How does the Presidents Cup work?

The Presidents Cup is settled over 30 matches across four days of competition.

Everything you need to know about how the Presidents Cup works and how it differs from the Ryder Cup format.

Played every two years, the Presidents Cup sees the United States take on an international team comprised of players outside the US and Europe, over four days of matchplay competition.

The tie consists of 30 matches, two more than the Ryder Cup’s 28, although it is still concluded on Sunday afternoon with 12 Singles matches. The preceding 18 matches are distributed across the first three days with five Foursome matches on Thursday, five Fourball matches on Friday, four Foursome matches on Saturday morning and four Fourball matches on Saturday afternoon.

As per the Ryder Cup, all matches are worth a point with a half-point awarded for a tie after 18 holes, meaning the first team to reach 15.5 points secures the Presidents Cup. If scores are level at 15-15 after the completion of all 30 matches then the match is declared a draw with the teams sharing the honors.

Since the competition’s inception in 1994, the Presidents Cup has been dominated by the United States with 12 wins and just a solitary victory for the International Team in 1998 and a tied contest in 2003.

How do players qualify for the Presidents Cup?

The 12 players on each team comprise six automatic qualifiers and six captain’s picks with each side currently using different criteria to determine their automatic qualifiers. The 2024 US team earned qualifying points via a weighted FedExCup points system calculated between 01 Jan 2023 through 24 Aug 24, 2024, with the top six on the points list after the 2024 BMW Championship securing their spots.

The International Team, however, utilizes the Official World Golf Rankings to determine its six automatic qualifiers with spots decided based on accumulated OGWR points through the 2024 BMW Championship.

How are the match-ups decided?

The captain of the defending team, the USA in 2024, chooses who goes first to start the draw process with the captains then alternating picks in a snake format until the order of play is finalized. For example, if American captain Jim Furyk announces his pairing for the first match, International captain Mike Weir will respond with his two-man team to face them, before announcing his pairing first for match two…and so on.

The same process is used for the Singles matches with every player required to have played at least one match across the contest prior to Sunday’s finale.

Is prize money awarded at the Presidents Cup?

As per the Ryder Cup, players are not paid for participating in the Presidents Cup, however, each player is allocated an equal portion of the funds generated from the event for a charity of thier choice. Since 1994, more than $56.5 million has been generated for over 475 charities across 18 countries.

• Patrick Cantlay and the 2023 Ryder Cup ‘Capgate’ saga.

Who is playing in each Presidents Cup team?

Here are the 12 players and captains that will represent the US and International teams in the 2024 Presidents Cup at The Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

What is Fourballs and Foursomes?

Fourballs

Each member of the two-man team plays their own ball, meaning that there will be four balls in play on every hole. The lowest recorded score from each team is counted and the team with the lowest score wins the hole. In the case that the two lowest scores from each team are the same, the whole is halved.

Foursomes

The difference with foursomes is that each two-man team only plays one ball per hole, taking alternate shots until the hole is completed. One player will hit tee shots from odd-numbered holes, with the other hitting first on even-numbered holes. The team registering the lowest score on each hole secures the point, and in the case of scores being tied, the hole is halved.

Whose ball is used in foursomes?

With only one ball in play per team during foursomes, how do players decide on whose ball to use, particularly with players ordinarily gaming a ball with the specific characteristics that complement their game? Unless Jim Furyk and Mike Weir opts to pair players who use the same ball together, players and captains will be required to engage in some strategic decisions before the round starts.

About the author

Ross Tugwood – Senior Digital Writer

Ross Tugwood is a Senior Digital Writer for todays-golfer.com, specializing in data, analytics, science, and innovation.

Ross is passionate about optimizing sports performance and has a decade of experience working with professional athletes and coaches for British Athletics, the UK Sports Institute, and Team GB.

He is an NCTJ-accredited journalist with post-graduate degrees in Performance Analysis and Sports Journalism, enabling him to critically analyze and review the latest golf equipment and technology to help you make better-informed buying decisions.