What You Need to Know About the Presidents Cup

the presidents cup

Step aside soccer, NFL and every other sport you can think of. It’s time for one of the most anticipated tournaments in the golfing world, the Presidents Cup.

It’s not as if the golfing world has been quiet before this upcoming competition. As of last week, Justin Thomas, according to the legendary Phil Mickelson, was still busy shooting “two to four tap-in birdies a round, and that’s not counting the par-5s…” in the just concluded FedExCup.

The 24-year old American pro golfer has enjoyed a breakout 2017 after winning four PGA Tour events and then going ahead to become $10m richer after becoming FedExCup champion. And now, he’s set to feature for the United States team in the Presidents Cup.

But what’s there to know about the Presidents Cup?

It’s Team USA against Team World

The 2017 Presidents Cup is the 12^th edition of an event which has seen golfers from the USA take on their counterparts from the rest of the world. Since Europe competes against the United States in another golf competition (Ryder Cup), Team Rest of the World is represented by every other continent except Europe.

The competition which starts on the 28^th of September is to be played at the Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey. The United States are the defending champions.

The Twenty Players and How They’re Selected

The U.S team and the International team will each be represented by 10 players.

The U.S team will be represented by the 10 players who earn the highest FedExCup points from the 2015 BMW Championship through to the 2017 Dell Technologies Championship. Points earned in the calendar year 2017 will be doubled.

The players that made the Team USA list include Daniel Berger, Kevin Chappell, Rickie Fowler, Charley Hoffman, Dustin Johnson, Kevin Kisner, Brooks Koepka, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth, and Justin Thomas. Steve Stricker has been selected to captain the U.S team.

As for the International team, it will be duly represented by the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. These players include Jason Day, Branden Grace, Emiliano Grillo, Adam Hadwin, Si Woo Kim, Anirban Lahiri, Marc Leishman, Hideki Matsuyama, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Adam Scott, and Jhonattan Vegas. Nick Price has been selected to captain the International team.

Ten of the 24 players set to feature at the Liberty National will be competing in the Presidents Cup for the first time.
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What Else?

The format of the competition will see nine matches of foursomes, nine matches of fourballs, and 12 singles matches with each worth one point. As for the prize money, none is awarded at the Presidents Cup. Whatever proceeds made are distributed to charities selected by the players, captains, and captains’ assistants.

Talking of the history of the tournament, the Americans have won the tournament a record nine times – they’re currently on a run of six uninterrupted wins. The International team has only won it once while the other one ended in a tie.

Who will win this time around: Team USA or the International Team? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.