The top PGA Tour players from the United States and a team compiled of international players from non-European countries (e.g. Canada, South Africa, South Korea, Japan, Australia) will tee it up this week in Montreal, Quebec for the 15th edition of the Presidents Cup.
His first time as the U.S. captain of a team-play event, Jim Furyk’s squad got shellacked by the Euros in the 2018 Ryder Cup matches. Furyk gets a second crack at it this week in Montreal as he leads Team USA against a much less formidable International team in the 2024 Presidents Cup matches.
Unlike the Ryder Cup, the Presidents Cup – an event that takes place in opposite years to the Ryder, has been a lopsided affair.
Just how lopsided is this year’s Presidents Cup match on paper? The entirety of the U.S. Team’s 12-man roster ranks inside the top 25 of Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), while the International Team has three such players.
Team USA enters the match-play tournament at the Royal Montreal Golf Club with a chance to win a record ten consecutive Cups and 12 straight retains (they tied and retained in 2003).
Regardless, this year’s Presidents Cup is replete with amazing storylines, and should provide another highlight to the 2024 golf season’s yearbook.
The Skinny
Tournament: Presidents Cup
Tournament Debut: 1994
Dates: Sep. 26-29, 2024
Where: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Venue: Royal Montreal GC
Distance: 7279 Yards, Par 35-35-70
Architect: Dick Wilson (1959)
Reno Architect: Rees Jones (2004)
Format: 4 Days/Team Match Play
Field Size: 24 (12 per team)
Trophy: Presidents Cup
Captains: Jim Furyk (USA), Mike Weir (ITNL)
2022 Champion: USA
How to Follow the Presidents Cup
Television/Streaming:
Thu, Sep 26
Rd 1 Four-Ball (5 matches)
11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (GOLF)
Fri, Sep 27
Rd 2 Foursomes (5 matches)
1-6 p.m. (GOLF)
Sat, Sep 28
Rd 3 Morning Four-Ball (4 matches)
Rd 4 Afternoon Foursomes (4 matches)
8 a.m.-6 p.m. (NBC)
Sun, Sep 29
Rd 5 Singles (12 matches)
12-6 p.m. (NBC)
Links:
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Presidents Cup History
As prestigious as the Presidents Cup has been, it does not have anything resembling the rich history of the Ryder Cup. The Presidents Cup began in 1994, and the 14 past editions has been very lopsided, with the United States team holding a 12-1-1 advantage. The one international victory came in 1998, when great weeks from Shigeki Maruyama, Steve Elkington, Ernie Els, Greg Norman, and Vijay Singh, among others catalyzed a 20.5-11.5 romp.
The most recent edition of the Presidents Cup, which occurred in 2022 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte was a solid five-point romp by the Americans. Led by Davis Love III, the U.S. Team was so formidable in the early team events, headlined by the team of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas (neither of who returns) that they won 17.5-12.5 despite basically splitting the 12 singles matches on the final day.
The Presidents Cup format has been mildly tinkered with over the years but has remained more of less the same over the past 30 years. There will be four days of play: three days of events that have the players paired up, and an all-out final day where all 24 golfers in attendance are matched up against an opposing player in a singles match.
Day 1 will feature five “foursomes” matches, where all four players on the course will play their own ball, with the best score on each team for each hole counting towards the team score. Day 2 then comprises five “fourball” matches, which is an alternate shot format. Day 3 is a mix, with eight matches, split between morning foursomes and afternoon fourballs, similar to the Ryder Cup. Sunday’s finale is also Ryder Cup-like with 12 singles matches.
The modern format has a total of 30 points up for grabs, so when a team reaches 15.5 points, the cup is clinched.
The matches have been contested in the United States eight times with one of the International countries hosting it seven times. Australia has hosted it three times and Canada twice, while South Korea and South Africa have one each.
History: Recent Winners
2022: USA 17.5-12.5 (NC, USA)
2019: USA 16-14 (Australia)
2017: USA 19-11 (NY, USA)
2015: USA 15.5-14.5 (South Korea)
2013: USA 18.5-15.5 (OHIO, USA)
2011: USA 19-15 (Australia)
2009: USA 19.5-14.5 (CALIF, USA)
History: Records
Largest Margin of Victory
8 – 20-12 USA (1994), 19-11 USA (2017)
Closest Margin of Victory
Tie – 17-17 USA retains (2003)
Appearances
12 – Phil Mickelson (USA) 1994-2017
Career Points
32.5 – Phil Mickelson (USA) Total
13 – Phil Mickelson (USA) Fourball
14 – Phil Mickelson (USA) Foursome
7 – Tiger Woods (USA) Singles
Oldest Player
49Y/353D – Jay Haas (USA) 2003
Youngest Player
18Y/21D – Ryo Ishikawa (INT) 2009
2024 Presidents Cup Teams
U.S. Team
Automatic qualifiers: Scottie Scheffler (2nd Presidents Cup), Xander Schauffele (3rd), Collin Morikawa (2nd), Wyndham Clark (1st), Patrick Cantlay (3rd), Sahith Theegala (1st).
Captain’s picks: Sam Burns (2nd), Tony Finau (3rd), Russell Henley (1st), Keegan Bradley (2nd), Brian Harman (1st), Max Homa (2nd)
Captain: Jim Furyk
International Team
Automatic qualifiers: Hideki Matsuyama (6th), Sungjae Im (3rd), Adam Scott (11th), Tom Kim (2nd), Jason Day (5th), Byeong Hun An (2nd)
Captain’s picks: Corey Conners (2nd), Min Woo Lee (1st), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (2nd), Taylor Pendrith (2nd), Si Woo Kim (3rd), Mackenzie Hughes (1st)
Captain: Mike Weir
Both Furyk and Weir will captain rosters bolstered with ample Presidents Cup experience with only five rookies in the field: Sahith Theegala, Brian Harman and Russell Henley for the Americans; Min Woo Lee and MacKenzie Hughes for Team International.
American stars with the most Presidents Cup experience include Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau – each making their third start.
The International squad, though, has far more experience, with three players who will have appeared in at least five prior Presidents Cup matches: Adam Scott (11), Hideki Matsuyama (6) and Jason Day (5).
In total, the Internationals have 28 Presidents Cup starts under their belts while the Americans have just 12.
The Course
The Royal Montreal Golf Club is a par 70 that stretches to 7,279 yards.
The club, on Île Bizard, is about 35 minutes from downtown Montreal, and lays claim to being the oldest club in North America. Founded in 1873, the course – which has moved locations twice – has been home to the RBC Canadian Open 10 times, most recently in 2014.
Royal Montreal was renovated by Rees Jones in 2004 (a robust effort that included redesigning 17 greens and rebuilding 70 bunkers) and then again leading into this year’s Presidents Cup by PGA TOUR design services. That team lengthened it by about 300 yards and reworked a few bunkers.
The front nine has a classic parkland feel while the back nine boasts water hazards on six holes including the final five in a row.
Credit: PGA TOUR MEDIA, Getty Images, Presidents Cup, Joel Cook
