Which Presidents Cup Team Is More Affected By Lack Of LIV Golfers?

The Presidents Cup returns this week at Royal Montreal Golf Club where the Internationals will once again aim to win the trophy from the Americans for the first time since 1998.

The match has a bad reputation for its competitiveness with USA winning 12 of the 14 stagings, with one tie and one going the Internationals' way.

The rest-of-world team so nearly won the cup back in 2019 at Royal Melbourne where Tiger Woods' Team USA mounted a stunning final day comeback but the Internationals lost momentum for the 2022 event due to the formation of LIV Golf.

It meant that a number of its key players were ineligible because the match is organized by the PGA Tour, therefore the likes of that year's Open champion Cameron Smith was the big player missing along with Abraham Ancer, Joaquin Niemann, Marc Leishman, Louis Oosthuizen.

Two years on and LIV Golfers still can't play in the Presidents Cup due to the fact that the match is run by the PGA Tour, so which side is most affected and which notable players are missing?

LIV Golfers missing the International team

Both sides have been impacted once again, but it is likely the Internationals that are impacted more. As well as the names previously mentioned, Sebastian Munoz and Mito Pereira have both moved to LIV Golf since the last Presidents Cup, with Munoz in particular a loss due to his impressive performance last time out.

The Colombian, who has won once on the PGA Tour, won 2.5 points from three matches two years ago in an unbeaten debut where he beat Scottie Scheffler in the singles.

Joaquin Niemann has won three times in the past year so is the Internationals' most notable player missing, closely followed by 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith.

Louis Oosthuizen is another big name ineligible, with the South African winning twice in December last year and then finishing 6th in the LIV points list. Cam Smith was 7th this year, while another International player Dean Burmester was 9th.

Burmester has won three times in the past 12 months in what has been the best run of his career, so he surely would have been picked had LIV Golfers been eligible. Abraham Ancer was impressive in 2019, where he won 3.5 points from his first four matches before losing to Woods in the opening singles match. Ancer won his first LIV title in Hong Kong this year and ended 12th in the points list.

His fellow Mexican Carlos Ortiz may have got a look-in this year too if LIV players were eligible, with the Mexican winning in Houston and ending 13th in the standings.

Marc Leishman (15th) and Anirban Lahiri (16th) also enjoyed solid years in the LIV Golf League and could have been fringe contenders. Leishman was on the all-Aussie Ripper GC team that won the LIV Golf team championship. Needless to say, he, Smith, Lucas Herbert and Matt Jones are all ineligible.

Notable LIV players ineligible for the International Presidents Cup team:

• Joaquin Niemann
• Cameron Smith
• Louis Oosthuizen
• Dean Burmester
• Abraham Ancer
• Carlos Ortiz
• Marc Leishman
• Anirban Lahiri

LIV Golfers missing the US team

One obvious name stands out for players missing the US side, with US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau ineligible.

Bryson is back inside the world's top 10 and regarded as one of the game's top players but he cannot be selected for the Presidents Cup due to his ties with LIV Golf.

He went unbeaten at the 2021 Ryder Cup and won 1.5 points from two matches with Scottie Scheffler, but hasn't featured for Team USA since at either the Ryder or Presidents Cups.

Brooks Koepka is another star name missing, and he's won twice on LIV this season despite not having his best year in the Majors with no finishes inside the top-25. His win over Rahm at The Greenbrier made him LIV's first ever five-time winner, and he eventually ended 5th in the points list.

Aside from DeChambeau and Koepka, it seems hard to imagine any other LIV Golfers would have made it into the competitive US team. 2023 individual winner Talor Gooch could be a consideration and he was the third-highest American in the LIV standings this year in 10th.

Dustin Johnson was next in 14th, with Matthew Wolff 18th and Patrick Reed 20th.

Notable LIV players ineligible for the International Presidents Cup team:

• Bryson DeChambeau
• Brooks Koepka
• Talor Gooch
• Dustin Johnson

So while DeChambeau and Koepka are undoubtedly big losses for the Americans, it is the Internationals who are still most affected by golf's civil war and its lack of LIV players in the line-up.

That doesn't mean it won't be a competitive match, though, with both sides looking strong with a mix of experience and new blood, while Mike Weir's Internationals will be buoyed on by the home support in Montreal.