Top Five 2024 President’s Cup Singles Matches Fans Want to See

The 2024 President’s Cup in Royal Montreal, Canada is underway and, after Day One, the U.S. Team is already up five points over the International Team, winning all five matches in the first session. They’ll look to continue their dominance through the weekend as they hope to secure their 19th President’s Cup Trophy in a row. While the score may not reflect it, Day One of the event did have its fair share of excitement and drama. A lot may change with the score and key players from the U.S.A. and the Internationals in the next two days, before Sunday Singles, but let’s look at five Sunday Singles matches we would love to see as fans.

1. Scottie Scheffler vs. Tom Kim

If there was one exciting headline that came out of Day One of the 2024 President’s Cup it was the perceived rivalry between real-life friends, American Scottie Scheffler and the Republic of Korea’s Tom Kim. The two are actually really close in real life and both play a lot of golf together as Dallas residents. Tom is extremely close with Scottie’s entire family, in fact. That being said, in their Day One match there were certainly some rivalry-like fireworks and some back and forth between the two. Scottie and playing partner Russell Henley were going against Tom and Sungjae Im in the third match of the session, which ended with Scottie and Russell winning three & two. The excitement began on the seventh hole when Tom and Scottie both had 25+ foot birdie putts and the U.S. side leading by two. Tom drained his putt and proceeded to fist pump and roar toward the crowd in elation, believing he just cut into the two-up lead. Scottie had other plans, however, and, just before his ball went into the hole from the long putt, he stared in Tom Kim’s direction and yelled, “What was that?!” It was certainly a little out of character for the typically even-keeled American, but sometimes besting your friends brings out extra energy. Scottie said in the press conference afterward that it's the same thing they would do in their matches in Dallas. There was more gamesmanship on the eighth hole where the International Team walked off the green onto the next tee before Scottie even attempted his birdie putt, which is an unwritten no-no. A Sunday Singles match between the two could be the most exciting of the tournament. Tom seems to bring Scottie out of his shell a bit, with the two being so close, and it would be fun to see both players trying to one-up each other and jawing back and forth.

2. Sahith Theegala vs. Min Woo Lee

Two exciting young stars to watch on tour currently are American Sahith Theegala and Australian Min Woo Lee. Sahith is currently ranked 11th and Min Woo is ranked 40th in the official world golf rankings and both have certainly gained a lot of fans in their young careers. Their unique swings and abilities to scramble make them must-watch television week in and week out. Both are making their President’s Cup this week and both are hoping this will just be the first of many appearances to come. A match between Sahith and Min Woo could bring a lot of young viewership and it would definitely produce some fireworks with their personalities and their golf games.

3. Keegan Bradley vs. Jason Day

Both American Keegan Bradley and Australian Jason Day are making their President’s Cup returns after missing out on a few iterations of the event. The last President’s Cup that Keegan played in was in 2013 and Jason hasn’t played in one since 2017. For the most part, their exclusion from their respective teams was warranted. Their form just wasn’t up to par, compared to the players who made those teams. Both have regained their form in recent years and were easy Captain’s Picks. A match between the two could emphasize how far each has come and what it means to continue battling through the tough moments in your career. 

4. Collin Morikawa vs. Adam Scott

When you think of ball-striking in professional golf, two players that would likely always be in the discussion are U.S.A.’s Collin Morikawa and Australia’s Adam Scott. There wouldn’t be much of a storyline to follow between the two players. Collin is still in the earlier years of his career, while Adam is much later on. Both are in great form. This would be a fun match to watch simply for the ball-striking from both players. Collin is ranked fifth in strokes gained total and Adam is ranked 17th in the same stat, but still has one of the most picture-perfect swings ever. If this pairing does end up happening on Sunday, expect a lot of flag hunting and darts.

5. Xander Schauffele vs. Hideki Matsuyama

Outside of Scottie, U.S.A.’s Xander Schauffele is undoubtedly the best player on the U.S. side. Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama is clearly the best player for the International squad. Xander is currently ranked number two in the world and finished fourth in the FedEx Cup. Hideki is ranked seventh in the world and finished ninth in the FedEx Cup. Both won twice this year, with Xander winning two majors, the PGA Championship and the Open Championship,  and Hideki winning a signature event in the Genesis and a playoff event with the St. Jude Championship. A match between the two would be exciting, best-on-best action. It would likely go all 18 and be back and forth all round, with both making little to no mistakes. If things are close on Sunday, this match could go down in President’s Cup history.

UPDATE: Hideki and Sungjae faced Xander and Patrick Cantlay in the first match of Day Two. The International Team absolutely steamrolled the U.S.A. Team Seven & Six. It was a commanding performance that set the tone for the day. This would make a match between Hideki and Xander even more interesting.