2024 Presidents Cup: Schedule, Players, Venue and Other Important Details

If the finish to the previous 2022 Presidents Cup is anything to go by, the current 2024 edition taking place from September 24 to 29 at the Royal Montreal Golf Club, will be another humdinger of a contest.

The International Team can claim some home advantage from captain Mike Weir’s knowhow and Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes and Taylor Pendrith’s familiarity with the golf course as homegrown players. That said, the US Team is a formidable foe across venues and conditions, and will go all out to build on their formidable record in the biennial event.

Here’s everything you need to know about the 2024 Presidents Cup; its history, recap of the last edition, schedule, venue, format, teams, and some key players to watch out for.

What to expect at the 2024 Presidents Cup

Inauguration and Origin

Founded and organised by the PGA Tour, the Presidents Cup made its debut in 1994 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Prince William County, Virginia, USA.

As per the format, a team representing the United States comPetes against an International Team representing the rest of the world — with the exception of Europe — in contrast to the Ryder Cup, which pits Europe versus the United States.

The International Team competes with a specifically created emblem and flag. From Australia to South Africa, Asia to South America, the golfers bring their unique style, tales, and skill to the fairway.

Although the Ryder Cup has a long and illustrious History, the Presidents Cup has emerged a comparable but distinct comPetition that honours international Golfing friendships and transcends cultural divides in the united pursuit of victory.
Since its launch, the Presidents Cup has been contested biennially. The initial plan was to stage the tournament in even-numbered years, while the Ryder Cup would take place in odd-numbered years so that every year Golf fans had access to top-tier team tournaments owing to this alternating arrangement.

Due to the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Ryder Cup was called off that year, and the Presidents Cup started being played in odd-numbered years, and both the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup were moved forward by a year.

The 2020 COVID-19 outbreak brought chaos that included postponing the Ryder Cup and other events on the sports calendar. As a result, the Presidents Cup went back to its original biennial schedule, which coincided with even years.

A recap of the 2022 Presidents Cup

The 2022 edition took place at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. Originally slated for the autumn of 2021, the Presidents Cup and other team Golf comPetitions were postponed by a year due to the pandemic.

Much of the talk leading to the tournament was on how players joining the Saudi-backed LIV Golf would impact the teams and tournament as a whole.

Davis Love III captained the United States, while South African Trevor Immelman headed the International Team. Six US players competed for the first time, while eight of the 12 members of the International Team made their debut.

USA’s early lead

On the first day, which consisted five foursomes matches (alternate shot), USA took an early 4-1 lead over the Internationals.
Among the notable results that Friday, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay beat Hideki Matsuyama and Adam Scott, the most experienced pair of the Internationals, 6 and 5. The American duo improved their record to 5-0-0 in foursomes in international team play, and made it one of the key numbers in Presidents Cup foursomes.

The lone win for the Internationals that session came through Si Woo Kim and Cam Davis as they beat Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns 2 Up.

Domination continues

Playing their favoured fourball, the Internationals needed a tremendous comeback in Round 2 to mount a challenge, but it wasn’t to be as the US juggernaut rolled on to extend their superiority to 8-2 through three wins and two ties.

The ensuing foursomes brought some hope for the Internationals as the duo of Matsuyama/Scott, and KH Lee/Joohyung Kim snatched wins to make it 2-2 for the session. Still, it was a mountain to climb with the score at 4-10.

The close session seemed to infuse life into the Internationals, and the fourball in Round 4 brought forth the essence of sport. Fighting back as if there was no tomorrow, the Internationals won three of the four matches in the session to narrow the gap.

Among their heroes were Joohyung Kim, Adam Scott and Cam Davis. The best part of the day was catching Kim’s heartfelt jubilation and fist pumps across Quail Hollow as he made multiple crucial putts.

Tooth-and-nail contest

On the back of the fourball success, the 7-11 gap seemed small going into Sunday’s 12 singles matches, and the opportunities were immense for the International Team.

