PRESIDENTS CUP FAQS
Presidents Cup 2022: Frequently Asked Questions
U.S. captain Tiger Woods poses with his winning team in 2019 at Royal Melbourne in Australia.
Warren Little
The 14th edition of the Presidents Cup features two dozen of the world's best golfers gathering at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte. The United States and International teams begin the four-day event on Thursday morning in North Carolina. Since the Cup's inception in 1994, the U.S. has been a dominant force, going 11-1-1 overall. The only time the International squad emerged victorious was at Royal Melbourne in 1998. The U.S. has won eight in a row, including a dominant 19-11 performance in 2017 and a closer call, 16-14, three years ago in Australia. As we prepare for another playing of the biennial event, here are all of the answers to some frequently asked questions about the 2022 Presidents Cup.
What is the Presidents Cup?
That's reasonable opening question considering the matches normally take place every two years and a billion things have happened in golf since 2019, including pushing this event back a year because of the pandemic. It's also easy to get it mixed up with the Ryder Cup, another global competition that you don't have to worry about right now since we're in an even year. In short, the Presidents Cup is a series of matches between the United States and an International team that represents the rest of the world excluding Europe. It was created by the PGA Tour, which saw an opportunity for players not involved in the Ryder Cup to compete in a team event. The competition alternates between venues in the U.S. and overseas. The previous three competitions took place in Australia (Royal Melbourne, 2019), New Jersey (Liberty National, 2017), and South Korea (Jack Nicklaus Golf Club, 2015)
What is the format of the Presidents Cup?
Unlike the Ryder Cup, the Presidents Cup is a four-day event with 30 total matches. On Thursday and Friday, there is just a single five-match session each day, foursomes (alternate shot) on Day 1, four-ball (best ball) on Day 2. On Saturday, there are two four-match sessions, with four-ball in the morning and foursomes in the afternoon. Finally, on Sunday, there will be 12 singles matches. The team that earns the most points after four days wins the Cup.
Explain the difference between four-ball and foursomes formats.
It can get a little confusing but think of it this way, in four-ball, each players plays his own ball, so four balls are always in play. Also called best-ball, it's a match where each team uses its best score of the two balls. So if Player A makes birdie and Player B makes par, the birdie would be recorded as the team's score for that respective hole. Foursomes is alternate shot. One person hits the drive and then the partner hits the next shot, and so on until the hole is completed.
Has this always been the Presidents Cup format?
Over the years, there have been constant small changes made to the construction of the event. The final day has always been made up of 12 singles matches, however, the change from three days to four back in 2015 allowed for some leeway in setup. The points total has shifted over the decades too, but the current number of 30 has stayed the same since 2015.
When is the 2022 Presidents Cup and where is it being played?
This year's contest will take place Sept. 22-25 at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C. Quail Hollow will be the fifth golf course to host the matches in the United States. Bu that won't be an issue this year in the States. It was designed by George Cobb and opened in 1961, but had some holes modified by Arnold Palmer in 1986 and was redesigned by Tom Fazio several times, in 1997, 2003 and again in 2014 in preparation for this Presidents Cup. You may recall that the club annually hosts Wells Fargo Championship on the PGA Tour. However, it did not host the event this year so it could be fully prepared for the matches. The course will be rerouted for the Presidents Cup to guaranteed that Quail Hollow's infamous final three holes will be in play for all matches.
Which team won the 2019 Presidents Cup?
The United States. Again. Tiger Woods was the captain. As mentioned previously, the U.S. is on a hot streak winning the last eight Presidents Cups. In 2019 though, it was closer than many may recall. The International team won Thursday's session handily and split Friday, taking a 6 1/2 to 3 1/2 lead into the final two days. The Americans were only 2 points behind heading into Sunday singles and absolutely rolled to an 8-4 session win and a 16-14 overall victory. Not only was Woods the captain, he was a playing captain, and played in three of the five sessions. Ernie Els was captain of the Internationals.
How are the Presidents Cup teams selected?
Each team consists of 12 players, six of whom earn their spots through their ranking on season-long points list. The other six are selected by the team's repsective captains. The U.S. uses the FedEx Cup points to help determine its automatic six, with points doubling for the 2022 season. The cut off date this time was the 2022 BMW Championship. The International team uses the Official Golf World Ranking points system and picks the top six players from the table.
