As an American, I have no shame to say that I’ve rooted for the International Team in just about every Presidents Cup since I started covering golf. WTF, that’s treasonous, you say? Well, the reason why is simple. With few exceptions, like two years ago in South Korea, the Americans have dominated the Internationals, and by the time the weekend rolls around, it’s a complete snooze-fest.
In 12 editions of this event, the Americans have won 10 and the Internationals have won once and tied another. I mean, if you want to talk about about exhibitions in golf — and there are quite a few — the Presidents Cup is the first to come to mind. It’s truly a shame.
But I would like to see the Internationals win because, well, this exhibition could really use that to add more interest. Look, the crowds at Liberty National have been great. We all love match play, but following Friday’s action with the Americans taking 4.5 out of the possible 5 points in four-balls, the overall standing after two days is: U.S. Team 8, International Team 2.
With eight points on the line in Saturday (the only day with two sets of matches), the Americans only need 7.5 points to retain the Cup. Yep, that’s right — hypothetically, this could literally be over on Saturday (even though it feels like it already is).