CHARLOTTE N.C. — Many things have changed since the last Presidents Cup, when captains took part. Tiger WoodsThe 2019 U.S. team won 16-14 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Australia.
It was announced in the last week Greg NormanGoes to Congress to support LIV Golf Cameron SmithYou also won $4 million on LIV Golf circuit Max HomaAt the Fortinet Championship, he defended his title.
Although professional mens Golf is still fragmented, the sport will reunite at the 14th Presidents Cup, Quail Hollow Club, starting on Thursday.
One thing is certain? U.S. captains are home to five of the top ten players in the world. Davis Love IIIThe team ofs is once more a strong favorite. The Americans have won eight consecutive games and in 11 of the 13 previous meetings. International team captain Trevor ImmelmanAfter Smith defected to LIV Golf, Smith had to reshape the roster.
Loves goal for the event is to ensure his team isn’t too confident.
Love stated that he doesnt believe we need to communicate or motivate too much. We know that losing teams are not something you want to be on. Trevor will have a team with a chip on its shoulder, that is motivated and willing to prove they can still be competitive. We need to be careful. These guys will not take it lightly.
Heres what you can look forward to at the Presidents Cup in this weeks edition:
How it works
The Presidents Cup is a four-day match-play tournament that pits a 12-man U.S.-based team against a 12-man International (excluding Europe). There are 30 matches. The winner is the team with the highest total points after four days.
The schedule:
-
Thursdays match will include five foursome (alternate shot), matches.
-
Friday will feature five best ball (four-ball) matches.
-
Saturday will feature eight matches. There will be four foursome matches and four fall-ball matches.
-
Sundays final will feature 12 singles matches.
Each match is worth one point. Both teams get a half-point each for ties. If the teams are tied after Sunday’s singles matches, there is no playoff.
Whos playing?
The American team appears to be the overwhelming favorite to win the Presidents Cup. Each of the 12 American players is ranked among the top 25 in Official World Golf Ranking. This includes five of the top 10. Only three players rank in the top 25 for the International team.
The average ranking in the world for U.S. players is 11.6, while the average for International team members is 48.9.
The U.S. team includes: Scottie Scheffler (No. (No. Patrick Cantlay (No. 4), Xander Schauffele (No. 5), Justin Thomas (No. 7), Collin Morikawa (No. 9), Sam Burns (No. 12), Jordan Spieth (No. 13), Tony Finau (No. 14), Billy Horschel (No. 15), Max Homa (No. 16), Cameron Young (No. 18) Kevin Kisner (No. 25).
The International team includes: Hideki Yamayama (No. 17), Sungjae Im (No. 19), Joohyung Tom Kim (No. 22), Corey Conners (No. 26), Adam Scott (No. 30), K.H. Lee (No. 43), Mito Pereira (No. 49), Sebastian Munoz (No. 63), Cam Davis (No. 66), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (No. 67), Si Woo Kim (No. (No. Taylor Pendrith (No. 109).
Who doesnt like to play?
Players who defected to the LIV golf circuit drastically reduced the International team. The Presidents Cup is sanctioned and sanctioned by PGA Tour. LIV golfers suspended by the tour are not eligible to compete at Quail Hollow.
Cameron Smith of Australia, third-ranked in the world, and Open Championship winner at St. Andrews was the highest-ranked player on this International team. Chiles Joaquin Niemann (No. 21), Mexicos Abraham Ancer (No. (No. 24), South Africas Louis Oosthuizen (No. 33) and Australia’s Marc Leishman (No. 61) would have been a sure thing to make the team.
Indias Anirban Lahiri (No. 95) Competed in the Presidents Cup in 2015, 2017 and is ineligible for this year.
Lahiri stated that she was going to miss it at last weeks LIV Golf event in Chicago. Its very dear to my heart. Ive been part of two teams. I am proud to have been part of them. They were very special weeks for my life. I will support the International team fully this week. I hope our boys go out and give it their all and play really well. Yes, its something I care deeply about, and its unfortunate that things are the way they are. But I wish them all the best.
Niemann said: Yeah. Its sad, but obviously Im supporting the International team. There are many friends and professional golfers with whom I have a lot to share the year. Yes, Im going support them, and hopefully they beat America.
Will ZalatorisThe U.S. team would have included a player like Corey, who won his first PGA Tour title at the FedEx St. Jude Championship last year. Due to a back injury he was forced to withdraw from consideration. He is a two-time major champion Dustin Johnson (No. 23) was also strongly considered for captains selection.
What to Expect
The Americans have a significant advantage in world ranking. They also have been more successful at the three largest match-play events, the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and Presidents Cup.
Scheffler, who won his third PGA Tour match-play tournament in Austin Texas in March, is now 11-2-2 in individual matches. He was the one who defeated Spains number one. Jon Rahm, who was then the No. In the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Strits, the No. 1 player in the world was.
Kisner won in Austin the 2019 event and was second to Scheffler this season. In individual match play, he has a record of 22-7-2. Horschel, who will be making his debut as a professional in a team event, is 13-7-2.
Eight President Cup rookies are part of the International team. Only four of the International teams players have participated in more than seven match play matches as a professional: Matsuyama (11-11-3 single), Conners (4-4), Scott (22-21-2 single) and Si Woo Kim (5-9-3 single).
Rerouting of the Green Mile
The last three holes at Quail Hollow Club are known as the Green Mile , and are some of the most dramatic holes in professional golf.
The 16th hole, which is the longest of the par-4 holes on the course, has a large peninsula-shaped green with hazards on all three sides. The treacherous par-3 17th is surrounded by water on the right and left sides of the green. The par-4 18th hole has a creek running along the left side. This seems to act as a magnet for balls as pressure builds. It is the most difficult final hole on the PGA Tour in relation to par.
These holes will be played as Nos. 13-14 and 15 are included in the match. The 2019 Presidents Cup in Melbourne saw all 30 matches reach the 15th hole. However, 18 of them were decided before that hole.
Immelman stated, Theres no place to hide in those holes. You just have the ability to take a great shot and step up. There is no room for bailing out. This is just too demanding. It was a brilliant idea to make those three holes in the back nine. I [can]100 percent see a few holes that you can win with a single par. Its going to make for some great stuff.
Quail Hollow will reroute its regular 14-18 holes to become holes 11-15. The traditional holes will now be completed as follows: 1 through 8; 12 through 18; 10, 11 and 9.
The par-71 golf course is expected to be more than 7,500 yards long, so it will be difficult to get the ball off the tee.
Quail Hollow club will also see fairways with Bermuda grass oversidised. The Wells Fargo Championship is traditionally played in early mai. In late-summer conditions, Bermuda greens and rough will be firmer.
Players dont get compensated for competing
The Presidents Cup is different from the Ryder Cup in that players do not receive money for competing. Instead, each player receives $150,000 that they can distribute to charities of choice. The Presidents Cup has raised more than $54.4 million for charity since 1994, including $5.4million in 2019.