The Presidents Cup is an exciting set of men’s golf matches created and organized by the PGA Tour. Participating in this prestigious event is a great addition to any players golf career. A team represents the United States while an International Team represents the rest of the world, not including Europe. The reason Europe isn’t represented in this International Team is that the United States competes against Europe in an older but similar event called the Ryder Cup.
Since 1994, the Presidents Cup has been a biannual event. When it first started, it was only on even-numbered years, and the Ryder Cup was opposite every other odd-numbered year. However, the September 11th terrorist attacks forced the cancellation of the Ryder Cup, and it pushed both tournaments back a full year. Today, the Ryder Cup falls on even-numbered years while the Presidents Cup falls on odd-numbered years. It alternates between the United States and countries represented by the International Team for hosting grounds.
The Presidents Cup doesn’t have prize money awards. Instead, the captains, players, and captain’s assistance nominate charities. All of the proceeds go to these charities, and the first 10 events raised over $32 million.
Scoring System
This golf tournament operates on match play. The format follows the Ryder Cup, and it has 12 players on each. Both teams have a captain, and this captain is usually a well-known and respected golf figure. The captain chooses the pairs that play in the doubles’ events. The doubles events consist of best ball and alternate shot formats. Every double and single match is worth one point. If the match gets halved, each team gets a half of a point.
This format underwent small changes over the years, but the final day of the tournament has always been 12 singles matches. In 2000, the Presidents Cup went from three days to four. In 2015, there were nine fourball doubles matches, nine foursome doubles matches, and 12 singles. The team to win needed 15.5 points out of 30.
Chairmen, Venues, and Winning Teams
Every Presidents Cup has an honorary chairman and a chosen venue. Since 1994, they are:
- 1994 – Chairman Gerald Ford – Robert Trent Jones Golf Club – United States Won
- 1996 – Chairman George H.W. Bush – Robert Trent Jones Golf Club – United States Won
- 1998 – Chairman John Howard – Royal Melbourne Golf Club – International Team Won
- 2000 – Chairman Bill Clinton – Robert Trent Jones Golf Club – United States Won
- 2003 – Chairman Thabo Mbeki – Fancourt Hotel and Country Club – Tied
- 2005 – Chairman George W. Bush – Robert Trent Jones Golf Club – United States Won
- 2007 – Chairman Stephen Harper – Royal Montreal Golf Club – United States Won
- 2009 – Chairman Barack Obama – Harding Park Golf Club – United States Won
- 2011 – Chairman Julia Gillard – Royal Melbourne Golf Club – United States Won
- 2013 – Chairman Barack Obama – Muirfield Village – United States Won
- 2015 – Chairman Park Geun-hye – Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea – United States Won
- 2017 – Chairman Donald Trump – Liberty National Golf Club – United States Won
- 2019 – Chairman TBA – Royal Melbourne Golf Club – Winning Team TBA