Itās time for the 2024 Presidents Cup which gets underway this morning at the Royal Montreal Golf Club.
The biennial competition between a team from the United States and an International (non-Europe) team enters its 25th year of competition that began in 1994.
The United States holds a 12-1-1 record in the competition. The lone International win came in 1998 when the Internationals blitzed the U.S. by a 20.5-11.5 final.
The lone tie came in 2003 when the teams finished 17-17. Tiger Woods and Ernie Els were tied after three playoff holes when the players, and captains, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player agreed to the draw.
Two years ago, the United States came out with a 17.5-12-5 win at Quail Hollow in North Carolina.
There is a reason the United States has won 12-of-14 Presidents Cup against the International team – they are better.
And thatās not changing this year.
Players from the United States have won the last seven majors and while some usual old faithful like Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas will not be playing, the team is very good with plenty of depth.
As far as world ranking, right off the top the United States sends out Scottie Scheffler (1), Xander Schauffele (2), and Collin Morikawa (4).
Wyndham Clark (6) also comes in for the United States before the top ranked Internation player Hideki Matsuyama (7).
The lowest ranked U.S. player is Max Homa (25) while on the International side Mackenzie Hughes (60) is their lowest ranked player.
Here are the remaining players and their world rankings. United States: Patrick Cantlay (9), Sahith Theegala (11), Keegan Bradley (13), Russell Henley (14), Sam Burns (18), Brian Harman (19), and Tony Finau (20).
International: Adam Scott (17), Sungjae Im (20), Tom Kim (23), Jason Day (33), Byeong Hun-An (35), Corey Conners (37), Min Woo Lee (40), Taylor Pendrith (44), Christian Bezuidenhout (45), and Si Woo Kim (50).
Strictly on paper this is a mismatch of enormous proportions. Of course, there are certain things that give you a deeper look at the rankings.
For the United States, Wyndham Clark is hard playing like a No. 6 player right now, probably more towards someone in the No. 40 and above.
Finau has been off and Homa is in a bit of a freefall. For the International side Conners, Hughes, and Pendrith are all Canadians and will be backed by what figures to be a boisterous crowd.
The non-LIV Golf players on either team hurts the U.S. more than the Internationals but it is close. Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka are two that figured on the U.S. team, while the Internationals will miss Cam Smith and Joaquin Nieman.
The fact it is a team event where the players are dependent on each other is more of a factor in the Ryder Cup where the Europeans are far closer-knit of a group and more used to their teammates.
Everything gets underway Thursday morning with Four-Ball (Best Ball) starting at 8:35 a.m.
Friday will bring Foursomes ā alternate shot ā starting at 10:05 a.m.
The pairings are set for Friday.
Schauffele/Finau vs. Dan/An; Morikawa/Theegala vs. Scott/Lee;
Scheffler/Henley vs. Im/Kim; Clark/Bradley vs. Pendrith/Bezuidenout.
Saturday will be the first day of double duty for the players. Another round of Four-Ball will go off at 4:02 a.m., with the second round of Foursomes set for 11:40 a.m.
Sunday all 12 players will be involved in singles matches that will start at 9:02 a.m.
The closer the competition, the better but I see the U.S. rolling once again.
By Dennis Miller