Is There A Women's Version Of The Presidents Cup?
The Presidents Cup allows non-European International players to compete against the US in a Ryder Cup-style match, but is there a women's equivalent?
![Sarah Kemp and Hannah Green fist pump at the 2023 International Crown](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kGYaQKrFva4XGFWVqaDcyB-415-80.jpg)
While the Ryder Cup is the most revered men’s team event in golf, because it only includes US and European players, many of the world’s best players inevitably miss out on one of the biggest occasions the game has to offer.
Since 1994, that has been partially addressed with the Presidents Cup, which shares similarities with the Ryder Cup’s format as US players take on a team of international players minus Europeans.
Over the years, that has allowed world-class talent, including Fijian Vijay Singh, Zimbabwean Nick Price, South African Ernie Els, Australian Adam Scott and Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama, to experience a team event similar to the Ryder Cup. But what about the women’s game? Does it have its own version of the Presidents Cup?
It would be easy to assume it does, particularly as the women's game already has the Solheim Cup, which is its equivalent of the Ryder Cup, but it’s not quite that straightforward.
The short answer is that there isn’t a women’s version of the Presidents Cup. However, there is a competition that bears some similarities and helps ensure the inclusion of players outside the US and Europe.
In 2011, Team Europe produced a dramatic comeback to win the Solheim Cup, and that helped quell calls for future editions of the match to feature an International Team following three US wins in a row.
With that pressure put on the back burner, the LPGA Tour had scope to create a new competition - the International Crown - with a decidedly different formula. Crucially, it also included players from nations not eligible for the Solheim Cup.
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The women's version of the Ryder Cup is the Solheim Cup
At the time, then LPGA Tour commissioner Mike Whan said: “The International Crown will take women’s golf to the next level and allow fans to rally behind their homelands. In sports, there is simply nothing greater than wearing your nation’s flag, fans singing your national anthem, and bringing ‘the crown’ home.”
First, the similarities. Like the Presidents Cup, the International Crown is a match play contest, while it is also held biennially. It also features rounds of fourball, foursomes and singles matches at various points, while the scoring system is similar, offering one point for a win and half a point for a tie.
However, rather than two teams of 12 competing against each other, the International Crown features eight national teams of four players determined by the combined Rolex Women's World Rankings of the top four stars from each country. Unlike the Presidents Cup, the International Crown also includes prize money, with $500,000 awarded to the winning team, Thailand, at the 2023 match.
Team Thailand won $500,000 for its win at the 2023 International Crown
The match is not without its flaws. For example, the 2023 edition didn’t include two of the biggest names in the game, New Zealander Lydia Ko or Canadian Brooke Henderson, because, even though they were riding high in the world rankings, there weren’t enough other top-rated players from their respective countries to qualify.
That’s something Henderson explained could be addressed with a match more similar to the Presidents Cup. At the 2024 women's Olympics tournament, she said: “I would love to have the opportunity on the women's side to play an event similar to the Presidents Cup or the Solheim Cup, Ryder Cup. That would be really fun. I think it would be great.
“We do have our International Crown but I think the Tour deserves maybe another event very similar to Tte Presidents Cup, where you have the opportunity to compete. Same with Lydia, right now she can't compete anywhere. I think that would be a great opportunity.”
Brooke Henderson would welcome a direct equivalent of the Presidents Cup
For now, the wait for a direct equivalent of the Presidents Cup in the women’s game continues, although, with the International Crown, there is at least something to cater to players from beyond Europe and the US, albeit with markedly different characteristics.
Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
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