2017 Presidents Cup Preview

2017 Presidents Cup Preview

What: The Presidents Cup
When: September 26 – October 1, 2017
Location: Liberty National Golf Club, Jersey City, New Jersey
Course Architect Tom Kite and Robert Cupp (Opened 2006)
Par/Yardage: Total: 7,345 Par: 71

Field:

• The Presidents Cup, a team match play competition featuring 24 of the world’s top golfers – 12 from the United States and 12 from around the world, excluding Europe – is held every two years, and since 1996 has alternated between United States and international venues.
• The United States holds a 9-1-1 advantage in the event, with the lone International Team victory coming in 1998 in Australia.

Future Venues:

• 2019 – Royal Melbourne Golf Club (Australia)
• 2021 – Quail Hollow Club (Charlotee, North Carolina)
• 2023 – TBD (international venue)
• 2025 – Harding Park Golf Club (San Francisco, California)

U.S. Team:

• The top 10 U.S. players who earned the most official FedExCup points from September 15, 2015, through the 2017 Dell Technologies Championship (Sept. 4); points earned starting with the 2016 BMW Championship were doubled.
• Two Captain’s Selections were made on September 6.
• Captain: Steve Stricker (1st time as Captain)
• Captain’s Assistants: Fred Couples, Jim Furyk, Davis Love III, Tiger Woods

International Team

• The top 10 international players (excluding those eligible for the European Ryder Cup team) from the Official World Golf Ranking through the 2017 Dell Technologies Championship, and two Captain’s Selections made on September 6.
• Captain: Nick Price (3rd time as Captain)
• Captain’s Assistants: Ernie Els, Tony Johnstone, Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Weir

About Liberty National Golf Club

• Liberty National is the fourth golf course in the United States to host the Presidents Cup, joining Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Prince William County, Va., (1994, 1996, 2000, 2005), TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, Calif., (2009) and Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio (2013).
• The Presidents Cup 2017 will take place September 26-October 1.
• One of the world’s most picturesque golf courses, Liberty National is located along the Hudson River in Jersey City, N.J., with striking views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and Manhattan skyline.
• The golf club fittingly opened on July 4, 2006, and is guided by the vision and leadership of former Reebok Founder/Chairman & CEO Paul Fireman, currently chairman of Fireman Capital Partners, and his son Dan Fireman, managing partner of Fireman Capital Partners.
• Designed by U.S. Open Champion Tom Kite and esteemed golf course mastermind Bob Cupp, Liberty National has been the proud host to the first event of the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup Playoffs, THE NORTHERN TRUST, in 2009 and 2013.

Format:

• The Presidents Cup competition consists of 30 matches:
• Thursday – 5 Foursomes matche
•  Friday – 5 Four-ball matches
• Saturday morning – 4 Foursomes matches
• Saturday afternoon – 4 Four-ball matches
• Sunday – 12 Singles matches
• Match Play Explanation

Pairings

• Pairings for the first round (Thursday Foursomes) are made at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, September 27.
• The captain of the defending team (U.S.) will choose who goes first to start the draw, and the captains alternate for the remaining sessions.
• All matches are worth one point each, for a total of 30 points. There are no playoffs, with each side receiving a half point if a match is tied after 18 holes. In a change inspired by the events of the 2003 Presidents Cup, if the match is deadlocked at the end of singles play, the competition will be deemed a tie and the teams will share the Presidents Cup.

Television Times

Thursday, Sept. 28 1-6 p.m. ET GOLF Channel
Friday, Sept. 29 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. ET GOLF Channel
Saturday, Sept. 30 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET NBC
Sunday, Oct. 1 12-6 p.m. ET NBC

Charitable Distributions:

• Unlike many other events, the players do not receive prize money based on performance.
• Instead, the PGA TOUR pledges to contribute to charities, which are nominated by the players, captains and captains’ assistants from both teams.

