Just like the home version of Atari's landmark Pac-Man game wasn't exactly like the arcade version, so, too, is the Presidents Cup not exactly like the Ryder Cup. And, for the sake of the Americans, that is a good thing, says our Grant Boone.

By Grant Boone, Special to PGA.com

First off, I know many of you have come to GMT today in hopes of finding my personal review of Halo 3. I regret to report that there are a few titles I need to check out first to give it fair treatment, namely Halo, Halo 2, and virtually every video game since Dig Dug. In fact, if it wasn't made for the Atari 2600 (slogan: "Let the fattening of America's youth begin!"), there's a pretty good chance I haven't played it.

Compared to Pong, of course, the 2600 was revolutionary, even if the Atari facsimiles of the actual arcade games bore roughly the same resemblance as Rex Grossman to an NFL quarterback. I vividly recall the anticipation of Atari's Pac-Man, perhaps because I'd blown my entire allowance for two years straight (and occasionally the money I was supposed to have turned in to my school from selling GooGoo Clusters) playing the real game on weekends at Rivergate Mall. The 2600 version of Pac-Man hit the stores in 1982. I was 13 and hadn't yet discovered women. (That would happen a few months later upon the release of Ms. Pac-Man.)

I just as vividly recall the first time I played it and saying, "They must've put the wrong game in the Pac-Man box." The board had no dots, just dashes. Pac-Man looked like a lowercase e swallowing up communion wafers (refresh your memory here). Different music, different maze. Other than affording kids the opportunity to kill off their adolescence in mind-numbing chunks, they weren't the same game. Needless to say, Atari's Pac-Man went over about as well as the "Medellin" screening at Cannes.

Still, there weren't a lot of options. Two of my best friends had Intellivision. Those were the ones endorsed by George Plimpton, who condescendingly chuckled in TV commercials about how superior the graphics were to Atari's. It was like Lloyd telling Harry, "Man, you are one pathetic loser!" after each had just been fired. I stayed up all night playing Intellivision baseball with my best friend Porter the night before driving off to Texas to start my freshman year at ACU. About half that game was spent with my rightfielder running in place trying to extricate the ball from the corner of the screen. He looked like Shermy dancing to "Linus and Lucy" in A Charlie Brown Christmas (click here and go to the 4:30 mark of the video).

The Presidents Cup, underway this weekend in Montreal, is a little like the home version of the Ryder Cup. The International Team is the dash to Europe's dot. Like it's done in so many cases, most notably the recent playoffs, the PGA Tour figured if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Having no ownership or operation of the Ryder Cup - which is run by the PGA of America and which rose in popularity once Europe ended a nearly 30-year drought by winning in 1985 - the Tour cut-and-pasted that format, replacing the Euros with an otherwise amorphous American opponent comprised of players from the evil empire known as "everywhere else in the world."

There've been some good moments in the seven previous PCs. Fred Couples won the first two on the 18th hole. Vijay Singh's caddy made noise with his "Tiger Who?" hat in 2000. And the Woods-Els duel in the dark in South Africa in '03 was awesome. It was also cool to see the competitive fire in the respective captains, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, on that Sunday four years ago. When it was suggested they call the weekend a tie, Nicklaus said, "Sure, so that means we retain the Cup, right?" to which Player immediately objected. They agreed to call it a draw and leave the Cup in limbo, but watching two of the greatest players and gentlemen in golf history sort it all out with everyone, including a worldwide television audience, crowded around them on the 18th green made for great theater.

If nothing else, the Presidents Cup was a good move because it's given American men something other than their petards to hoist on a semi-regular basis. The U.S. has won five of six Presidents Cups with that one tie in '03. Meanwhile, the Ryder Cup ship appears to have sailed. The Americans have only won that once since 1993. In fact, my buddy Small called me last week and said, "Why is it that our 18- and 19-year-old girls can march over to Europe and stare down the best players in the world while our guys keep getting creamed in the Ryder Cup?" Good question. I'm pretty sure the answer is twofold.

For a long time, it seemed to be a matter of desire. Not that the U.S. players didn't want to win; it just didn't make or break their careers like it did the Euros'. The Christy O'Connors and Philip Waltons and Paul McGinleys of the world are forever revered on that side of the Atlantic for having helped Europe win or keep the Cup. It's kind of hard for an American player to be heroic when he's expected to win.

Now, though, I think Europe is simply as good if not better top to bottom, yet they're rarely picked to win. Combine that chip on the shoulder and talented players with the opportunity to become a hero and you've got a rather bleak forecast for American Ryder Cup success.

The Presidents Cup is a different story. The International Team is probably as deep or deeper 1-12 than Europe, but they're in serious need of a rallying cry. Most of them make their livings (and handsome ones, at that) here in the States and, in many cases, live next door to our players. "Beat the Americans! Yes! That'll teach 'em not to return my posthole digger!"

The future of the Presidents Cup is as bright as the frequency with which Tiger Woods chooses to participate. As Tiger's favorite new practice partner, Bubba Watson, told me last week, Woods wants to win whatever he plays, which is why he's who he is. And Woods is always a good watch, now more than ever when he's playing at such a high level.

But is it realistic to believe he'll play both the Ryder and Presidents Cups every year for the next decade? I doubt, barring injury, that he'll miss the Ryder Cup. No one currently playing the Tour appreciates the history of the game like Woods, and he knows full well the Ryder Cup has a 65-year head start on the Presidents. But I don't think it's difficult to imagine an upcoming Presidents Cup -- perhaps as early as 2011 at Royal Melbourne in Australia -- that doesn't particularly fit Tiger's schedule, especially now that his seasons are ending in early September.

What would happen to the Presidents Cup if Tiger Woods no longer played? Tough to say, but it might sound a little something like what you'll hear if you click here.

Grant Boone is a husband, father, golf broadcaster, and sports journalist based in Abilene, Texas. His column appears on PGA.com each Wednesday and every day during major championships and other big events. He can be contacted at pgagrant@hotmail.com.

The views and opinions expressed here do not reflect those of PGA.com or The PGA of America.