2022 President’s Cup overview: International Team vs Team USA - players, captains, format
With team captains and assistant captains now set and a format agreed upon, it’s almost time for the 2022 Presidents Cup.
We take a look at the members of both teams playing in the tournament as well as the format that they will all have to face when the action tees off on this weekend.
A look back at the Presidents Cup
Now in its 14th edition, the Presidents Cup has become somewhat of one-sided event over the years as the Americans have dominated. Indeed, the last time the two teams met in 2019, Team U.S.A. came out on top at the Royal Melbourne Club in Australia. On that occasion, the Americans claimed victory by a score of 16-14. Quite frankly, the Team U.S.A. has almost always won the tournament with the current record standing at 11-1-1. The only time they were defeated was back in 1998 at the said same Royal Melbourne Club. Aside from that, the lone draw came in 2003, which is to say that Team International will be gunning for a win this time around.
Who are the team captains for the 2022 Presidents Cup?
Former Masters winner Trevor Immelman is set to captain the International Team in the 2022 Presidents Cup. Incidentally, the South African who has won 11 times on Tour will be supported by a selection of assistant captains. That’s right, eight-time Tour winner K.J. Choi, 2006 U.S. Open winner Geoff Ogilvy, Camilo Villegas who will be making his debut as an assistant and last but not least, Mike Weir who most notably won the Masters back in 2003.
Where Team U.S.A. is concerned, Davis Love III will serve as captain while being supported by the likes of 15-time PGA Tour winner Fred Couples, Zach Johnson who clinched victory at Augusta in 2007, Steve Stricker with 12 titles to his name and finally, Webb Simpson who most notably won the 2012 U.S. Open. If you’d like to see the full list of participants, just take a look below:
| Team USA | World Ranking | Team International | World Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler | 1 | Hideki Matsuyama | 17 |
| Patrick Cantlay | 4 | Sungjae Im | 19 |
| Xander Schauffele | 5 | Tom Kim | 22 |
| Justin Thomas | 7 | Corey Conners | 26 |
| Colin Morikawa | 9 | Adam Scott | 30 |
| Sam Burns | 12 | K.H. Lee | 43 |
| Jordan Spieth | 13 | Mito Pereira | 49 |
| Tony Finau | 14 | Sebastian Munoz | 63 |
| Billy Horschel | 15 | Cameron Davis | 66 |
| Max Homa | 16 | Christian Bezuidenhout | 67 |
| Cameron Young | 18 | Si Woo Kim | 76 |
| Kevin Kisner | 25 | Taylor Peredith | 109 |
What’s the format for the 2022 Presidents Cup?
Spread across four days from September 22-25, there will be some 30 separate matches between Team US and Team International, with each match worth one point. Understandably, a win gives the team in question a point, while a loss results in no points awarded. In the case of a tie, both teams will receive half of a point. Unlike the similarly structured Ryder Cup, teams can actually end with a draw in the Presidents Cup. Where the format itself is concerned, there will be three individual formats used for the tournament, with two using pairs of teammates and then playing a regular singles match. Then, there is also the two four-player formats where they will play Foursomes and Four-ball:
- Foursomes: In what has to be considering the more challenging of the two team formats, teammates will play a single golf ball and alternate shots until the hole is completed. Players switch off hitting tee shots no matter who made the final putt on the prior hole. Scoring remains the same and is the standard match play.
- Four-Ball: For this format, players will be put into teams of two at which point they will take on each other with every competitor playing their own golf ball. Each side will take the lower of the two scores for that specific hole. How does that work? If Scottie Scheffler posts a birdie while his teammate Justin Thomas makes bogey, and both Sungjae Im and Hideki Matsuyama make par, the U.S. team wins the hole.