PGATOUR.com Correspondent
ILE BIZARD, MONTREAL, Canada -- He joked that it was off the record.
Yeah, right. Lights on. Cameras rolling. All eyes on him.
He grinned. He dipped his head toward Ernie Els. Everyone laughed.
How does Vijay Singh get along with Phil Mickelson?
Singh made a face and said simply, ''Phil Who?''
Yikes. Shades of 2000 when Singh's caddie Paul Tesori embroidered "Tiger Who?" on the back of his cap at The Presidents Cup at Robert Trent Jones Golf Course.
This time around, it was just amusing. Not news.
Veege and Phil. They're not buddies. They're sparks for each other's competitive fires.
They nod. They shake hands. They don't go out to dinner.
The only two players who have been on every darn Presidents Cup team are, well, very opposite. They're also, in different ways, a bit of the heart of their respective teams.
Veege is the steadying voice in an International locker room of fun-and-games. Not that the International players aren't serious. They are. But they love to joke and have fun.
"When Vijay speaks, you listen,'' Ernie Els said. "We don't get too serious, our team. We joke around. But when he speaks, you listen.
"He brings stability to the team."
And Phil? He's the man who stood up and put everything into perspective two years ago when the U.S. team presented Jack and Barbara Nicklaus with a painting of their grandson Jake, who had died five months before the 2005 Presidents Cup.
He's also the guy Nicklaus will trust to steady ancient rookie Woody Austin -- okay, he's only 43, but he's talking about how old he is -- in Thursday's opening matches.
"He'll take those big old shoulders of his and put one around Woody tomorrow,'' U.S. Assistant Captain Jeff Sluman said.
And, Austin laughed, carry him on his back.
Not really. But you get the idea.
Veege and Phil have been there, done that. For all six Presidents Cups. They've won, lost and tied. And Thursday, they'll face each other for only the fourth time -- Veege with Mike Weir against Phil and Woody.
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Phil, we might add, leads Veege 2-1.
But this isn't so much about the numbers as the longevity. They've been at the top of their games and the upper echelon of the world rankings -- Vijay was No. 1 in the world twice in 2005 -- and Els would have joined them, had he not injured a knee and missed the last Cup, but he did.
So we put the question out there to both of the old guys -- just how much has the Presidents Cup changed since its debut in 1994.
"Since '94 when this event has started, there was a lot of skepticism, and now it's turned into - I think - an incredible worldwide event to where it's helped increase awareness of the game of golf,'' Phil said. "It's brought exposure from some of the top players in the game to other parts of the world. I think it's been a big plus for the game of golf to help promote it on a worldwide scale. ''
And, yes, it's been a 13-year ride -- from wide-eyed kid to veteran.
"I've got kids; I've got an eight year old, and two others; my wife and I now have been together 14 years, 11 of them married,'' Phil said. "And I look back, and a lot of things have occurred, and a lot of time has passed.
"And so it reminds me of how I'm first of all, getting old, and second of how many great things have been given to me because of this game of golf.''
Old? Phil doesn't have graying temples. Singh does. And, at 44, he's the oldest player in the event -- a year older than Scott Verplank and Woody.
To see the changes, he said, you need only look at the picture of the first International Team that's hanging in the team room. Vijay's got glasses and a, well, different, hairstyle. Among his teammates? Frank Nobilo, Mark McNulty, Fulton Allem, Craig Parry and Peter Senior.
"Those are the things you look back and say, wow, we had some great times . . . '' he said. "Through the years, they have been good, every one of them. You meet a lot of new players, and they come and go. You strike a relationship with all of the players in the team, and the memory stays forever.''
The U.S. leads the event 4-1-1, with the lone International win coming in Australia in 1998. The tie was in South Africa in 2003.
"For some reason, we enjoyed it better outside of the U.S.,'' Veege said. "I guess we all played better, and the support from the home crowd was a lot more than when we played in America. And we had it big time in Australia and South Africa.
"It's different; we have a lot more crowd on our side when we are away from America. This, I don't know how this is going to be. This is so close to the States. But I enjoyed every one of them, and, hopefully, this is not going to be my last. ''
He's won twice this season, but it's still not the year he wants. Ditto for Mickelson, who's won three times, but, like Singh, had some slip away.
But here? It's all about team. And partners.
In 2005, Mickelson was paired with Chris DiMarco and they went 3-0-1. Then they wound up bringing it all home in the final two matches, with Mickelson taking it into sudden death with Angel Cabrera and leaving it to DiMarco to sink the winning putt a few minutes later against Stuart Appleby.
Phil couldn't decide between DiMarco's putt or the putt Fred Couples made in 1996 on the 17th hole as his most memorable moment in the past 15 years. But he did say the 2003 event in South Africa stands out.
"In my opinion, (2003) was the most incredible,'' he said. "That's what really gave this event a lot of credibility.''
So have Singh and Phil, who have, over the past 13 years, led their teams they morphed from an individual sport into a team one week every other year.
As Singh explained, "It's not the individual anymore. It's a point. When you play, it's a point. If you win the point, it's great. If you don't win the point, obviously it's a point away from the team.
"You don't really worry about how bad you played or how bad your partner played. You just go out there as a team, and you perform as a team.''
And, yes, that was on the record. And his teammates? They were listening.
| STANDINGS | ||
| Results | Points | |
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US TEAM | 19.5 |
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INTERNATIONAL TEAM | 14.5 |
| Leaderboard | ||