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| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Victoria, Australia in 2011 |
| Established | 1994 |
| Course(s) | Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 2011 |
| Par | 70 in 2011 |
| Length | 7,002 yards in 2011 |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Format | Match play |
| Current champion | |
| United States | |
The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world less Europe. Europe competes against the U.S. in a similar but considerably older event, the Ryder Cup. The Presidents Cup is held biennially. Initially it was held in even numbered years, with the Ryder Cup being held in odd numbered years. However, the cancellation of the 2001 Ryder Cup due to the September 11 attacks pushed both tournaments back a year, and the Presidents Cup is now held in odd numbered years. It is hosted alternately in the U.S. and in countries represented by the International Team.
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Format and strategy
The scoring system of the event is match play. The format is drawn from the Ryder Cup, consisting of 12 players per side and a non-playing captain, usually a highly respected golf figure. The captains are responsible for pairing the teams in the doubles events, which consist of both alternate shot and best ball formats (also known as "foursome" and "fourball" matches respectively). However, unlike the Ryder Cup, all 12 players must play foursome and fourball matches on Thursday and Friday (six matches per session, unlike the Ryder Cup with four matches), and only two players will sit out each session of Saturday matches (five matches per Saturday session, compared to four), and each player must play a one-on-one, singles match on Sunday.
Each match, whether it be a doubles or singles match, is worth one point. In the doubles matches a half-point is awarded to each team in the event of a tie. With 11 foursome doubles matches, 11 fourball doubles matches and 12 singles matches that represents a total of 34 points. To win the Presidents Cup a team must accrue a total of 17.5 points.
The format of the Presidents Cup differs from the Ryder Cup mainly in that it includes six extra matches, which prevents a team from hiding its weaknesses. By having all 24 players on the course for all three days there cannot be a situation such as in the 1999 Ryder Cup when Europe kept three players (Jarmo Sandelin, Jean van de Velde and Andrew Coltart) on the bench for the 16 fourball and foursome matches on the first two days. This use of 12 players on all three days arguably led to the United States' victory.
Ties
Until the 2005 event, prior to the start of the final day matches, the captains selected one player to play in a tie-breaker in the event of a tie at the end of the final match. Upon a tie, the captains would reveal the players who would play a sudden-death match to determine the winner. In 2003, however, the tiebreaker match ended after three holes because of darkness, and it was decided that the Cup would be shared by both teams.[1]
Beginning in 2005, after Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus agreed because of fading light to call the entire match a tie in South Africa, all doubles matches played Thursday through Saturday may end in a tie. However, on Sunday, all singles matches ending in a tie at the end of the regulation 18 holes will be extended to extra holes until that match is won outright. All singles matches will continue in this format until one team reaches the required 17.5 point total and wins the Cup, or the final tally is even at 17-17 in which case the result is left as a tie.[2] Once a team attains 17.5 points, all remaining singles matches will only be played to the regulation 18 holes and may end in a tie. This is done to preserve the individual player points for the event.[3]
History
The event was created and is organized by the PGA Tour. At the inaugural Presidents Cup in 1994, former U.S. President Gerald Ford was Honorary Chairman. Subsequent events saw former President George H. W. Bush, then-Australian Prime Minister John Howard, then-President Bill Clinton, the former President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki, George W. Bush and the Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper in the chair.[4]
Charity
There is no prize money awarded at the Presidents Cup. The net proceeds are distributed to charities nominated by the players, captains, and captains' assistants. The first six Presidents Cups raised over US$13 million for charities around the world.[5]
Results
Perfect performances
| Golfer | Team | Record | Year | Overall Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark O'Meara | United States | 5-0-0 | 1996 | Won |
| Shigeki Maruyama | International | 5-0-0 | 1998 | Won |
| Tiger Woods | United States | 5-0-0 | 2009 | Won |
| Jim Furyk | United States | 5-0-0 | 2011 | Won |
Future sites
See also
- List of American Presidents Cup golfers
- List of International Presidents Cup golfers
- Handa Cup, a similar event in which ladies compete
References
- ^ Brennan, Christine (November 23, 2003). "Els-Woods playoff unable to settle Presidents Cup". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/2003-11-23-presidents-cup-day4_x.htm. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
- ^ http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/presidentscup/format_faq/
- ^ PGATOUR.COM - Archived Story
- ^ PGATOUR.com - The Presidents Cup History
- ^ PGATOUR.com - The Presidents Cup Information
- ^ South Korea to host The Presidents Cup in 2015
External links
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Presidents Cup.
