‘Winning the President’s Cup’… It depends on the Taegeuk Warriors – Asia Economy

Royal Montreal clash on the 25th, Team USA wins 9th straight game
Korea Im Sung-jae, Kim Joo-hyung, An Byeong-hun, Kim Si-woo to take part
The strongest members of the US Schaeffler, Schauffele, and Morikawa
Variables of absence of LIV players: Kepka, DeChambeau, Smith

An intercontinental golf competition is underway.

This is the 15th Presidents Cup. The US team and the International team, excluding Europe, will have a showdown of pride. On the 25th (local time), the Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Quebec, Canada will be the venue for the fierce battle. It was founded in 1994. It is held every other year. There have been 14 competitions until 2022. The US team has an overwhelming advantage with 12 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss. The International team has recently lost 9 consecutive games since winning the 1998 Melbourne tournament in Australia. This is everything about the Presidents Cup that will capture the hearts of golf fans around the world.

◆President’s Cup Player Composition= 12 players were dispatched. Six players were automatically selected for the Presidents Cup International Team based on world rankings. The remaining six were recommended by the captain. Im Sung-jae, Kim Joo-hyung, and An Byeong-hun confirmed their participation in the Presidents Cup based on world rankings. In addition, Kim Si-woo was selected as a player recommended by captain Mike Weir (Canada). Kim Si-woo joined the Presidents Cup by beating Cam Davis (Australia) and Adam Hadwin (Canada), who had better world rankings than him.

Korea will have 4 out of 12 international players. One third of them are Korean players. The analysis is that this decision was made in recognition of the fighting spirit and unity shown by Korean players in recent Presidents Cups. In addition, there are 3 Australian players (Adam Scott, Jason Day, Lee Min-woo), 3 players from the host country Canada (Corey Conners, Taylor Pendris, Mackenzie Hughes), and 1 player from South Africa (Christian Bejauidenhow) and Japan (Hideki Matsuyama). The team ace will be Matsuyama, ranked 7th in the world.

◆International Team ‘Korea Trend’= This year, Korea is the center. Four players, tying the previous record, have been named. Four players, including Im Sung-jae, Kim Joo-hyung, Kim Si-woo, and Lee Kyung-hoon, will also compete in the 2022 tournament. Regarding Kim Si-woo, Director Weir said, “Not only has he left an outstanding record at the Presidents Cup, but his wealth of experience will help our team. His ability to perform at his best under pressure will be a great asset to us. Having watched him up close, I know how outstanding his ability and consistency are.”

The International Team has high expectations for Kim Si-woo and Kim Joo-hyung. Kim Si-woo is making his third appearance after 2017 and 2022. In the 2022 tournament, he won four times, including defeating Justin Thomas of the US team in a single match, and earned the most points for the International Team. Kim Si-woo said, “I’ve always watched the Presidents Cup since I was young and wanted to compete with the best golfers in the world. I hope to help the team and win this year.”

Kim Joo-hyung made a strong impression in his first appearance in 2022. He is equipped with a decisive spirit. He became the best star by successfully completing eagles in two consecutive games. Kim Joo-hyung and An Byeong-hun, who participated in the Paris Olympics, played in the 2019 Melbourne, Australia competition. At that time, he recorded 1 win, 2 draws, and 2 losses, and the US won the game 16-14. An Byeong-hun said, “The International Team has pretty good skills. I think they have a lot of chances to win. This time, I will try to beat the US.”

◆USA Team Builds ‘Strong Power’= The US team that faces the International Team has become stronger. It is the ‘Goliath Army’. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clarke, Patrick Cantlay, and Sais Sigala have confirmed their participation as automatic starters. Jim Furyk selected Keegan Bradley, Sam Burns, Tony Finau, Brian Harmon, Russell Henry, and Max Homa as recommended players. It is notable that regular players Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth have dropped out.

The United States has only enjoyed the joy of victory for 25 years. Schaeffler is the ace. He is showing off his peak skills. He has won a whopping 7 times, including the Tour Championship, the final 3rd round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs (PO) of the US PGA Tour this year. He also won the Masters and The Players Championship. He also won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. The prize money he has earned this year is $54,228,357 (about 72.1 billion won).

The skills of the allies supporting Schaeffler are also impressive. World No. 2 Schauffele is a ‘big match’ powerhouse who has won two major tournaments in the 2024 season PGA Championship and The Open. He has joined the team, including world No. 4 Morikawa and No. 6 Clark. Of the 12 members of the US team, a whopping 8 have entered the top 14 of the world rankings, making it a ‘super luxurious group’.

◆Game Format and LIV Golf Absence Variables= In this tournament, 12 players per team compete. There are 30 matches in total. Starting with 5 foursomes (two players alternate hitting one ball) on the first day, 5 fourballs (each player plays with their own ball and the better score on each hole is considered the team score) on the second day, 4 fourballs in the morning and 4 foursomes in the afternoon on the third day, and 12 singles match play on the final day. A win earns 1 point, and a draw earns 0.5 points. The winner is confirmed by securing 16 points over the four days.

There are variables this time too. LIV Golf members sponsored by Saudi Arabian capital cannot participate. The US team is missing Dustin Johnson, who is strong in ‘big matches’, ‘Hulk’ Bryson DeChambeau, and ‘major hunter’ Brooks Koepka. The International team also excluded Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman (both from Australia), Joaquin Niemann (Chile), Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen, and Brandon Grace (all from South Africa) due to transfers to LIV Golf.

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