Presidents Cup preview

Team USA squares up to the rest of the world, excluding Europe, this week for the 10th Presidents Cup matches at Muirfield Village in Ohio. The home side leads the series by 7.5-1.5.

Team USA defends Presidents Cup (Getty Images)
Fergus Bisset
By
published

Lowdown: Team USA squares up to the rest of the world, excluding Europe, this week for the 10th Presidents Cup matches at Muirfield Village in Ohio. The home side leads the series by 7.5-1.5.

First held in 1994, the Presidents Cup is contested by a team from the USA and an international side representing the rest of the world, outside of Europe. It is now second only to the Ryder Cup in terms of prestige when it comes to men's team events.

The competition features teams of 12, led by a non-playing captain. Each side has 10 players who have qualified for their spot in the side, and two captain's picks.

Fred Couples captains the Americans for a third straight Presidents Cup. He also appeared in the event four times as a player. Nick Price will lead the International team for the first time, although he too has experienced the competition as a player - five times from 1994 to 2003.

Team USA comprises the top-10 players on the PGA Tour money list after the 2013 Deutsche Bank Championship, plus two captain's selections. Fred Couples chose to go with 2012 US Open winner Webb Simpson and young rookie Jordan Spieth.

The International team is made up of the top 10 available international players on the Official World Golf Ranking as of 2nd September, plus two captain's picks. Price opted for Australia's Marc Leishman and Brendan de Jonge of Zimbabwe.

The competition takes place at Jack Nicklaus' course at Muirfield Village. It's the host venue for the PGA Tour's Memorial tournament so the majority of players this week will be very familiar with the layout.

The event consists of 34 matches - six four-ball matches on Thursday (so all the players compete,) six foursomes on Friday, five four-balls and then five foursomes on Saturday and 12 singles on the Sunday.

Each Presidents Cup match features an honorary chairman - this time it's the 44th President of the USA Barack Obama.

Venue: Muirfield Village GC, Columbus, Ohio Date: Oct 3-6 Course stats: par 72, 7,354 yards Defending Champions: USA (19-15)

TV Coverage: Thursday 3 - Sky Sports 1 from 4.30pm Friday 4 - Sky Sports 1 from 6pm Saturday 5 - Sky Sports 2 from 1pm (red button) Sunday 6 - Sky Sports 2 from 4.30pm

Team line-ups

USA Captain - Fred Couples                 Tiger Woods          Brandt Snedeker          Phil Mickelson Matt Kuchar Jason Dufner Keegan Bradley Steve Stricker Bill Haas Hunter Mahan Zach Johnson Webb Simpson Jordan Spieth

International Captain - Nick Price

Adam Scott Jason Day Charl Schwartzel Ernie Els Louis Oosthuizen Hideki Matsuyama Branden Grace Graham DeLaet Richard Sterne Angel Cabrera Marc Leishman Brendan de Jonge

Key Hole - 16th. A testing par-3 of 201 yards re-designed by Jack Nicklaus specifically for the Presidents Cup. A pond waits to the left of the green and three bunkers also protect the small green. Par will be a good score here and could be enough to win the hole. It's ranked as the hardest hole on the course in the last three Memorial tournaments.

Where next? Seve Trophy by Golf+ - Preview

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

Latest