The Walker Cup wrapped up last week, the Solheim Cup finishes this weekend and next up on the team-event schedule is the Presidents Cup, which gets underway in less than two weeks at Medinah Country Club outside of Chicago.
The Americans will be heavily favored once again, and they lead the all-time series 13-1-1. The tie came in 2003, and the International team’s only win was in 1998. It’s been two decades of U.S. dominance, as the Americans have won the last 10, and three of the last four wins have been by five points or more.
How does the Presidents Cup become more competitive? That’s been one question lobbied around the last few years, and it came up again on the most recent episode of GOLF’s Subpar podcast.
Brendon de Jonge was the guest, and the Zimbabwe native played on the 2013 International team. He said if he were in charge, he’d tweak the points system.
The Presidents Cup is four days of matchups with 30 points up for grabs. The Ryder Cup, which has a much richer history, is three days and 28 points.
“The less points you play for the closer it’s always going to be,” he said. “You’ve got a proven product with the Ryder Cup, 28 points, and that was the thing that [captain] Nick Price worked really hard for — and then Trevor [Immelman] and Ernie [Els] and following captains — to try to get those points to come down.”
When the Presidents Cup first started, there were 32 total points. That eventually changed to 34 and, back in 2015, to 30. With so many points available, de Jonge says, it makes it more likely there could be a “massive blowout” from one side.
“The American team is always going to be deeper, so the more points you are playing for the bigger advantage for them,” he said. “Points have come down now, so we are getting closer and closer, but I still think if you can get that to 28 you are improving the chances of the International team.”
Will the International team end its losing skid this year? We’ll have to wait until Sept. 24-27 to find out.
“I will say this, they need to win this one,” de Jonge said. “It’s been so one-sided to have one win and one tie since 1994, it’s tough. It’s tough to really call it a competition when it’s that one-sided.”
You can listen to the podcast here, or watch it on YouTube below.
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