Presidents Cup MVPs, critical captains and format changes

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The 15th President’s Cup concluded on Sunday in Montreal like many previous editions: the Americans won again. This time it was 18.5-11.5 to give the US its 10th consecutive international victory. What was the difference?

Jack Hirsh, assistant editor (@JR_HIRS Hello): Let’s not kid ourselves, it was a one-sided battle. The Americans had five of the top ten players in the Official World Golf Ranking while the Internationals had just Hideki Matsuyama. It goes the other way as well as Max Homa is an American ranked 25th, and Mackenzie Hughes is 62nd. And the international team is seriously hurt by the LIV defectors without Cam Smith, Joaco Niemann and Co., while the Americans are deep and can cover Bryson DeChambeau and other top 25 players. All of this means that a talent breakout may not happen over the course of 30 games.

Sean Zak, senior author (@sean_zak): The difference, if there was one, was that it felt more competitive, which I think is important. Yes they are Americans search win, but it’s a good event if they want to hit this An international group. It’s good that Wyndham Clark and Ben An are soft enemies. It’s good that Si Woo Kim mocked the Americans and that Tom Kim was talking less. Creating a little conflict, even if the result is the same, makes it possible to stay in the event.

Zephyr Melton, assistant editor (@zephyrmelton): The Americans were a deep and talented team. They didn’t do anything special or need heroes. To use a football cliche, they just went out there and did their thing. If you have such talent, that’s all you need to do to succeed.

Who takes home MVP honors for each side, and whose performance was the most disappointing?

Hirsh: On the American side, it’s hard to argue with Patrick Cantlay or Xander Schauffele, especially when they play doubles together. I’ll give the nod to Schauffele because her first point in the opening singles match was in the book. Most disappointingly, despite a 3-2-0 record, I’ll go with Scottie Scheffler. He didn’t look like a seven-time winner this week and I had high expectations for him, especially losing a 1 Up lead on the back nine.

For the internationals, the way I think Si Woo Kim really came out this week, it was the power of Tom Kim that brought the internationals back to it on Friday even though they didn’t even play. He had moxie all day Saturday and Sunday, and even started a few fights! The biggest disappointment was Min Woo Lee for the simple reason that he only played twice all week.

Zak: Xander Schauffele was the top man for the red, white and blue. Furyk wouldn’t think of housing her, and he could pair her with anyone. He pulled Tony Finau – who was one of the worst players of the week, which was probably the most disappointing! – and a pair of wins then upstaged Jason Day in the opening Singles match.

As for the INTs, it was Si Woo Kim. He’s been great statistically, one of the best players all week, stirring the pot, etc. He showed as he did at Quail Hollow. I look forward to seeing him close the crowd in Chicago in two years.

Melton: I’ll give some love to another Team USA scorer in Collin Morikawa who joined X and Cantlay with four points. He is now 10-5-1 in American team events. Brian Harman was a clear disappointment for the Americans as he was the only man without a point.

At the Internationals, Hideki Matsuyama was impressive as he took down Scottie Scheffler on Sunday’s singles. As for the biggest disappointment, Sungjae Im getting only one point in five games is a tough look.

Any second guesses on captain Furyk or Weir? What letter grade would you assign to their performance this week and why?

Hirsh: I’ll start with Weir’s low-hanging fruit of sending out the same players on Saturday afternoon as he did on Saturday morning, something no Presidents Cup captain has ever done. It backfired when, at the end of the 36-hole day, the Internationals let the tiebreaker couples go the other way, clearly feeling the fatigue. You get a D from me.

Furyk gets a solid B+ as he successfully rides his hot players, allowing them to carry struggling players like Tony Finau and hide others like Brian Harman and Max Homa.

Zak: I like to call these events the Hindsight Olympics because you can always disagree with a move that ended up losing. But that 36-hole Saturday call for Weir is as weird as they come. If it worked, we would love it. But it didn’t happen, so it’s surprising. C-minus for Weir and B-plus for Furyk.

Melton: SZ came to us. Weir’s decision-making was abysmal at the time, and it looks even worse after. I’ll give Furyk a passing grade, but he didn’t need to push a lot of buttons to come away with the win.

Keegan Bradley scored the deciding point to beat the Americans, defeating Si Woo Kim 1 up. This was his first team event (since the 2014 Ryder Cup) in ten years, and his next one is even bigger when he captains the US Ryder Cup team at Bethpage Black in 2025. He thinks how important his knowledge is about this past time. a week in Montreal will be his captain a year from now: a little, a lot, or in between?

Hirsh: It was almost poetic that Keegan got the winning point when in the 2014 Ryder Cup, he lost the winning point. It’s been a whirlwind of a year for him after being left out of the Ryder Cup squad last year and being named the next captain. I think, if nothing else, his confidence may be higher, at least to the level he was when he won the PGA back in 2011. Going 2-1-0 this week makes me wonder what his real problems are. playing captain at Bethpage.

Zak: It will certainly be important for his captaincy, but I am not sure that it will mean good things. I think Keegan’s slow performances will strengthen calls for him to be playing captain next fall, which is exactly what Team Europe wants. It’s a really chaotic event and it’s only going to cause more chaos. Luke Donald had to sing for a week when he saw this result.

Melton: It was a really nice scene to see Keegan win over the Americans, but I’m not sure what happened this week will mean much to Bethpage. The Ryder Cup is a completely different football game.

The US has now won 13 of 15 Presidents’ Cups, and the Internationals haven’t won in over two decades. Does the President’s Cup need fixing? And if so, how can you change it?

Hirsh: It’s hard to say “no” to that question, but it would stink if the US vs. World game was gone. I think it’s clear that this event needs to move to an integrated model. There should be no shame in it considering how much the Ryder Cup was raised by the opening of the European continent.

Zak: It would be great to see the Presidents Cup move to an integrated model. It makes tons of sense. But the PGA Tour doesn’t always go in the direction of the obvious, common sense. They are the owners of this business, so it will require the constant movement that tourism has done over the decades. I don’t see it happening. That said, ehhh, I think the event is pretty cool. The Internationals will soon win.

Melton: It really needs to change. It’s no fun watching a sporting event where the outcome is certain before it starts. The combined idea is popular, but it sounds wishful thinking that it will actually happen. Maybe the Nationals should start the week with three points? It wouldn’t be the first time the PGA Tour held a handicap event.

Is there something that the Presidents Cup does that the Ryder Cup doesn’t (or vice versa) that players, captains or organizers can learn from?

Hirsh: Until this week, there seemed to be no conflict, no bad blood between the American and international teams. Do you remember Tom Kim partying with the American team two years ago at Quail Hollow? I don’t think that will happen again this year. We were all glued to the Ryder Cup last year because of the “Hat Gate,” and this year, people were more surprised when you asked questions about the sport. So, for the organizers, I’m not sure there’s much to do, as it depends on whether the players are competitive and really care about winning at all costs.

Zak: I’m not sure Royal Montreal is the best example of this, but the Presidents Cup has visited at least/or plans to visit several other top courses. The European Ryder Cups focus more on parking, terrain, and world cities than inspiring golf courses. It’s not a big deal, but it’s a bit of a deal that the Prez Cup has been at Royal Melbourne multiple times and will visit Kingston Heath and Medinah for its next two iterations.

Melton: I’m not sure Medinah is in the same category as Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath, but I understand (and agree) your point, Sean.