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WHAT IS THIS THING?

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To the casual fan — and even many golf nuts — the Presidents Cup is the team match play event held on years when there is no Ryder Cup.

That’s not exactly a glowing description, but it’s a hard one to get past when recent Ryder Cup history has been thrilling back-and-forth battles between Team Europe and Team USA while Presidents Cups have seen Team USA go 12-1-1 against the International Team since the event debuted in 1994.

The International team is made up of the world minus Europe and the USA, and the only time it was victorious was 1998, a golf year best remembered for Mark O’Meara’s double major season and Jack Nicklaus somehow coming in sixth at the Masters at age 58 with a bad hip.

The competition has shown some sign of tightening in recent editions, most notably when the Ernie Els’ captained Internationals took a lead into Sunday Singles before losing to playing-captain Tiger Woods’ Americans at Royal Melbourne in 2019.

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WHY SHOULD WE CARE?

Unlike the Ryder Cup, Canadian golfers are eligible for the Presidents Cup and this year’s O Canada edition is captained by Mike Weir, being played at Royal Montreal and features three Canucks on the International roster.

We also should care because the players care deeply. Canadian golfers we spoke to over the summer made it clear that being a part of this team was near the very top of their goals for the season and playing for Weir’s team seemed to easily trump any desire to make it to the Paris Olympics.

THE FORMAT

Like the Ryder Cup, the Presidents Cup is team match play featuring 12 players per side playing foursomes (alternate shot), four balls (best ball), and Sunday singles. Differentiating it from the Ryder Cup, the Presidents Cup is a four-day event beginning Thursday rather than a three-day event. Teams receive one point for winning a match and a half-point for ties. A total of 30 points are available. The team with the most points after four days wins.

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Thursday: Five matches total, four-ball (best ball)

Friday: Five matches total, foursomes (alternate shot)

Saturday: Eight matches total, four-ball and foursomes split the morning and afternoon

Sunday: Twelve matches total, singles

THE ODDS

USA -250, International +275, Tie +1200

THE CANADIANS

International captain Mike Weir

Canada’s only men’s major winner is perhaps the most passionate defender of the Presidents Cup in all of golf. Before being named 2024 International captain, Weir competed in five Presidents Cup as a player and has been a captain’s assistant three times.

When Postmedia asked Weir about top moments in a life of professional golf, the Masters champ and nine-time PGA Tour winner’s mind instantly went to Presidents Cups: “For me, as I get older, I remember some of my individual achievements, but most of my great memories are from the Presidents Cup.”

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At the 2007 Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal, Weir posted a team-best 3-1-1 record, including a 1-up singles victory over World No. 1 Tiger Woods.

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The Obvious Choice, Corey Conners

Weir was put in a bit of a bind if he wanted to stack the team full of Canadians because none of them automatically qualified in the top six of the International rankings. But Conners was in seventh spot when qualifying closed and was an easy pick for the team.

Despite great play from a number of Canadians over the past few years, Conners has maintained his spot as Canada’s most reliably elite men’s golfer. The top of the golf world is dominated by the game’s best ball-strikers and Conners without question fits that definition. One of the game’s best instructors told Postmedia this year that Conners’ reliably gentle draw is the best move in all of pro golf. Period.

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Has Conners’ play on the greens held him back throughout his career? Undoubtedly. But the 32-year-old enters the week in a nice groove with his putter and, as for the consistency of his entire game, he hasn’t missed a cut since the 2023 U.S. Open.

One caveat for Conners is that he was one of the two players at the 2022 Presidents Cup not to earn a single point. That will have to change if the Internationals are going to contend this week.

Taylor Pendrith, The Hot Hand

The only other player on that 2022 Presidents Cup team not to earn a single point was Pendrith. Both Conners and Pendrith will be looking to change that this week in Montreal.

After the poor showing at Quail Hollow in 2022 and a slow start to this year (missing six of his first nine PGA Tour cuts), Pendrith was far below Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin on most people’s lists of possible captain’s picks for Weir. But as summer approached — and with the pain of an injured shoulder behind him — the big-hitting Pendrith notched his second win on tour in May.

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He then finished the season with three top-tens in his final five starts during a run to the Tour Championship, where he was the only Canadian in the 30-man field.

The 33-year-old late-bloomer stole the show among Canadians and in the process jumped to 11th on the qualifying chart, snatching a captain’s pick from Weir ahead of both Taylor (12th in qualifying) and Hadwin (13th in qualifying).

Mackenzie Hughes, The Wild Card

Nobody wanted to be on this team more than Canada’s short-game wizard Hughes. In a golf world dominated by ball-striking maestros, the 33-year-old always seems to get things done the hard way.

Since his days as a junior golfer in Dundas, Ont., Hughes has been breaking hearts of opponents by dropping bombs on the greens and getting up-and-down from anywhere and everywhere. Along the way, he has earned a reputation as a gritty competitor and one that can’t be taken for granted.

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Two years ago, Hughes was left off the International Team at Quail Hollow in North Carolina, where he now makes his home. The omission stuck with Hughes and he made it clear to anyone who would listen that he wanted this chance this time around in his home country. Weir made it happen, taking a shot on the 15th-ranked qualifier.

In 2024, Hughes ranks fifth in strokes-gained putting and third in strokes-gained around the green (ie. chipping and pitching). Combine the two and Hughes likely has the best short game in the world.

ROSTERS

International Team

Hideki Matsuyama
Sungjae Im
Adam Scott
Tom Kim
Jason Day
Beyong Hun An
Corey Conners (captain’s pick)
Taylor Pendrith (captain’s pick)
Mackenzie Hughes (captain’s pick)
Christiaan Bezuidenhout (captain’s pick)
Min Woo Lee (captain’s pick)
Si Woo Kim (captain’s pick)

Team U.S.A.

Scottie Scheffler
Xander Schauffele
Collin Morikawa
Wyndham Clark
Patrick Cantlay
Sahith Theegala
Sam Burns (captain’s pick)
Tony Finau (captain’s pick)
Russell Henley (captain’s pick)
Keegan Bradley (captain’s pick)
Brian Harman (captain’s pick)
Max Homa (captain’s pick)

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