The 12th Presidents Cup will take place this week when the heavily-favored United States team takes on the international team in this biennial event. The 12 Americans are all ranked among the top 30 in the world, while the international team only boasts six of the world's top 30.
This is not abnormal. The U.S. normally has a deeper, better team than the internationals. As a result, nine of the previous 11 Presidents Cups have come up red, white and blue. Captain Steve Stricker will try to make it 10 of 12 this week just outside of New York City at Liberty National.
Let's take a quick look at the teams.
United States roster
| Player | Cup appearances | World Ranking |
|---|---|---|
Dustin Johnson | 3 | 1 |
Jordan Spieth | 3 | 2 |
Justin Thomas | 1 | 4 |
Daniel Berger | 1 | 25 |
Rickie Fowler | 2 | 8 |
Brooks Koepka | 1 | 11 |
Kevin Kisner | 1 | 24 |
Matt Kuchar | 4 | 12 |
Patrick Reed | 2 | 20 |
Kevin Chappell | 1 | 26 |
Charley Hoffman | 1 | 23 |
Phil Mickelson | 12 | 30 |
International roster
| Player | Cup appearances | World Ranking |
|---|---|---|
Hideki Matsuyama | 3 | 3 |
Adam Scott | 8 | 22 |
Jason Day | 4 | 7 |
Louis Oosthuizen | 3 | 21 |
Marc Leishman | 3 | 16 |
Charl Schwartzel | 4 | 27 |
Branden Grace | 3 | 42 |
Si Woo Kim | 1 | 39 |
Jhonattan Vegas | 1 | 38 |
Adam Hadwin | 1 | 47 |
Emiliano Grillo | 1 | 60 |
Anirban Lahiri | 2 | 68 |
As you can see, the U.S. has a clear advantage in the matchups, especially when it comes to the singles matches to be played on Sunday. But who knows, anything can happen. In 2015, the U.S. team narrowly won 15.5-14.5 in South Korea, and it came down to the final few matches.
Here is a look at the schedule of events this week at Liberty National.
Presidents Cup schedule
Thursday: Foursomes (five matches)
Friday: Fourball (five matches)
Saturday morning: Foursomes (four matches)
Saturday afternoon: Fourball (four matches)
Sunday: Singles (12 matches)
The matches have been lowered from 34 to 30 in recent years, which could favor the international team. The longer you play, the better chance of the more talented team (the U.S.) winning.
Presidents Cup rules
The rules this week are very similar to the Ryder Cup. You get a point for winning a match and a half point for tying a match. First team to 15.5 wins it all. It's going to be interesting to see which pairings are used by Stricker. Assistant captain Tiger Woods actually said on Tuesday that the U.S. is having some trouble putting the pairings together because they have too much talent (a good problem to have, I suppose).
- Foursomes: One ball is used per team with golfers taking turns hitting shots
- Four ball: Each golfer plays his own ball and the lowest score of each hole is recorded
Presidents Cup winners
There has actually been one tie in Presidents Cup history along with that lone international win back in 1998. Other than that, it's been all United States.
| Year | Winner | Score | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
2015 | United States | 15.5-14.5 | Incheon, South Korea |
2013 | United States | 18.5-15.5 | Dublin, Ohio |
2011 | United States | 19-15 | Melbourne, Australia |
2009 | United States | 19.5-14.5 | San Francisco, California |
2007 | United States | 19.5-14.5 | Montreal, Canada |
2005 | United States | 18.5-15.5 | Gainesville, Virginia |
2003 | Draw | 17-17 | George, Western Cape, South Africa |
2000 | United States | 21.5-10.5 | Gainesville, Virginia |
1998 | International | 20.5-11.5 | Melbourne, Australia |
1996 | United States | 16.5-15.5 | Gainesville, Virginia |
1994 | United States | 20-12 | Gainesville, Virginia |
