Seventeen years later, the Presidents Cup returns to Canada. The Royal Montreal Golf will be the stage this week, from Thursday to Sunday, for the classic showdown between the best players from the United States, captained by Jim Furyk, and the selection of the best from the rest of the world, except for European golfers and those belonging to LIV Golf, with Canadian Mike Weir as captain.
The international team will face in this 15th edition of the event organized by the PGA Tour the difficult mission of trying to achieve their second victory in history (12 victories of the United States team and a draw that allowed to retain the title to the stars and stripes) against a rival full of talents, including the Number One in the world, Scottie Scheffler, who comes from winning the FedEx Cup and could be closing his competitive year.
A venue that has stood the test of time.
Un lieu qui a résisté à l'épreuve du temps.#PresidentsCup pic.twitter.com/01GQyNzRSw
— Presidents Cup (@PresidentsCup) September 16, 2024
The last time the Presidents Cup visited Montreal, in 2008, the Americans beat the international team by 19.5 to 14.5. On this occasion, they start again as big favourites. Even more so by the fact that the international team cannot count on players like Cameron Smith, Joaquín Niemann or Louis Oosthuizen, for belonging to LIV. But they will have to demonstrate this apparent superiority on the field against rivals who will not make it easy for them.
The Japanese Hideki Matsuyama, with two victories this year and the best ranked of the international team, the Australians Adam Scott and Jason Day, or great competitors like Tom Kim or Sungjae Im, among others, will try to stop a team with names like Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Tony Finau or Patrick Cantlay, among others, to prevent them from repeating the victory achieved two years ago at Quail Hollow, North Carolina, where they won by a comfortable 17.5 to 12.5 that was forged with a double 4-1 in the first two days.
"Makes me want to go play!" @IntlTeam Captain @MWeirsy takes in their cabin for the week.
"Ça me donne envie d'aller jouer !" Le capitaine de l'équipe internationale, Mike Weir, découvre leur cabine pour la semaine.#PresidentsCup pic.twitter.com/ZCTEuQ4ZHm
— Presidents Cup (@PresidentsCup) September 23, 2024
Although the game format is very similar to the Ryder Cup, the Presidents adds one more day of competition. Thus, on Thursday there will be five doubles matches in foursomes (alternate shots); on Friday, five doubles matches in fourballs (four balls in play); on Saturday, four foursomes matches in the morning and four fourballs in the afternoon; and on Sunday, twelve individual duels. Each victory adds one point, each draw, half, and defeats do not add up.
In this 15th edition of the tournament, Furyk has bet on two debutants among his personal choices, Russell Henley and Brian Harman, who join Wyndham Clark and Sahith Theegala who earned the right to play the Presidents with their performance during the season. Weir, for his part, has pulled from Canadian compatriots like Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith and debutant Mackenzie Hughes to further boost the push of the fans, also incorporating debutants like Min Woo Lee, in addition to the aforementioned Hughes.
POV: You're a Presidents Cup participant and you've just arrived to the host hotel.
Point de vue: Vous participez à la Coupe des Présidents et vous venez d'arriver à l'hôtel.#PresidentsCup pic.twitter.com/3MHogAPvKE
— Presidents Cup (@PresidentsCup) September 23, 2024
Other names to highlight from this Presidents Cup are, of course, Adam Scott, who plays his 11th edition (he has only missed four in the history of the tournament), Jason Day, who returns seven years later to the event, or Max Homa, who was a real ‘killer’ a couple of years ago at Quail Hollow with four victories, zero draws and zero defeats in his locker. Will Mike Weir, who beat Tiger Woods in his individual match in the last Presidents at Royal Montreal, change the history after 26 years without victories of the international team? Difficult, but not impossible.
American team:
Automatic qualifiers: Scottie Scheffler (second Presidents Cup), Xander Schauffele (third), Collin Morikawa (second), Wyndham Clark (first), Patrick Cantlay (third), Sahith Theegala (first).
Captain’s choice: Sam Burns (second), Tony Finau (third), Russell Henley (first), Keegan Bradley (second), Brian Harman (first), Max Homa (second)
Captain: Jim Furyk
International team:
Automatic qualification: Hideki Matsuyama (sixth Presidents Cup), Sungjae Im (third), Adam Scott (eleventh), Tom Kim (second), Jason Day (fifth), Byeong Hun An (second).
Captain’s choice: Corey Conners (second), Min Woo Lee (first), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (second), Taylor Pendrith (second), Si Woo Kim (third), Mackenzie Hughes (first)
Captain: Mike Weir
Tournament history:
