The President’s Cup has a problem, and that problem is the International team simply can’t win the competition. The President’s Cup is a series of golf matches contested between 12 United States of America golfers and 12 golfers from the rest of the world, excluding Europe due to the Ryder Cup of course. The event is alternated every 2 years between a course located in the USA and a course located in one of the International team’s home countries. The last even was held in Australia at Royal Melbourne golf course where the USA team came away with a 19 to 15 win to once again retain the Cup. It was a poor result for the International team who went in with high hopes after what happened in Royal Melbourne in 1998 where they notched their first and only team win. That was the stellar time for the Internationals as after winning the cup in 1998 they almost won it again in 2003 only for the event to be called a tie after bad light stopped play in the singles play off between Ernie Els and Tiger Woods. Both team captains shook hands and declared the event a draw in one of the more magnanimous events in world sporting history. Since then though the US has dominated with the smallest margin of victory being by 3 in Virginia in 2005.
Tiger Woods watches Adam Scott tee off in the 2011 Cup.
The format of the President’s Cup consists of 5 rounds of golf played over 4 days. Each team is made up of 12 competitors with 10 of those selected solely off their world ranking. The final two spots on each team are selected by the Captains and thus given the title “captain’s picks”. The format for this year is the same as 2 seasons ago and goes as follows. On the Thursday all golfers will compete in a round of foursomes, with 2 players from each team facing off against the other in an alternate shot match play competition. On the Friday all 24 players are in action again as they face off in a four ball match play scenario, which basically means the lowest individual score of each hole counts for each team. Saturday is where the event really gets interesting though with four ball and foursome matches, but only 10 golfers from each team compete in each session, meaning the captains’ and their assistants need to plan and strategise as to which 2 players to sit out. Sunday is where the event is ultimately decided though with all 12 players going head to head in singular match play with no “tied games”. One point is given to any pairing or individual who wins his match outright while if there’s a tie after 18 holes (in the first 3 days) half a point is awarded to each team. There are 34 points in total so any team who gains over 17 points will win the Cup outright.
The par 3 12th is a perfect example of what makes Muirfield a great course.
This year the event rotates back to the United States as hosts and the Muirfield Village Golf Club just north of Columbus, Ohio will be where all the action takes place. Muirfield of course was famously founded and designed by the great Jack Nicklaus and construction of the course was completed in 1974. Muirfield is well known as being the first course designed with spectators in mind with mounds and natural amphitheatres constructed around some of the course’s stand out holes. The course has played host to the Ryder Cup and the Solheim Cup but is known primarily as the host of “Jack’s event”, the Memorial Tournament which has been a massive part of the US PGA landscape since 1976. Tiger Woods loves the place having won the Memorial on 5 different occasions and most of the great names of golf have won here too, including Jack on two occasions. The course in Ohio is widely regarded as one of the best in the USA and is a great place to hose the tenth President’s Cup event.
Ernie Els will once again be the father figure of the International team.
This week at Muirfield 24 of the world’s best golfers will gather to contest the 2013 President’s Cup and once again the USA team seems the strongest on paper. The USA team captained by Fred Couples and led by the world’s number 1 and number 3 ranked players Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson has strength from top to bottom with even the two Captain’s Picks being ranked inside the world’s top 25. They are also on home soil this week so it’s sure to be a very tough ask for the International team to gain their second win. That team that will represent the Internationals is no bunch of amateurs or nobodies either though, with captain Nick Price having world number 2 and Masters’ champion Adam Scott at his disposal and a team that has 4 other major championship winners in it. The biggest difference is in the world rankings though, especially in regards to the Captain’s Picks with Mark Leishman ranked 59th. The International team has a big ask on their hands and will be relying on the experience of those major winners to keep it in touch until the Sunday head to head matchplay events start. Ernie Els and Angel Cabrera will be the rocks around which their team is built and they will be replied upon to guide some of the younger players through the tough periods of what is always gruelling contest.
The President’s Cup is always a highlight on the world golfing calendar when it appears every second year and this year is no mistake. Coming just a few weeks after the US PGA play-offs were contested you can be sure that all the players competing are still in top form and won’t be at Muirfield for the fun of it. The Internationals need a win here, not only for the reputation of the event but also for some of their lesser known players to launch themselves onto the world stage. It’s an event well worth watching, enjoy it for what it is, a presentation of golf by some of the best players on the planet. Unfortunately I have to tip the USA team to come out on top although I’ll surely be cheering on the Internationals.
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