Can the Internationals cause a Presidents Cup upset?
EMANUEL: Absolutely, they can. Whether they will, I am not so sure.
In a two-horse race, both competitors always have a chance and the vagaries of team golf events suggests that anything can happen.
The 2019 event was special to witness, and the Internationals, most notably Adam Scott, Marc Leishman, Cam Smith, Hideki Matsuyama and Abraham Ancer, appeared to embrace the event more than ever and help usher in a new era for the biennial competition.
Trevor Immelman will continue what Ernie Els started as Captain, and with it being one of Scott’s last rolls of the dice to finally win one of these, the Internationals will be up for fight. There will also be an influx of new blood that will want to put their stamp on the competition.
However, the dominance of the U.S. Ryder Cup team at Whistling Straits suggests changing the tide of the Presidents Cup will take a little longer.
The American team will be extremely similar, perhaps even stronger with the addition of someone like Tiger Woods either in the team room or on course, the Koepka/ DeChambeau distraction a thing of the past and Morikawa, Schauele and co. becoming more comfortable as leaders.
Quail Hollow will also suit the home team greatly.
So, the Americans will win, but it will be closer than some think and the next matchup is where the Internationals will get the chocolates and bring this event closer to the Ryder Cup in competitiveness.
HUGGAN: One look at the past Presidents Cup results makes it clear that the United States teams have enjoyed almost uninterrupted success. Only once has the cosmopolitan International side emerged victorious in 13 attempts. So, building a case for change to that record of near-futility is at best dicult, especially if one eliminates any clutches at the straw that is the law of averages.
Still, we’re talking match-play here. So, there is opportunity for what the less golfsavvy might term a “shock” outcome when the matches reconvene at Quail Hollow later this year. Over short 18-hole sprints the hottest putter will likely win, not necessarily the “best” player.
So, there’s that, as well as the fact that International captain Trevor Immelman’s team will likely have a new and youthful look about it. At the end of 2021, the leading 12 International players on the worldrankings were as follows: Louis Oosthuizen, Abraham Ancer, Hideki Matsuyama, Cam Smith, Sungjae Im, Joaquin Niemann, Marc Leishman, Corey Connors, Mackenzie Hughes, Lucas Herbert, Adam Scott and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
Call me crazy (many have), but that’s a pretty chunky line-up. Okay, it doesn’t compare – at least statistically – with the potential U.S. team.
Bezuidenhout is the 48th best golfer in the world; the 12th-ranked American, Brooks Koepka, is sixteenth. But it says here that an International side bearing a close resemblance to the one listed here has to have a chance to buck a trend that has been broken only once in nearly three decades. I’m optimistic, even if that positivity is tinged with realism. JAMES: Back in 1998 when the Internationals rolled the Americans for the first, and only, time in the Presidents Cup, they were given absolutely no chance of success. In recent years, the Internationals have boasted much stronger sides and the line-up for 2022 promises to be the best of them … at least based on 2021 form. I’m expecting a real tussle and the Cup could be won and lost in the closing singles matches on Sunday.