Five Things to Watch in the 2024 President’s Cup: International Team
The 2024 President’s Cup will be held at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in Quebec, Canada, from September 26-29. It will feature the 12 best players from Team U.S.A. and from the International Team (excluding Europe). The International Team is 1-12-1 all-time and will be the heavy underdogs this year as well. They will be captained by Mike Weir for the first time in this particular event. Here are five things to keep an eye on for the International Team during the 2024 President’s Cup.
1. David v.s. Goliath
With only one player in the top 10 and four total in the top 25, compared to all 12 players in the top 25 for Team U.S.A., the International Team is clearly the underdogs in the 2024 President’s Cup. It will be a true David v.s. Goliath situation and expect that to be on the minds of every International player going into this event. Even though they got trounced 17.5-12.5 points in the 2022 President’s Cup, the International Team had some really exciting moments, especially from the Republic of Korea's Tom Kim. They can easily come in with zero pressure and nothing to lose and really take it to the Americans, shocking the sports world. If Team U.S.A. becomes complacent at all, the Internationals have to take advantage of that if they want any chance of winning the 2024 President’s Cup.
2. The Rookies
Canadian Mackenzie Hughes and Australian Min Woo Lee will both be making their first appearances for the International Team in the 2024 President’s Cup. While there shouldn’t be a lot of pressure to win for the International Team as a whole, there may be some pressure on the International rookies to perform, with them being selected over some higher ranking players like Australian Cameron Davis, ranked 41st, Canadian Adam Hadwin, ranked 48th, and Canadian Nick Taylor, ranked 53rd. Compared to Min Woo and Mackenzie, who are ranked 40th and 60th respectively. Cam Davis, in particular, finished 8th in President’s Cup points for the team and was not selected. Min Woo was 9th and Mackenzie was 15th in points. Whatever the deciding factors were for Captain Mike Weir, there’s a lot riding on the shoulders of the two rookies and both should be crowd favorites with Mackenzie being Canadian, playing a “home game” and Min Woo being a fan-favorite due to his social media presence and persona and “The Chef”.
3. Call it a Comeback
Neither Australia’s Jason Day nor the Republic of Korea’s Byeong Hun An played in the 2022 President’s Cup, despite both playing in the 2019 iteration of the event. There wasn’t much controversy, as neither were in particularly good form in 2022, especially with Jason continuously dealing with a back injury and completely changing his swing to avoid further aggravation. Both players have found their game in the last couple of years and are looking to make waves in the 2024 event, both earning enough President Cup points to automatically qualify. Look for the younger players like Min Woo Lee to look to Jason specifically for his poise and leadership, especially if the juggernauts from the U.S. come out swinging from the jump.
4. Lack of LIV
Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, Australia’s Cameron Smith, South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, Mexico’s Abraham Ancer, and Australia’s Marc Leishman will be absolutely missed on the International Team during the 2024 President’s Cup, but with LIV Golfers not eligible to play in the event, they will have no choice put to hope the team they bring are firing on all cylinders. Joaquin in particular has been playing fantastic golf this season. While his Official World Golf Ranking, which does not give any points for LIV events, he is ranked 12th according to data golf. He would’ve easily been a great asset to the team. Cam Smith is another player who could’ve done well in the event, despite his game being up and down this year. His putting alone could cause problems for the Americans. Until the two tours figure out a way to come together, the International Team may never be at full strength.
5. What if They Win
If this iteration of the International Team wins the 2024 President’s Cup, it could go down as one of the biggest upsets in not just golf, but sports as a whole. They’ll have the Canadian crowd cheering them on. They’ll have President’s Cup experience on their side, with Adam Scott making his 11th appearance, Hideki Matsuyama making his sixth appearance, and Jason Day making his fifth appearance in the event, compared to three appearances being the most on the American side. As stated before, they should be coming in with no pressure and expectations to win, which should allow them to play free and fearless. The path to victory may be slim and would require contributions from everyone on the team, but it isn’t non-existent. A win would etch their names in golf and sports history forever. This would be the underdog story that Hollywood dreams of.
