Team competitions have become some of the marquee weeks on the professional golf calendar, drawing huge crowds and television audiences. Yet the notion of adding a new mixed‑gender event to an already congested schedule raises many practical questions. The Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup already pit the best players from Europe against those from the United States, while the Presidents Cup—currently being broadcast on Sky Sports—features Team USA versus an International side made up of the rest of the world.
In addition, the Grant Thornton Invitational, a mixed team tournament held each December, brings together PGA Tour and DP World Tour players, following in the footsteps of the now‑defunct JCPenney Classic. The question remains: is there room on the global stage for a larger mixed‑gender team competition?
A mixed team format is set to appear at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, giving the concept a high‑profile showcase. In the lead‑up to the BMW PGA Championship, European captain Luke Donald told the Telegraph that he supports the idea of events where men and women play together, sharing their talents.
Donald said, "I'm all for having some events where we're playing together and sharing each other's talents. I think it's great to see that.
Who wouldn't want to see Nelly Korda or Charley Hull playing alongside Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm or Scottie Scheffler – some of the best in the world in the men's and women's games?" While enthusiastic, Donald cautioned that creating a mixed Europe‑versus‑America event would take time and would be hard to slot into the existing calendar. Ryder Cup veteran captain Paul McGinley echoed those concerns on Sky Sports, asking where such an event could fit. "It's great in principle but, when you get down to the practicalities of it, where is it going to sit on the calendar?" he asked.
He also raised the issue of player compensation, noting that many top golfers might be reluctant to add another team competition if it does not come with a financial incentive. "Are the players going to play another team event, particularly when they're probably not going to get paid for it? Those are the complexities of it, but it's great in theory," McGinley said.
The timing of existing team events adds to the difficulty. The Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup and Presidents Cup all traditionally take place in September, after the PGA Tour season has wound down.
Meanwhile, the DP World Tour focuses on its own autumn schedule, leaving limited open weeks for a new tournament. Former DP World Tour player Anthony Wall, speaking on the Sky Sports Golf podcast, highlighted the tightening schedule: "The more team stuff and the more golf we have, I think is great, but the schedule is getting tighter and tighter. You've got golf in the Olympics and it's getting harder and harder for guys to commit – that is the issue.
We've tried a number of different things over the years and it's just about weeks, it really is so difficult." The idea of a mixed Presidents Cup has also been floated as a way to bring balance to that competition. Currently, the United States faces an International team that excludes Europe. If women were incorporated, five of the world’s top six female players (as of September 22) could qualify for the International side under the existing format. McGinley suggested a possible partnership between the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour to create such an event, though he doubted the Presidents Cup itself would adopt the change because the organizers have previously resisted altering the format.
He added, "They may open up a new pathway for it, you never know, but it does make a lot of sense to do that because then you would get two really good, balanced teams. If you add half of the ladies internationally combined with the men, you would have a pretty formidable team and a team that would be very strong against the might of America." Beyond logistical hurdles, there are cultural and promotional considerations.
A mixed‑gender event could attract new audiences, showcase the depth of talent across both tours, and provide a platform for players like Nelly Korda, Charley Hull, and other rising stars to share the spotlight with established male champions. It could also encourage sponsors to invest in a more inclusive product, potentially generating additional revenue streams that offset the lack of direct player payouts. However, any new competition would need to secure a suitable window, likely in the early part of the season before the major championships, or perhaps as a post‑Olympic showcase in late summer.
Organisers would also have to decide on format—whether to mirror the match‑play style of the Ryder Cup, adopt a foursomes/ four‑ball hybrid, or create a novel scoring system that accounts for differences in course setup between men’s and women’s play. In summary, while the concept of a mixed Europe‑versus‑America team event enjoys enthusiastic backing from high‑profile figures like Luke Donald and Paul McGinley, its realization faces significant scheduling, financial, and structural challenges.
The upcoming Olympic mixed team event in 2028 may serve as a valuable test case, offering insights into how audiences and players respond. If that experiment proves successful, it could pave the way for a larger, more permanent mixed‑gender competition that sits alongside the Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup, and Presidents Cup, enriching the sport’s calendar and promoting greater gender integration in professional golf.