Team USA kept its unbroken run in the Presidents Cup, beating the International side once again and sparking fresh debate about whether the biennial competition needs a makeover. Brandt Snedeker’s squad staged the biggest comeback ever seen on the final day at Medinah, snatching 9.5 of the 12 singles points available on Sunday and sealing a record‑extending 11th straight victory.
While the final score of 17‑13 suggests a comfortable win, the match‑play narrative tells a more nuanced story. The International team swept the Friday foursomes, and for only the fourth time in history they entered the final day in the lead, showing that the gap between the continents may not be as insurmountable as the headline numbers imply.
Despite the late‑day surge, the International squad fell short, extending their drought of a first Presidents Cup triumph since 1998. Geoff Ogilvy’s contingent matched the Americans well over the first three days, but the Sunday singles proved decisive, allowing the United States to claim 14 of the 16 Cups ever contested. "It was sort of on a knife's edge all day," Ogilvy reflected. "Some of those one‑downs we had out there, if they'd flipped to one‑up, the numbers look really good and who knows what momentum can give." The Presidents Cup currently spans four days and features 30 matches – one day longer and two matches more than the Ryder Cup or Solheim Cup formats.
Because the talent spread between the United States and the rest of the world is wider than the Europe‑versus‑Europe contests, some observers wonder whether a tighter schedule with fewer points might level the playing field. Reducing the event to two days of foursomes and four‑balls, followed by a shorter singles session, would give captains more flexibility to sit weaker players and lessen the pressure on marquee names to compete in every session. Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee has been vocal about trimming the event.
He argues that the Presidents Cup should start on Friday and be reduced to 24 points, matching the Ryder Cup’s 28‑point structure. "If they're playing for 28 in the Ryder Cup, why in the heck are they playing for 30 in the Presidents Cup when there's a bigger separation between the talent?" he asked.
Chamblee points out that the first three Presidents Cups, held on Fridays, produced dead‑even scores after the initial three days, suggesting a shorter format could produce tighter finishes. He adds, "The longer you go out, the more the better players and the better team are going to come to the fore. That was evidenced very poignantly." One structural hurdle is the PGA Tour’s ownership of the event, which automatically excludes LIV Golf players.
This rule has hit the International side harder than the Americans because many of the world’s top non‑American talent now competes for LIV. In the early era of the Cup, the International roster featured former world No. 1s such as Greg Norman, Nick Price, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh. While the talent pool had already begun to thin before LIV’s emergence, recent exclusions have been more pronounced.
Chilean Joaquin Niemann, 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith, and rising Australian Lucas Herbert are among the notable players now barred, while seasoned International stalwart Louis Oosthuizen also cannot participate. Chamblee contends that the International team should be allowed to select any player they deem fit, regardless of tour affiliation. "Give the Internationals autonomy to choose who they want," he says.
"You're telling me they wouldn't have chosen some LIV players to be on this team?" By contrast, the European Ryder Cup team can include players from the DP World Tour, such as Jon Rahm, or even an American like Bryson DeChambeau if he were to switch allegiance. The restriction has arguably weakened the International side, especially after six of the 2019‑era players defected to LIV, dramatically reducing the depth that once made the Cup competitive.
Another proposal that has surfaced is the creation of a mixed‑gender Presidents Cup. Currently, five of the world’s top six women golfers (as of September 29) would qualify for an International side under the existing criteria. Former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley suggested a partnership between the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour to field combined teams, noting that such a format could produce two balanced squads capable of challenging the United States.
Integrating women would, however, raise logistical questions about tee placements, format adjustments, and scheduling coordination between tours. Nevertheless, players like Min Woo Lee have expressed enthusiasm for the idea. "It would be nice to have her [Minjee Lee, his sister] on the team and me on the team – think it would be very fun," he said, adding that mixed best‑ball or mixed foursomes could be "unbelievable." Beyond format tweaks, many argue the Cup should leave American soil more often.
To date, only four nations outside the United States have hosted the event, despite 18 different nationalities having been represented by the International team. South Africa, a country with a rich golfing heritage and a recent surge in LIV Golf attendance, has not hosted since the historic 15‑15 tie in 2003. Australia, Canada and South Korea are the other former hosts, while the Middle East, India, Japan and New Zealand present untapped markets eager for a marquee team competition.
Relocating the Cup could broaden its global appeal, inspire new talent, and give Team USA valuable experience playing away from home – a factor that has historically hampered their Ryder Cup performances on foreign soil. Europe’s own team‑match experiments could also benefit the International side.
The now‑defunct Seve Trophy, the current Hero Cup, and the former EurAsia Cup have all provided European players with valuable match‑play experience and a chance to test partnerships ahead of the Ryder Cup. A similar biennial event pitting the International team against a European side, or perhaps an Asia‑versus‑Rest‑of‑World contest, could give the non‑American players a dedicated week to build chemistry and experiment with pairings.
Scheduling would be the main obstacle, as the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup alternate years. An early‑season slot, like the Hero Cup’s March placement, might fit before the PGA Tour’s main swing, or a post‑Ryder Cup window could be used in non‑Presidents Cup years. The men’s calendar currently lacks a global, mixed‑format team tournament comparable to the LPGA’s International Crown.
Introducing such an event could fill the void, offering International players additional high‑stakes match‑play exposure and providing fans with another compelling spectacle. It could be slotted into the post‑season after the Ryder Cup, a period not governed by the PGA Tour, allowing for broader collaboration among tours. In summary, the United States will soon turn its attention to the Ryder Cup, set for September 17‑19 at Adare Manor in Ireland, while the next Presidents Cup is slated for 2028 at Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia. Whether the competition will undergo structural changes—shorter formats, mixed‑gender teams, broader geographic rotation, or new qualifying rules—remains to be seen.
What is clear is that the International side’s repeated defeats have sparked a conversation about evolution, and any adjustments could revitalize the event, making it more competitive, more inclusive, and more attractive to a worldwide audience.