Starting from Thursday the eyes of the majority of the golfing world will be set on Montreal and the Presidents Cup. The bi-annual competition between Team USA and an International Team (which excludes players from Europe) in recent times this team event has been dominated by the Americans. The winners of the last nine iterations of this event, the bookmakers have them as the overwhelming favourites to win a tenth straight and few would back against it happening.
However, despite the daunting task that lay ahead of them, the International Team will head into this year’s competition determined to not be intimidated and to try and take the contest as deep as possible. For those of an international persuasion, there are plenty of reasons to be positive and we will run through some of those factors below.
American’s will need to fail to fire whilst the Internationals will need to be at the very top of their game
Make no mistake about it, if the Internationals are to complete a seismic shock, they will need some help from the Americans. When it comes to the world rankings, the internationals look to have it all to do.
Leading America are world number one, Scottie Scheffler and world number two Xander Schauffele, positioned behind them is world number four Collin Morikawa, world number six Wyndham Clark, world number nine Patrick Cantlay and world number 11 Sahith Theegala.
The only player who features inside the top ten for the Internationals is Hideki Matsuyama and his current ranking of 5, has only been achieved in the last few months. Whilst form and rankings can often go out the window in team events like this, America boast some seriously impressive firepower and if they can play to their best, they should simply sweep the International challenge to one side.
Containing a team full of veterans when it comes to Presidents and Ryder Cups, the Americans shouldn’t be overawed by what is about to face them and they will be confident of winning a tenth consecutive Presidents Cup.
Much of the International challenge will need to fall upon several of their experienced team members. Nobody in Presidents Cup history has made as many appearances as Adam Scott and over the last few months the Australian has offered up a timely reminder of his skills. Needing to take responsibility alongside Scott are the duo of Hideki Matsuyama and Jason Day. The only other major winners in the International lineup, look for captain Mike Weir to send out this trio early and if the Internationals harbour any serious hopes of winning the event, it is imperative that these three all play to a high level throughout the week.
Canadian crowd can be a factor
There is no doubt about it, sports in Canada are absolutely huge and in recent years, the Canadian Open has become one of the most popular events on the PGA Calendar. Passionate but also respectful, whenever players from home or abroad play in Canada the atmosphere that is generated by the crowd is often one of the first things that is praised.
This year’s Presidents Cup stands to be no different. Not only is the International Team captained by Canadian hero Mike Weir, but the team will feature three Canadians with Corey Connors, Taylor Pendrith and Mckenzie Hughes all carrying the hopes of the international side.
With plenty for the home crowd to get behind and the fact that the vast majority of the crowd will truly embrace the underdog role that the International Team will be facing, you can be assured that where possible, the crowd could have a huge say on proceedings.
Team International want to turn the tide
Over the last decade the Presidents Cup has been difficult for the International side. Often blown away by the might and power of the American’s it has often been the case that when the Internationals arrive, it is often a case of them trying to not to get blown away rather than winning. But after the last two editions of this famous tournament there has definitely been a change in approach as to how the Internationals are approaching things.
Team events in golf are now incredibly complex. Whereas in the decades past, Captains may make decisions based purely on form, nowadays a great deal of work goes into finding out who should play with who. Statistics have taken over and under the leadership of Trevor Immelman in the 2022 event, the Internationals took their data game to an entirely different level. In trying to create an edge and despite being huge underdogs, Immelman was able to create tactically astute pairings which took the competition right down to the final few matches.
With Mike Weir now taking over, that approach hasn’t changed and ever since the winning putt was holed, the internationals have turned their attentions to this year’s competition and have left no stone unturned in their preparation.
The other huge change that the team has gone through in recent years is trying to improve their chemistry. Unlike the Ryder Cup where the majority of the Europeans have grown up together and share common values, it is a lot harder for the Internationals to gain that sense of unity. With a mixture of nationalities, the Internationals have often documented team get togethers at PGA tournaments and throughout the practice week you can see the team dynamic is strong.
Despite some of their best players unavailable to play due to the fact that LIV players cannot play, this International team contains some exceptionally talented players and there will be real confidence that they can win this famous competition for just the second time in their history.
When will the Presidents Cup start?
Unlike the Ryder Cup which takes place over three days, the Presidents Cup will be battled out over four days. With each session containing six matches, the winning team needs to win 15 points to claim the title.
Jack Hartman
A keen golfer and huge fan of the game, Jack has been covering golf for the last five years. Bringing you all the latest coverage and news from the PGA, LIV, LPGA and DP World Tours, never before has golf been so popular and Jack can’t wait to bring all the excitement to his readers.