As expected, the Internationals came hard at Davis Love III’s side by winning five matches, but the quality of the American players, and the lead proved critical. Barring the tie between Matsuyama and Sam Burns, all other matches yielded a result, and the US Team sealed it with six wins through Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay, Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele, Max Homa and Collin Morikawa to leave the scoreline 17.5-12.5.

With the win, the United States maintained their awesome record by notching their 12th win, ninth on the trot, to make it 12-1-1 across 14 editions.

Schedule and format of the 2024 Presidents Cup

The 2024 Presidents Cup kicks off with practice rounds on September 24 and 25, before being played from September 26 to 29, with a total of 30 matches:
• Thursday, September 26: Five matches, fourball
• Friday, September 27: Five matches, foursomes
• Saturday, September 28: Eight matches, fourball and foursomes spread over the morning and afternoon session
• Sunday, September 29: Twelve matches, singles

All matches are worth one point each, for a total of 30 points. The first team to score 15.5 points, wins. In the event that both teams have 15 points apiece, the trophy is shared. This sets it apart from the Ryder Cup, where the champion team retains the trophy in case of a tie.

Venue

The 2024 Presidents Cup will be held at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The club is the second overseas location to stage the event more than once after the Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. The prestigious location previously hosted the 2007 Presidents Cup, which the American team won with a score of 19.5–14.5.

Teams

USA

Captain: Jim Furyk
Players: Scottie Scheffler, Russell Henley, Patrick Cantlay, Sahith Theegala, Sam Burns, Tony Finau, Keegan Bradley, Brian Harman, Max Homa, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, and Wyndham Clark.

Internationals

Captain: Mike Weir
Players: Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), Sungjae Im (South Korea), Adam Scott (Australia), Joohyung (Tom) Kim (South Korea), Jason Day (Australia), Byeong Hun An (South Korea), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (South Africa), Corey Conners (Canada), Mackenzie Hughes (Canada), Si Woo Kim (South Korea), Min Woo Lee (Australia) and Taylor Pendrith (Canada).

Players to watch out for

Scottie Scheffler

Official World Golf Ranking: #1
Scottie Scheffler makes his way to the Royal Montreal Golf Club on the back of an incredible PGA Tour season. He achieved a milestone not seen since Tiger Woods in 2007 by winning seven times. Among his victories are at the Masters, Players Championship, and Tour Championship. Not to forget, he won gold at the Paris Olympics. Appearing in his second Presidents Cup after 2022, Scheffler has a 0-3-1 overall record.

Xander Schauffele

Official World Golf Ranking: #2
Xander Schauffele is amid his finest seasons going into the Presidents Cup. The year is highlighted by two Major wins, the PGA Championship and Open Championship. The 15 top-10 results, including three runner-up spots, speak volumes of his ability to perform under pressure, and is something to look forward to. Making his third appearance, Schauffele has a 6-3-0 overall record.

Collin Morikawa

 

Official World Golf Ranking: #4
Collin Morikawa has eight top-10s this season on the PGA Tour, including two runner-up results. He is getting ready for his second Presidents Cup in the hope of making a lasting impression, and to better his 2-1-0 record.

Hideki Matsuyama

Official World Golf Ranking: #7
Plagued by injuries, the talented Japanese golfer discovered his form after a while for an outstanding 2024 season on the PGA Tour. Matsuyama won the Genesis Invitational, FedEx St Jude Championship, and bronze at the Paris Olympics. A seasoned name on Presidents Cup charts, Matsuyama will make his sixth appearance, and has a 7-10-5 record.

Sungjae Im

 

Official World Golf Ranking: #21
Korea’s Sungjae Im demonstrated his consistency on the PGA Tour with eight top-10s in 25 starts this season, including a tie for seventh at the Open Championship. A fascinating player to keep an eye on, Im will be making his third appearance at the Presidents Cup with a 5-3-2 overall record.

More details about the 2024 Presidents Cup and its venue, schedule, players and more here.

(Main image: Royal Montreal Golf Club; Featured image: Presidents Cup/ Instagram)