you don't have to worry about where you're going to hit it, you gain a lot of confidence and that leads to calmness.

It was great to get off to that good start and get a lead over Tiger after he missed a few short ones. But even when I went three up, I was preparing myself for the fact that he was likely going to come back. He's not No. 1 for nothing. It wasn't that I felt I would stop playing well, but I knew that Tiger wouldn't let up. And sure enough, when he did come through on the back nine, I didn't get rattled. I just kept telling myself that I was playing well and I was determined that I wasn't going to let him finish it off early - I wanted to take it right to the end.

And what a great feeling it was to win it on the 18th hole. The atmosphere was a lot like it was in Vancouver when I won my first PGA Tour event, or even at Glen Abbey in 2004 in that playoff with Vijay. The roar just sent chills down my spine.

In the end, I'm proud of my teammates and the way we fought back today. We told each other last night and on the bus coming over that everyone was counting us out, that no one was giving us a chance to come back. We tried to use that to inspire us and we had a good feeling heading out there. While it didn't work out, we had a great time as a team and I was proud of the way the Canadian fans cheered everyone one of us on.

This was just a great week for Canadian golf, a week that I know I won't forget anytime soon. The fans were sensational all week. I remember on Tuesday a couple of the Aussies said they thought the fans were pretty quiet. I told them just to wait. Sure enough, the fans were amazing. Every one of the guys has told me just how remarkable the galleries were for them.

Everything here in Montreal was wonderful. The golf course was perfect, the volunteers were great and the fans, well, they were off the charts. I hope that the effects of this event will be felt in Canadian golf for a long time and who knows, maybe we'll get it back before too long.

As always, thanks for your support.
Mike