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Presidents Cup: Five burning questions for U.S. Team

Published

16 hours ago

September 19, 2024

The United States has dominated the Presidents Cup. It has been more than a quarter century since it suffered its lone loss in this competition. Victories in team matches can never be taken for granted, however, especially when playing on the road.

The U.S. was the away team when it lost the 1998 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne. Five years ago, when the U.S. last had to leave its soil for the Presidents Cup, the International Team held a two-point lead entering Sunday Singles. The U.S. had to dominate that final session to keep from losing a second time in Australia.

The U.S. side is reeling after Rome, as well. That resounding loss in last year’s Ryder Cup stopped a stretch of U.S. dominance that had seen the U.S. win six of the previous seven international competitions, including a record-setting route at the 2021 Ryder Cup that seemed to signal the start of a new era for the United States.

Now the U.S. will arrive at The Royal Montreal Golf Club knowing it can’t afford to lose. A loss in this year’s Presidents Cup would mean the start of a losing streak that could call into question all the advancements that the U.S. infrastructure has made in recent years.

Heading into a high-profile Ryder Cup that will be played in the shadow of New York City next year only heightens the pressure. The PGA of America made a paradigm-shifting pick for captain – choosing 38-year-old Keegan Bradley, who will be a player at this year’s Presidents Cup – and they surely don’t want him to inherit a team coming off back-to-back losses.

All that to say, the United States needs a strong performance in this year’s Presidents Cup. There’s plenty of reasons to be optimistic it will author one.