Ignore the scoreboard. You don’t need it to realize the Presidents Cup delivered.
It offered everything from memorable shots and intense emotions to high drama and controversy. But, perhaps most importantly, the battle from Royal Montreal offered a reminder that golf needs more match play, not less.
Most people won’t remember a single moment from last month’s Tour Championship or this year’s Player Championship. That’s a big issue for the PGA TOUR, which considers those two events its crown jewels.
We aren’t petitioning for The Players Championship to change its format, but the Tour Championship definitely should. A match-play tournament to decide the FedEx Cup champion is a no-brainer.
The PGA TOUR removed the only head-to-head competition from its schedule in 2024 and doesn’t seem to have a plan for its return.
That remains a huge mistake.
Match play heightens the importance of every hole, which thereby heightens the importance of every shot. But professionals rarely compete in match play.
The PGA TOUR and its broadcast partners will tell you it’s difficult to predict. There’s no guarantee matches are 18 holes, making TV windows tougher to fill and on-course hospitality more complicated to build.
For example, there wasn’t a grandstand constructed on the 18th hole at Royal Montreal. That would never happen at a regular PGA TOUR stop, which would have paying sponsors galore.
Also, lopsided matches don’t make for the best entertainment- which is a sponsor’s worst nightmare.
But from a golf perspective, the upside of match play outweighs the downside. Team or individual, a match-play tournament often delivers something pro golf lacks: compelling storylines.
Let’s use this week as an example.
Si Woo Kim became a star. The shots he hit, the putts he made, and his celebrations – sensical or otherwise – created lasting memories. But most people who tuned into the Presidents Cup this week likely don’t remember his 2017 Players Championship win.
Tom Kim laid down his putter in protest for not having a putt conceded and called out the American team for cursing at him and said they showed a lack of sportsmanship.
Wyndham Clark became an antagonist – he mocked Si Woo’s celebration after Patrick Cantlay made a match-clinching putt and then took a jab at Byeong Hun An on social media for not having a Saturday tee time.
There’s speculation that Clark, who followed the Kims’ match versus Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, was the one Tom Kim was talking about when accusing Americans of swearing at him, spurring An’s now-deleted tweet.
Xander Schauffele became a leader without Team USA stalwarts like Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth on the roster. And he stepped up in a big way, continuing his sensational 2024 season by going 4-1, including a 4-and-3 drumming of Jason Day in Sunday singles.
Russell Henley, a Presidents Cup rookie, played alongside Scottie Scheffler and outperformed the World No. 1 en route to a 3-1 record.
Keegan Bradley redeemed himself after not playing on an American team for a decade when he clinched the winning point for his side.
Yes, past Presidents Cups and Ryder Cups have also delivered big storylines. Emotions at those events are heightened because of national pride, but the former WGC Match Play used to bring the drama as well.
There was the Garica-Matt Kuchar “gimme” controversy in 2019. There was the putt-concession situation between Dustin Johnson and Kevin Na in 2021. And, of course, there was the 2015 incident when Bradley got in the face of Miguel Angel Jimenez.
The term “Amesed” was born out of the WGC Match Play after Stephen Ames lost 9-and-8 to Tiger Woods in the biggest beatdown in match-play history.
Year after year, event after event, match play always delivers storylines.
While men’s professional golf is in turmoil, the Presidents Cup provided a reminder that non-major championship golf can attract even casual fans, provide memorable moments, and create new stars for the PGA TOUR to promote.
We’re not asking for every tournament to be match play. But more than one team event a year on the men’s side doesn’t feel like a lot to ask for.
