LookingBack by CHRIS LANG
Slamming the Door
FOR MUCH OF ITS HISTORY, the Presidents Cup— contested biennially between the United States and a team of non-European internationals— has been a snooze. The U. S. has won 13 of the 15 competitions, including 10 consecutive. The Internationals’ lone victory came in 1998 at Royal Melbourne in Australia. Rarely has a U. S. victory been close, particularly when played on American soil.
The 1996 edition at VSGA member club Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville was an exception. Captained by Arnold Palmer, the U. S. team snuck out a victory in a competition that came down to the final singles match between American Fred Couples and Fiji’ s Vijay Singh. Couples rolled home a 35-foot birdie putt on No. 17 to secure a 2-and-1 win and the winning point in a one-point victory.
“ Unbelievable,” Palmer said afterward.“ I could see it coming to the 18th, and I really wasn’ t looking forward to that.”
Couples would go on to captain three winning American Presidents Cup squads. He’ ll be remembered for his heroics 30 years ago at RTJ.
© PHYLLIS POSTON, AP 1996
40 V IRGINIA G OLFER | M ay / June 2026 vsga. org