PRESIDENTS CUP PREVIEW – Golf News

The President’s Cup, the biennial team match play event between the USA and an International team comprising players from outside of Europe, tees off its 15th renewal on Thursday at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Quebec.

Team USA will be looking to extend its winning run to ten in a row in Canada, having not lost this century. Since the event was launched in 1994, USA has won 12 times, International just one (1998), with one tie (2003).

Both teams comprise six automatic qualifiers and six captain’s picks. Team USA is being captained by Jim Furyk, while the International team is being led by Canadian Mike Weir.

Team USA six automatic qualifiers from the points list were Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay and Sahith Theegala.

And Furyk made things easy for himself by picking the next six highest points scorers to make up the rest of the team. They are Sam Burns, Tony Finau, Russell Henley, Keegan Bradley, Brian Harman and Max Homa.

Weir’s team comprises automatic qualifiers Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im, Adam Scott, Tom Kim, Jason Day and Byeong Hun An, along with captain’s picks Corey Conners, Min Woo Lee, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Taylor Pendrith, Si Woo Kim and Mackenzie Hughes.

Weir has played the home advantage card in picking three Canadians in Conners, Pendrith and Hughes. While Conners finished 7th in the standings, and Pendrith 11th, Hughes was three places outside the top-12 points scorers in 15th.

As the President’s Cup is a PGA Tour-sanctioned event, players contracted to LIV Golf are not eligible for selection for either team, so the likes of Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau are missing from the US team, while obvious International team candidates Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann were also barred from competing, seriously denting the ‘home’ side’s chances of victory.

COMPETITION FORMAT

Unlike the Ryder Cup, the Presidents Cup takes place over four days instead of three, with Thursday, September 26 seeing the opening five four-ball matches starting at 4.35pm (UK time), followed on Friday by five foursomes matches from 6.05pm.

Saturday will see four morning foursomes and four afternoon fourball matches, while Sunday will see 12 singles matches starting at 5pm (UK time).

With 30 points up for grabs, the first team to reach 15.5 points will win the Presidents Cup.

HOW TO WATCH THE PRESIDENTS CUP

Sky Sports will be showing live coverage from all five sessions in Canada, with over 28 hours of action across the four tournament days alongside daily highlights and specific Presidents Cup programming.