Presidents Cup
The Presidents Cup is a series of golf matches between teams of professional players representing the United States and the rest of the world less Europe, which competes against the U.S. in a similar but considerably older event, the Ryder Cup. The Presidents Cup is held biennially. Initially it was held in even numbered years, the Ryder Cup being held in odd numbered years. However, the cancellation of the 2001 Ryder Cup due to 9/11 pushed both tournaments back a year, and the Presidents Cup is now held in odd numbered years. It is hosted alternately in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world.
The format of the event is also drawn from the Ryder Cup, consisting of twelve players per side and a non-playing captain, usually a highly respected golf figure. The captains are responsible for pairing the teams in the doubles events, which consist of both alternate shot and best ball formats (sometimes called "foursome" and "four ball" matches) However, unlike the Ryder Cup, all twelve players must play both matches on Friday (six matches per Friday session, unlike the Ryder Cup, with four matches), and only two players will sit out each session of Saturday matches (five matches per Saturday session, compared to four), and each player must play one match on Saturday.
The six extra matches is the main difference between the match format of the Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup, as it prevents teams from hiding its weaknesses, and has all 24 players on the course all three days, preventing a situation similar to the 1999 Ryder Cup where Europe kept four players on the bench for the sixteen four-ball and better-ball matches on the first two days, and led to the United States victory as all twelve players played all three days.
Bill Clinton was President of the United States when the competition was implemented and appeared personally at the inaugural event; he is considered to be a fairly avid amateur golfer and thus in a sense the event is "named" for him, although he is not responsible for initiation of the idea, which came from the PGA Tour.
In 2005, Jack Nicklaus captained the United States team and Gary Player captained the International team.
PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem is looking at making major changes to the Tour's schedule for 2007. According to interviews with tournament executives, the magazine Golfweek thinks that the Ryder and Presidents Cups will be the last events on the official PGA Tour schedule, two weeks after THE TOUR Championship. [1]
[edit] Results
| Year | Venue | Location | Victors | Losers | ||
| 2007 | Royal Montreal Golf Club | Île-Bizard, Quebec, Canada | ||||
| 2005 | Robert Trent Jones Golf Club | Gainesville, Virginia, USA | USA | 18½ | International | 15½ |
| 2003 | Fancourt Hotel and Country Club Estate, Links Course | George, Western Cape, South Africa | Tied | 17 | ||
| 2000 | Robert Trent Jones Golf Club | Gainesville, Virginia, USA | USA | 21½ | International | 10½ |
| 1998 | Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Composite Course | Black Rock, Victoria, Australia | International | 20½ | USA | 11½ |
| 1996 | Robert Trent Jones Golf Club | Gainesville, Virginia, USA | USA | 16½ | International | 15½ |
| 1994 | Robert Trent Jones Golf Club | Gainesville, Virginia, USA | USA | 20 | International | 12 |
Note: Until 2003, prior to the start of the final day matches, the captains selected one player to play in a tie-breaker in case there was a tie at the end of the final match. Upon the tie, the captains will reveal the players who will play a sudden-death match to determine the winner. Because of darkness, the match ended after three holes and the Cup was shared by both teams.
Beginning in 2005, both teams will share the Presidents Cup should there be a tie, and singles matches cannot be tied. Extra holes will be played until a player wins, until the overall title has been clinched.
