Though there have been some close calls in recent memory, the United States has won nine straight Presidents Cups and counting, making its every-other-year contest against the International team pretty predictable.
But don’t tell U.S. captain Jim Furyk that an upset would spice up the event. One American reporter implied as much to Furyk and received a memorable reply: “It’s not like I’m killing you right now, but (expletive) you. Go (expletive) yourself. You can quote me on that one.”
Furyk is fired up to make it 10 straight wins for the Americans this week, as they tee off against the International side Thursday at Royal Montreal Golf Club.
The U.S. team gets to form its team from some of the best golfers on the planet. Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa — Nos. 1, 2 and 4 in the world rankings — are in their primes and have past team experience to rely on.
The International team, meanwhile, draws from the non-European, non-American pool. Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama is the team’s highest-ranked player and a veteran of five previous cups.
But the big theme of the week is Canada. As Royal Montreal hosts the Presidents Cup for the second time, Mike Weir — Canada’s only male major champion — is the team’s captain for the first time, and three Canadian players are on his roster.
Weir said Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes and Taylor Pendrith are ready for a moment that will carry extra significance in front of a Canadian crowd.
“I guess for me I used the energy in a positive way when I (played in the Presidents Cup) here in 2007,” Weir said. “I didn’t take it as pressure. I took it as just, ‘Embrace it. I don’t know if I’ll ever have this kind of chance again to play in front of my home country fans.’ So I just tried to embrace it. That will probably be most of the message, is âEnjoy yourself.'”
Hughes said he had been looking forward to this opportunity for years.
“I think having me, Corey and Taylor is a nice bonus for Canadian fans,” Hughes said. “Yeah, I’m hoping it’s very loud. If anything, hopefully we’re hostile towards the Americans. When we play on their soil, that’s typically how it is for us, so that’s how it should be here.”
The format differs slightly from the Ryder Cup, as it’s played over four days instead of three and 30 total points are at play. Thursday will see five four-ball (best-ball) matches, and Friday will switch over to five foursomes (alternate-shot). On Saturday, four-ball will be played in the morning session and foursomes will return in the afternoon.
Then, just like in the Ryder Cup, all 12 players will be paired up for singles on Sunday. The International team needs 15 1/2 points to win its first cup since 1998 and second overall; if the match ends in a 15-15 tie, the cup will be shared.
Royal Montreal is a par-70, 7,413-yard course with thick rough and some tricky holes.
“A lot of these holes are crosswinds and all of a sudden you hit a dogleg left with a left-to-right wind or vice versa,” Schauffele said. “These par-3s you’re hitting 4 or 5 (iron) into. The last two days I thought it played very difficult and I’ll be curious to see how it plays throughout the week.”
Another member of the U.S. team this week is Keegan Bradley, who will be their Ryder Cup captain next year at Bethpage Black. Bradley was famously heartbroken when he missed the 2023 Ryder Cup roster.
“I went a point in my career where I thought I was going to play in this every year — Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup, Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup. And then there came a point in my career where I thought I would never play,” Bradley said. “I was almost sure I would never play in another one. Then to be back here a decade (after his last Presidents Cup), it’s really been a special week.”
The pairings for Thursday’s four-ball matches are as follows:
–Xander Schauffele/Tony Finau (U.S.) vs. Jason Day/Byeong Hun An (Int.)
–Collin Morikawa/Sahith Theegala (U.S.) vs. Adam Scott/Min Woo Lee (Int.)
–Scottie Scheffler/Russell Henley (U.S.) vs. Sungjae Im/Tom Kim (Int.)
–Wyndham Clark/Keegan Bradley (U.S.) vs. Taylor Pendrith/Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Int.)
–Patrick Cantlay/Sam Burns (U.S.) vs. Hideki Matsuyama/Corey Conners (Int.)