PLAYER CHARITABLE DISTRIBUTIONS BY YEAR

• 1994 – US $ 750,000
• 1996 – US $ 800,000
• 1998 – US $ 2.9 million
• 2000 – US $ 2.8 million
• 2003 – US $ 2.8 million
• 2005 – US $ 3.5 million
• 2007 – US $ 4.2 million
• 2009 – US $ 4.2 million
• 2011 – US $ 4.5 million
• 2013 – US $ 4.65 million
• 2015 – US $ 6.1 million

US TEAM

Player	Prior appearances	Record	Start of Season
Dustin Johnson	2011, 2015	4-1-1	1
Jordan Spieth	2013, 2015	5-4-0	2
Justin Thomas			8
Rickie Fowler	2015	1-3-0	20
Daniel Berger			7
Brooks Koepka			18
Kevin Kisner			13
Patrick Reed	2015	1-2-1	3
Matt Kuchar	2011, 2013, 2015	4-7-2	11
Kevin Chappell			4
Charley Hoffman*			25
Phil Mickelson*	1994-96-98-00-03-05-07-09-11-13-15	23-16-12	12

*Captain’s Pick

International Team

Player	Country	Prior appearances	Record	Start of Season
Hideki Matsuyama	Japan	2013, 2015	3-4-2	4
Jason Day	Australia	2011, 2013, 2015	4-8-3	1
Adam Scott	Australia	2003-05-07-09-11-13-15	13-17-5	2
Louis Oosthuizen	South Africa	2013, 2015	5-3-2	5
Mark Leishman	Australia	2013, 2015	3-4-1	10
Charl Schwartzel	South Africa	2011, 2013, 2015	6-7-1	6
Branden Grace	South Africa	2013, 2015	5-4-0	3
Si Woo Kim	Korea			12
Jhonattan Vegas	Venezuela			17
Adam Hadwin	Canada			56
Emiliano Grillo*	Argentina			7
Anirban Lahiri*	India	2015	0-3-3	22
*Captain’s Pick

Team and Player Notes

There are 10 players making their Presidents Cup debuts in 2017:

• International Team:
  • Emiliano Grillo
  • Adam Hadwin
  • Si Woo Kim
  • Jhonattan Vegas
• U.S. Team:
  • Daniel Berger
  • Kevin Chappell
  • Charley Hoffman
  • Kevin Kisner
  • Brooks Koepka
  • Justin Thomas
• The International Team is represented by eight countries, tying the most-ever for an International Team (2000, 2009).
  • Among the eight is Venezuela, which will be represented for the first time in Presidents Cup history by Jhonattan Vegas.
  • Argentina adds a second name to its list of Presidents Cup participants with 25-year-old Emiliano Grillo, who was selected as a Captain’s Selection after finishing 11th in the International Team standings. Grillo joins four-time Presidents Cup participant Angel Cabrera as the only Argentinians to compete.
  • International countries represented over the history of the Presidents Cup: 14 – Argentina, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Fiji, India, Japan, New Zealand, Paraguay, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, Venezuela, Zimbabwe.
  • Most countries represented by International Team (players only), by year:
    • 8: 2000, 2009, 201
    • 7: 1998, 2015
    • 6: 1994, 1996, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013
    • 4: 2011
  • Total representation, by country, in the Presidents Cup by International Team members (players only):
    • Australia, 50
    • South Africa, 34
    • Japan, 10
    • Fiji, 8
    • Zimbabwe, 8
    • New Zealand, 7
    • Korea, 8
    • Canada, 7
    • Argentina, 5
    • Paraguay, 2
    • Colombia, 1
    • India, 2
    • Thailand, 1
    • Venezuela, 1
• Both Presidents Cup teams are the youngest in history.
  • The average age of the U.S. Team is 31.8 years old, while the International Team is 30.3 years old.
• The four U.S. Captain’s Assistants (Tiger Woods, Davis Love III, Jim Furyk, Fred Couples) have combined for a record of 69-38-10 at the Presidents Cup.

2017 Presidents Cup Captain’s Selections

• U.S. Charley Hoffman – Phil Mickelson
• International Anirban Lahiri – Emiliano Grillo
• Notable Captain’s Selection performances
  • David Duval 1996 4-0-0
  • Phil Mickelson 2015 3-0-1
  • Mike Weir 2007 3-1-1
• U.S. Presidents Cup Captain’s Selections have an overall record of 40-40-14, while the International Team’s Captain’s Selections have compiled a mark of 35-55-5.

