The Presidents Cup 2024 Preview

The Presidents Cup needs Mike Weir's International Team to somehow find a way to beat America at Royal Montreal.

Many of you will recall how interest in the Ryder Cup had hit rock bottom until the introduction of players from Continental Europe. Even the Americans were becoming utterly fed up with winning time after time.

And the same thing is in danger of happening with the Presidents Cup. You have to go all the way back to 1998 to find the last time that the Americans lost. There have been 14 contests and the USA have won 12, lost won and halved the other.

Worse than that, most of those victories have been by huge margins so there has been little or no drama.

This year’s USA Team are captained by Jim Furyk, and that may give their opponents some hope. He had a miserable playing record in the Ryder Cup and when he captained the team at Le Golf National in Paris he was also on the wrong end of a hammering by Europe’s finest.

Furyk will point to a team that includes world number one Scottie Scheffler, US PGA and Open champion Xander Schauffele and former Open champion Collin Morikawa, all of whom has been in outstanding form in 2024. But Wyndham Clark, who finished fourth in the US standings, missed the cut at three of the majors and finished 56th in the other. He had a stellar 2023 but this year has been a different kettle of fish.

There were also a few raised eyebrows when Furyk gave Max Homa a pick. He has hardly set the world on fire this season and failed to make the field for the Tour Championship.

There must also be question marks surrounding the form of Patrick Cantlay, Tony Finau, Russell Henley and, in particular, Brian Harman. The 2023 Open champion has looked distinctly average in most departments in recent months and can surely count himself fortunate to have been given the nod.

Furyk took most people by surprise by handing his six captain’s picks to the players in 7th-12th place in the qualification table. 

The eye-catching pick, and one which came as no surprise, was Keegan Bradley. He is, of course the USA’s Ryder Cup captain and has a realistic chance of becoming the first playing captain in that contest since Arnold Palmer 60 years ago. There is no doubt that Bradley deserves his place in Furyk’s team and he is unlikely to let down his captain.

So what of the Internationals?

First and foremost, there are three Canadians in the team - Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith and Mackenzie Hughes. If anything is going to get the home fans going it is surely the presence of their own players. Weir, who is also a proud Canadian, will be hoping that they can all find some inspiration.

He also has some players who are quite clearly in form.

Doubts remain about the fitness of Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama but he has played some wonderful golf this year and if he has shaken off his various ailments he is certain to be a key player. Weir would want him to play all five matches but there are serious doubts as to whether his body can withstand that.

In Tom Kim, Weir has one of the fiercest competitors in world golf. He has not had the best of seasons but it would not surprise me in the slightest if he turned out to the star of the International team. I was also delighted to see Christiaan Bezuidenhout getting a captain’s pick. The South African is a hugely underrated player. He has taken his time to grow into life on the PGA Tour but has become a consistent performer. He is a brilliant ball striker and also happens to be one of the best putters in the world.

It was a shock that Weir opted to leave out Nick Taylor, a proven PGA Tour winner who thrilled home fans by claiming the 2023 Canadian Open. The captain later admitted that it was a very difficult decision - and it could come back to haunt him.

All logic dictates that this is going to be victory number 13 for the USA. One thing is for certain - The Internationals have simply GOT to get off to a good start. If Furyk’s team finish day one with an advantage then this contest will be as good as over. 

It is difficult to know where they go if the USA should cruise to yet another victory. Quite clearly, there is no possibility of including Europeans in the team. And tinkering with the format is hardly going to make any difference so the home side have to find a way to win, or at least take it to the final singles match on Sunday.

The International Team

Captain: Mike Weir

Hideki Matsuyama

Sungjae Im

Adam Scott

Tom Kim

Jason Day

Byeong Hun An

Corey Conners

Min Woo Lee

Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Taylor Pendrith

Si Woo Kim

Mackenzie Hughes

The United States of America Team

Captain: Jim Furyk

Scottie Scheffler

Xander Schauffele

Collin Morikawa

Wyndham Clark

Patrick Cantlay

Sahith Theegala

Sam Burns

Tony Finau

Russell Henley

Keegan Bradley

Brian Harman

Max Homa