2024 Presidents Cup preview

The United States will attempt to win its 10th consecutive Presidents Cup as the tournament tees off Thursday, Sept. 26 at Royal Montreal Golf Club.

The Presidents Cup is a biennial match-play tournament that features top golfers from the United States competing against their top international competitors. The International Team excludes European golfers, who compete in the more notorious Ryder Cup.

The U.S. roster features the top two players in the world - FedEx Cup champion Scottie Scheffler and two-time 2024 major winner Xander Schauffele. Some are citing the United States as the overwhelming favorite to win their 10th straight Presidents Cup and 13th overall - this is the 15th edition of the tournament.

It’s safe to say the United States has dominated this event, unlike the Ryder Cup.

U.S. captain Jim Furyk has paired four former major winners, including fourth-ranked Collin Morikawa, Keegan Bradley and tournament rookies Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman, alongside Scheffler and Schauffele.

Three additional players, Patrick Cantlay, Sahith Theegala and Russell Henley, are ranked in the top 15. Rounding out the 12-man roster are Sam Burns, Tony Finau and the struggling Max Homa.

Homa started the tour season efficiently but in recent months has looked like an amateur at times.

The International Team has won the Presidents Cup only once, in 1998. The 2003 edition ended in a tie, and since then the International Team has been unable to prevent the U.S. from lifting the trophy.

Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, the seventh-ranked golfer and 2021 Masters winner, headlines the International Team.

South Korea's Sungjae Im and Tom Kim are the only other players on the International roster ranked in the top 25, a distinction that every U.S. golfer on the roster has on their resume.

Despite their lack of success in the Presidents Cup, the International Team has historically competed well away from U.S. soil.

The most recent edition on an international course, the 2019 tournament at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia, saw the International Team hold a lead going into the final day before the U.S. rallied in singles play.

With this edition taking place in Montreal, there is hope among the International Team that they can make a run for the title. Canadian Mike Weir, captain of the International Team, selected three of his countrymen – Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes and Taylor Pendrith – in hopes of providing a fan boost for his team.

Australia’s Min Woo Lee, who finished in the top five at the 2023 U.S. Open, joins former major winners and fellow Australians Adam Scott and Jason Day on the roster. South Korea’s An Byeong-Hun, Kim Si-Woo and South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout round out the International roster.

The United States possesses the roster to go out and win another Presidents Cup. However, the competitive spirit and uptick in play from the International squad’s individual players in recent months will pose a tough task for the Americans.

Alex Perez is a third-year student at Penn State majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email app5877@psu.edu.