Playing captain Tiger Wiids is front and center with the Presidents Cup in 2019 at Royal Melbourne.
Rob Carr
Who are the players on the 2022 Presidents Cup teams?
The 2022 American team is as follows:
Automatic qualifiers, in order of qualifying: Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Sam Burns, Justin Thomas, Tony Finau.
Davis Love III's captain's picks: Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa, Billy Horschel, Cameron Young, Kevin Kisner.
The 2022 International Team is as follows:
Automatic qualifiers, in order of qualifying: Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im, Joohyung "Tom" Kim, Corey Conners, Adam Scott, Mito Pereira.
Trevor Immelman's captain's picks: K.H. Lee, Si Woo Kim, Taylor Pendrith, Cameron Davis, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Sebastian Munoz.
Who are the assistant captains for each team?
The American assistant captains are Fred Couples, Zach Johnson, Steve Stricker and Quail Hollow member Webb Simpson. The International assistant captains are Mike Weir, K.J. Choi, Geoff Ogilvy and Camilo Villegas.
There doesn't appear to be any LIV Golf players listed on either of the teams. Is that right? Why?
The quick and easy answer is, members of the LIV Golf series are not eligible to play in the Presidents Cup, which, as we mentioned, is sanctioned by the PGA Tour. So, no, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed, among others will not be on the American side. As for the International team, which has had a difficult time keeping some of these matches close, they will not have reigning British Open champ Cam Smith, Abraham Ancer, Joaquin Niemann or Louis Oosthuizen. When all of the aforementioned names defected to LIV Golf they were immediately suspended by the PGA Tour and one of the elements of that suspension meant none can play at Quail Hollow.
Which team has won the most Presidents Cups?
Of the 13 matches, the U.S. has won 11 and the International team has won once. There was a tie in 2003 in South Africa.
What is the largest margin of victory in the Presidents Cup?
In 2000, the U.S. team captained by Ken Venturi at the Robert Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va., won by 11 points with a score of 21½ to 10½. It was the Presidents Cup directly after losing to the International team for the first time in 1998.
What if the Presidents Cup ends in a 15-15 tie?
Unlike in the Ryder Cup, where the side that currently holds the Cup would retain it, if the two teams split the points evenly at the Presidents Cup, they will share the trophy.
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Phil Sheldon/Popperfoto
How many times have the teams tied in Presidents Cup history?
It has only happened once back in 2003. At first, the tie led to a sudden-death playoff between Tiger Woods and Ernie Els, representing their respective sides. After three holes, the two were still deadlocked and with the sun having set, it was decided that the Cup would be shared.
Who has appeared in the most Presidents Cups?
In 2019, it was the first time that Phil Mickelson failed to qualify for a Presidents Cup since it started in 1994. He wouldn't have qualified this year anyway because he's not playing well enough, but as a member of LIV Golf he's not eligible anyway. Lefty has been on 12 teams garnering the most total Cup points with 32½.
Are there any other events in golf similar to the Presidents Cup?
There are many other golf events similar to the Presidents Cup, most notably the Ryder Cup (which we've mentioned maybe once or twice already). The Ryder Cup occurs every other year during non-Presidents Cup years and is between the United States and a team made up of European players. There's also the Solheim Cup, which is the women's professional equivalent of the Ryder Cup; the Walker Cup, which is between amateurs from the U.S. and Great Britain & Ireland; and the Curtis Cup, which is the women's equivalent to the Walker Cup. There are also junior versions of the Presidents, Ryder and Solheim Cups.
What are the future hosts of the Presidents Cup?
The future host sites of the Presidents Cup both in the United States and internationally have been announced through 2030.
2024: Royal Montreal Golf Club, Quebec, Canada
2026: Medinah Country Club, Chicago
2028: Royal Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
2030: Bellerive Country Club, St. Louis
Chris Condon
Who broadcasts the Presidents Cup?
NBC has the American broadcast television rights for the competition and will be sharing the coverage with Golf Channel and its streaming service, Peacock. Here is a breakdown of the TV schedule as it will appear in the U.S. (all times Eastern):
Thursday, Sept. 22
Day 1 foursomes: Golf Channel and Peacock, 1-6 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 23
Day 2 four-ball: Golf Channel and Peacock, 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 24
Day 3 foursomes and four-balls: NBC and Peacock, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 25
Day 4 singles: NBC and Peacock, noon-6 p.m.