By: Travis Puterbaugh, Curator
“This may be one of the happiest days of my life,” World Golf Hall of Fame member Ken Venturi said after captaining the United States team to victory in the 2000 Presidents Cup. Contested from October 19 – 22 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va., a mere 35 miles from the site of his 1964 U.S. Open win at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., the 2000 affair featured high stakes for the U.S. team.
Following a lopsided defeat dubbed the “Massacre in Melbourne” at the 1998 Presidents Cup in Australia, Venturi hoped to avenge the loss while restoring civility to international competition. The 1997 and 1999 Ryder Cup matches had been marred by excessive partisan celebrations, so Venturi and International Team captain Peter Thomson both vowed to change the tone of the competition.
“We want to put the tradition back into this event… to show the world what golf is really like,” said Venturi.
Venturi also wanted to win, however, and in decisive fashion. Heading into singles play on Sunday with a commanding 14-6 lead, he urged his team to break the record for margin of victory set just two years prior by the International Team. His squad did just that, capturing the match in record-breaking style, 21½ -10½. Venturi made several important decisions that week as captain which contributed to the win, such as pairing Cup rookies Stewart Cink and Kirk Triplett, who won 7½ out of 8 possible points as a team. His role off the course, however, truly defined his captaincy.
Sadly on October 12, 2000, a terrorist attack on the USS Cole in Yemen killed 17 American sailors. Venturi asked his team to wear black ribbons in their memory. The International squad joined in as well, and ribbons sold during the tournament raised thousands of dollars for the victims’ families. Up until his death in 2013, that act of patriotism remained his favorite memory of the 2000 Presidents Cup.
This diamond-encrusted, 10 karat gold ring, manufactured for Presidents Cup team members by E.A. Dion, Inc., of Attleboro, Mass., is proudly displayed at the World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum in honor of our Class of 2013 Inductee for his legacy and leadership.
