The 1998 President’s Cup at Royal Melbourne in Australia has the distinction of being the only Cup won by an international team in the event’s 30-year history – and it was an upset, with the international team winning with tight gloves, 20.5- 11.5.
What was going on with Team USA? Longtime broadcasters Peter Kostis and Gary McCord may have a clue. In the latest episode of “Kostis & McCord: Off Their Rockers,” a GOLF production, the two revisit their memories from Down Under.
According to Kostis, the US team’s approach to the casino that week did nothing for them.
“[Captain Jack Nicklaus] “kinda stopped a few players from the Friday morning games because you found them in the casino at our hotel until late at night,” said Kostis. “And so I went down the fairway — I think it was the 10th fairway, somewhere around there. And I follow Mickelson’s team. And Phil comes up, he goes, he calls me, ‘Peter!’, and he saves me a chip, and I look down and it’s a $25,000 chip from the casino. I said thank you and put it in my pocket and started walking.”
Kostis said Mickelson followed him to retrieve the chip, but the story regaled McCord with another wild anecdote from the Presidents Cup. McCord and Kostis recalled the fluctuating weather, with temperatures soaring into the hundreds one day and dropping into the 60s the next.
“There were flies, and someone from the gallery gave me this hat with wine corks hanging from it so I could walk down the highways,” Kostis said. “They said they would stop the flies.”
“I remember the first day when it was 100 or whatever,” McCord said. “We had to do a booth and ESPN was a partner there, and I had an ESPN announcer up there. You know how hot it was. We had to wear a coat and tie. So I remember, the commercial break after the first half hour, I went, the hell with this.
“I got up and took off my pants, took off everything except underwear, put on a jacket and tie, and he looked at me. You are leaving, what are you doing? I said, it’s hot. I’m not going anywhere. I’m sitting right here to relax. And those flies attacked me with them revenge.
“And all I could do was, I was sitting there trying to hold on, and I was walking like this and they pulled up my underwear, and it was really funny. We thank God that we did not appear to do it.”
“TMI!” Kostis said with a smile.
As if that story wasn’t exciting enough, McCord had one more gambling story to share.
“You and I, we are leaving the hotel. We didn’t gamble or anything like that, and we put down all the money we had, and we won!” McCord said. “We succeeded and went out to the car and went to the airport, returning to the States. That’s all I remember about that place.”
For more from Kostis and McCord, watch the full clip above.
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