2022 Presidents Cup Teams: Disrupting how the United States with a new look can be powerful through international dimensions
The 2022 President’s Cup is finally back after a three-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Last seen at Royal Melbourne in Australia in the winter of 2019, an intense showdown between a weaker international group and a favored US team played out in dramatic fashion.
With the international team taking a two-point advantage in Sunday’s singles match, any and all results remain in the table. Team USA, led by captain Tiger Woods, made a comeback to the bottom, winning Sunday’s session 8 to 4 and the game 16 to 14 overall. Setting its record to 11 -1-1 in the history of the President’s Cup, it is assumed that the United States was ultimately caught in terms of skill, analytical ability, and strategy in this competition.
Fast-forward to the present and not only are there new faces, the atmosphere around the event has changed. The up-and-coming international is no longer a lousy team, but instead a team that is holding on to the topic after LIV Golf stole key foundation pieces from Abraham Ancer, Louis Oosthuizen, Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann .
In their place are a host of young players, eager to hope to prove captain Trevor Immelman right and more broadly the golfing public wrong. Tasked with beating a US stacked roster featuring last week’s Fortinet Championship winner Max Homa, a host of major champions and a swath of firepower, the international team is up against it.
Will the experience of Hideki Matsuyama and Adam Scott lead the international team in the David vs. This Goliath? How will young rookies Cameron Young and Sam Burns evaluate their first appearance in the US? Is this going to be a competitive contest anyway? The answers to these questions rest on the shoulders of 24 men, and based on their play, the answers can vary.
2022 US Presidential Team
Scottie Scheffler |
first |
2-0-1 |
2nd |
– |
Patrick Cantlay |
4 |
6-2-1 |
3rd |
T33 |
Xander Schauffele |
5 |
6-3-0 |
3rd |
T14 |
Justin Thomas |
7 |
12-4-3 |
day 5 |
Day 1 |
Collin Morikawa |
9 |
3-0-1 |
2nd |
– |
Sam Burns |
twelfth |
0-0-0 |
Day 1 |
T55 |
Jordan Spieth |
13 |
16-12-4 |
8th |
T28 |
Tony Finau |
14 |
3-4-3 |
4th |
T16 |
Billy Horschel |
15 |
0-0-0 |
Day 1 |
T33 |
Max Homa |
16 |
0-0-0 |
Day 1 |
Day 1 |
Cameron Young |
18 |
0-0-0 |
Day 1 |
– |
Kevin Kisner |
25 |
2-0-2 |
2nd |
T6 |
After Homa’s victory in Napa and Kevin Kiser’s slight increase, all 12 US players entered the top 25 of the Official World Golf Ranking. Standing at an average of 11.6, it’s a strong front that certainly offers international players all they can handle. Despite such a wealth of talent, in terms of experience, this is a fairly young group.
Without Woods and Dustin Johnson to lead, it was Jordan Spieth who became the leader in the dressing room. Taking on this leadership role alongside good friend Justin Thomas, the two will combine for 13 appearances in the US before turning 30.
This number is equal to the number of appearances by Homa, Kisner, Young, Burns, Billy Horschel, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay. Thomas will have fond memories of the Quail Hollow Club when he scored his first PGA Championship win here in 2017. Homa also won his first PGA Tour win in Charlotte. , but apart from them and Kisner, the other nine are yet to claim any title- 10 results.
So, in theory, this US team should land a convincing win, there are certainly cracks in their armor that the internationals could expose. Just 5 new additions since the 2021 Ryder Cup, current form, continuity and home advantage are all in US hands but expectations are also heavy.
2022 International Presidents Cup team
Hideki Matsuyama |
17 |
6-7-4 |
day 5 |
T5 |
Sungjae Im |
19 |
3-1-1 |
2nd |
T31 |
Tom Kim |
22 |
0-0-0 |
Day 1 |
– |
Corey Conners |
26 |
0-0-0 |
Day 1 |
T42 |
Adam Scott |
30 |
16-22-6 |
10th |
3rd |
KH Lee |
43 |
0-0-0 |
Day 1 |
T58 |
Mito Pereira |
49 |
0-0-0 |
Day 1 |
MC |
Sebastian Munoz |
63 |
0-0-0 |
Day 1 |
T38 |
Cameron Davis |
66 |
0-0-0 |
Day 1 |
T26 |
Christiaan Bezuidenhout |
sixty seven |
0-0-0 |
Day 1 |
– |
Si Woo Kim |
76 |
1-2-0 |
2nd |
MC |
Taylor Pendrith |
109 |
0-0-0 |
Day 1 |
– |
Revenue from 2019 is skyrocketing as Matsuyama, Scott and Sungjae Im are the only players to play at Royal Melbourne. Factors that led to Si Woo Kim’s participation in Liberty National in 2017 and South Korea’s short list of players who were members of international teams in the past.
Scott will be playing in the 10th Presidents Cup as he has been a mainstay in the competition since the early 2000s. Playing his way into the Tour Championship from outside the top 70, the Australian is in fine form. and was still looking for his first win for the team when his debut came in a 17-17 game in 2003.
With meager team experience and an average world rating of 48.9, I wouldn’t say the internationals are completely done as they face a similar task in 2019. half have won the PGA Tour in the past two seasons featuring Tom Kim most recently winning the 2022 Wyndham Championship. His countryman, Im, has been running very fast in the Tour Championship, narrowly narrowing down. steal the FedEx Cup from Rory McIlroy and will have to act as a catalyst if they take the lead.
Im, Matsuyama and Scott will most likely play in each session as Conners will play despite being the first timers. Captain Immelman will have to rely on his meager experience and combine it with the scoring abilities of Munoz, Lee, Davis and others. If this can be done effectively, there is a path to victory – albeit a narrow one.