Will the US be in trouble at the 2024 Presidents Cup? International teams outperform the US in the kick-off event
Several Presidents Cup participants used last week’s 2024 Procore Championship as a form of last-minute preparation ahead of next week’s international event, and it was clear after the tournament that the international team looked much more polished than the U.S. team.
The sample size is small, but it seems Americans are not as highly regarded as some might expect in Montreal.
The US argument is strong. They have two of the best players in the world (Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele) while the international team is missing a lot of key players because they play at LIV Golf and are not allowed to participate. Plus, you know, the fact that the Americans haven’t lost this event in a quarter of a century.
My take on this US team, however, is that they are not as strong as usual and may not be as sharp either. Most of their top players have not played since the Tour Championship (or before), and those who played last week in Napa, California, did not play particularly well.
Wyndham Clark, an automatic qualifier for the team, missed qualifying for the first FedEx Cup Fall event. Max Homa, who was expected to be the final captain’s pick for the U.S. team, also missed out. It was the latest in a long string of poor play for Homa, who hasn’t finished anywhere in the top 20 since May. Sahith Theegala played well but not as well as some of his international rivals.
In fact, the 12th man on the international team, Mackenzie Hughes, finished T5 at the event. Fellow Canadian Corey Conners finished in the top 10 and Min Woo Lee rounded out the list. International Team captainMike Weir, who failed to qualify, scored the same as Homa — slightly better than Clark.
Of course, this is not a death sentence for the United States. Far from it. But it also cannot exist in a vacuum.
One of the recurring narratives from last year’s Ryder Cup was that the U.S. team was rusty from not playing for a while, but there were few opportunities for players to perform in the month leading up to the Presidents Cup next week. The same is true of the international team, but the U.S. seemed frustrated by the logistics of playing in Rome a year ago.
Furthermore, there aren’t many American players who can be considered “reliable” right now, a moniker used by the likes of Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth in previous international events. Homa is one of those guys, but he’s probably the worst golfer on the team. Scheffler and Schauffele maybe are those guys, but they haven’t necessarily proven that in team events up to this point; those are completely different events than 72-hole individual stroke play tournaments.
Is there anyone on the US team who can inspire confidence to march into enemy territory, beat their chests with pride and lead the US team to another victory?
Patrick Cantlay? Maybe, but his golf game has dropped a bit. Brian Harman? Russell Henley? Tony Finau?
The answer to all of the above is… we’ll see. Scheffler and Schauffele To be The Monsters — arguably the best players on the planet in 2024 — and they clearly have the ability to carry the team to this victory.
But the internationals are hungry, Canadian fans will be raving about Mike Weir’s win in Montreal, and the U.S. team (at least in public) hasn’t appeared as prepared and determined as it once did. Captain Jim Furyk’s selections haven’t helped. (Maybe that’s not true, but at times it feels like he’s just reading off a list of Presidents Cup points.)
Furyk is a tough competitor, but the international squad has improved enough that any foothold they gain at this year’s event could pose a real problem for the U.S.
The fact is that the United States will still maybe won the President’s Cup. The players of the international team are maybe not good enough to overcome the talent shortage. The US is favored at -270 for one reason: They have a better team and haven’t lost the Presidents Cup.
My sense, however, is that this Presidents Cup won’t be as easy a ride as it looks on paper. The U.S. has a number of players who have struggled in team events before, have never played in an event, or are just playing poor golf in general right now. The international team will have a raucous home crowd and a nothing-to-lose mentality.
It can be a scary thing if you’re the opposing team. It’s even scarier if you’re not quite ready for it.
