This biennial edition of the Presidents Cup is being hosted at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in Quebec this week, which gives it a distinctly Canadian flavour.
Mike Weir will captain the Internationals (minus competitors from Europe) opposite Jim Furyk for the U.S. side, and three Canadians — Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith, and Mackenzie Hughes — will also represent Canada at the event, which closely mimcs the Ryder Cup format.
The four-day match play event will get started Thursday, with 12 competitors from each side doing battle across 30 matches. On Sunday, the event will conclude with 12 thrilling single matches.
The Americans are the defending champions, taking the 2022 event by a score of 17.5-12.5 at Quail Hollow Golf Club to improve to 12-1-1 all-time at the Presidents Cup. The lone International victory came way back in 1998 in Australia.
The United States is heavily favoured to win the event, with roughly -250 odds to win outright at most online sportsbooks. The International Team has roughly +250 odds to win, and a draw can be had around +1400.
Internationals to win outright
+260
Presidents Cup Rosters
USA
| Golfer | World Rk | SG: Off Tee | SG: Approach | SG: Putting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler | 1 | 2 | 1 | 70 |
| Xander Schauffele | 2 | 10 | 5 | 8 |
| Collin Morikawa | 4 | 15 | 41 | 57 |
| Wyndham Clark | 6 | 16 | 93 | 16 |
| Patrick Cantlay | 9 | 56 | 97 | 47 |
| Sahith Theegala | 11 | 22 | 43 | 34 |
| Keegan Bradley | 13 | 58 | 39 | 118 |
| Russell Henley | 14 | 97 | 33 | 37 |
| Sam Burns | 18 | 44 | 69 | 15 |
| Brian Harman | 22 | 79 | 38 | 39 |
| Tony Finau | 23 | 61 | 2 | 139 |
| Max Homa | 25 | 156 | 75 | 107 |
As you can see, all 12 of the golfers on the USA’s roster boast a top-25 World Golf Ranking, so this squad is stacked. Additionally, eight of these golfers recently competed in the last Ryder Cup, which has a very similar format to this event. Furyk, the Presidents Cup captain, also served as a vice-captain on USA’s last Ryder Cup team.
International
| Golfer | World Rk | SG: Off Tee | SG: Approach | SG: Putting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hideki Matsuyama | 7 | 28 | 15 | 110 |
| Adam Scott | 18 | 32 | 85 | 26 |
| Sungjae Im | 21 | 30 | 94 | 63 |
| Tom Kim | 24 | 70 | 48 | 106 |
| Jason Day | 33 | 68 | 143 | 9 |
| Byeong Hun An | 34 | 20 | 68 | 111 |
| Corey Conners | 37 | 26 | 3 | 123 |
| Min Woo Lee | 40 | 6 | 134 | 113 |
| Taylor Pendrith | 44 | 80 | 76 | 7 |
| Christiaan Bezuidenhout | 45 | 136 | 55 | 19 |
| Si Woo Kim | 49 | 33 | 18 | 138 |
| Mackenzie Hughes | 61 | 142 | 137 | 5 |
There’s no doubt this is going to be an uphill battle for the Internationals, who lack the star power and the previous team experience and chemistry that USA has. There’s a reason why the Americans have historically dominated this event, after all. One slight advantage the Internationals may have, though, is on the greens, with the roster boasting three excellent putters in Hughes, Pendrith, and Day.
Corey Conners to be the top International points scorer
+750
Best bet
Tournament winner handicap: USA -3.5 points (-125 @ Sports Interaction). Back the Americans with confidence in this lopsided event. The Internationals simply don’t have the front-end firepower to match up with Scheffler, Schauffele, Morikawa, Clark, and Cantlay, in all formats, especially during singles on Sunday. USA has built-in chemistry in the team formats thanks to the recent Ryder Cup, so Furyk already has an idea of what should work, or shouldn’t work, in the foursomes and four-ball competitions. Hopefully, the Canadian trio will perform well for the home contingent in Montreal and give the local spectators something to cheer for.