South African duo formidable

• The South African duo of Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace will most likely be paired together this week, having compiled a perfect 4-0-0 record in 2015. Here’s a look at their performance in 2015 together:
• Day One Foursomes: defeated Matt Kuchar/Patrick Reed 2&1
• Day Two Four-ball: defeated Dustin Johnson/Jordan Spieth 4&3
• Day Three Foursome: deafeated Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler 3&2
• Day Three Four-ball: defeated Bubba Watson/J.B. Holmes 1-up

Phil Mickelson with 12th consecutive Presidents Cup appearance

• Phil Mickelson (23-16-12) is the only player on either team to have competed in all 11 previous editions of the Presidents Cup.
• The 2017 Presidents Cup marks his 23rd consecutive team match between the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup dating back to 1994.
• Phil Mickelson has been paired with 15 different players in his Presidents Cup career: Woody Austin, Keegan Bradley, Chris DiMarco, David Duval, Fred Funk, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, Anthony Kim, Tom Lehman, Justin Leonard, Davis Love III, Hunter Mahan, Sean O’Hair, Corey Pavin and David Toms.

Most matches played:

• 51 Phil Mickelson, U.S. (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013)
• 40 Ernie Els, International (1996, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013)
• 40 Vijay Singh, International (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009)
• 40 Tiger Woods, U.S. (1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013)

Most matches won:

• 24 Tiger Woods, U.S. (24-15-1)
• 23 Phil Mickelson, U.S. (23-16-12)
• 20 Ernie Els, International (20-18-2)
• 20 Jim Furyk, U.S. (20-10-3)
• 16 Davis Love III, U.S. (16-8-4)
• 16 Vijay Singh, International (16-15-9)

Players to go undefeated at the Presidents Cup (NO HALVES)

• 1994 – Fred Couples 3-0-0
• 1996 – David Duval 4-0-0, Mark O’Meara 5-0-0
• 1998 – Shigeki Maruyama 5-0-0
• 2000 – Stewart Cink 4-0-0, Davis Love III 4-0-0
• 2007 – Scott Verplank 4-0-0
• 2009 – Tiger Woods 5-0-0
• 2011 – Jim Furyk 5-0-0
• 2015 – Branden Grace 5-0-0

Players to go undefeated at the Presidents Cup (INCLUDING HALVES)

• 1994 – Davis Love III 4-0-1
• 1998 – Steve Elkington 3-0-2
• 2000 – Kirk Triplett 3-0-1
• 2005 – Retief Goosen 4-0-1, Chris DiMarco 4-0-1, Jim Furyk 3-0-2, Phil Mickelson 3-0-2
• 2007 – David Toms 4-0-1
• 2009 – Vijay Singh 2-0-3, Phil Mickelson 4-0-1
• 2015 – Louis Oosthuizen 4-0-1, Phil Mickelson 3-0-1, Zach Johnson 3-0-1

Most matches lost in one year:

• 5 Ernie Els, International (2000
• 5 Phil Mickelson, U.S. (2003)

U.S. Team compared to International Team: 2016-17 PGA TOUR Season

	US	International
Starts	291	260
Wins	17	8
Top 5 Finishes	59	29
Top 10 Finishes	88	48

U.S. Team Compared To International Team: 2016-17 Majors

	US	International
Playing In All Four	10	11
Made Cut In All Four	6	2
Top 3 Finishes	5	3
Wins	3	0

Sixteen of the 24 players competing at the Presidents Cup played the TOUR Championship:

• U.S. Team (11)
  • Daniel Berger
  • Kevin Chappel
  • Rickie Fowler
  • Charey Hoffman
  • Dustin Johnson
  • Kevin Kisner
  • Matt Kuchar
  • Brooks Koepka
  • Patrick Reed
  • Jordan Spieth
  • Justin Thomas
• International Team (5)
  • Jason Day
  • Adam Hadwin
  • Marc Leishman
  • Hideki Matsuyama
  • Jhonattan Vegas

Multiple 2017 Winners Playing In 2017 President’s Cup

• Justin Thomas (5)
• Dustin Johnson (4)
• Jordan Spieth (3)
• Hideki Matsuyama (3)
• Marc Leishman (2).
• Johnson (THE NORTHERN TRUST), Thomas (Dell Technologies Championship) and Leishman (BMW Championship) captured the first three FedExCup Playoff events.

2016-17 PGA TOUR Adjusted Scoring Average Leaders

• 1 Jordan Spieth 68.84
• 2 Rickie Fowler 68.91
• 3 Marc Leishman 69.38
• 4 Justin Thomas 69.43
• 5 Hideki Matsuyama 69.48

2017 Presidents Cup Preview via PGA TOUR