Team USA in the box seat for Presidents Cup
The 2022 Presidents Cup has returned after a three-year hiatus created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Last seen at Royal Melbourne in 2019, this Presidents Cup sees a mixture of experience and fresh faces.
The 14th edition will be contested Sept. 22-25 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Playing captain Tiger Woods celebrates winning the 2019 Presidents Cup (Credit: PGA Tour)
Following Max Homa’s win in Napa and Kevin Kisner’s move up from 26th place last week, all 12 US players find themselves inside the top-25 of the Official World Golf Rankings. That’s a average world ranking of 11.6 compared to the International’s average of 48.9.
Aussie Adam Scott is set to play in his 10th Presidents Cup as he has been a mainstay in the competition since the early 2000s. Playing his way into the Tour Championship from outside the top-70, Scott is in fine form and is still in search of his first team victory as his debut to the Presidents Cup came in the 17-17 tie of 2003. Scott is supported by fellow Aussie Cam Davis who is making his first appearance.
Each team consists of 12 players, six of whom earn their spots via their ranking on season-long points list. The other six are selected by the team’s captains.
The International team features seven first-time participants and the Internationals are 1-11-1 in cup history, with its lone triumph coming in Australia in 1998.
Two of the International team’s automatic qualifiers, Australia’s Cameron Smith and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, joined the LIV Golf circuit and weren’t eligible to play leaving Captain Trevor Immelman in a precarious position searching for captain picks.
The USA Team has won eight straight and nine of the past 10 Presidents Cups, including a dominant 19-11 performance in 2017 and a closer call, 16-14, three years ago in Australia.
The current US line up includes world No.1 Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Colin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth and Tony Finau, to name a few.
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.
