Brooks Koepka was able to tee it up for the U.S. Ryder Cup team last fall in Italy due to a technicality in the PGA of America’s rules for the competition, which allowed LIV Golf players to compete. The same won’t be possible for this year’s Presidents Cup.
Speaking with the media on a conference call Tuesday afternoon, International captain Mike Weir said LIV players would not be eligible for the 2024 event at Royal Montreal Golf Club, Sept. 27-29. The biennial bash between the United States and rest of the world (minus Europe) is organized by the PGA Tour, and competitors must be active members to compete.
“Certainly I want the best players internationally to be playing (the Presidents Cup). Hopefully we come to a point that they are,” said Weir. “It’s just an unfortunate situation that we’re in right now.
“I’ve been told they’re not eligible. They’re not gonna be eligible but hopefully going forward, maybe in Chicago in 2026, they are,” he continued. “It is a shame. I mean, we would want the best players, but I like our team. Our team looks great right now, but yeah, I think as a captain, we want the best international players from around the world to be playing against the best U.S. guys.”
Players like Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott, Tom Kim, Jason Day, Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim are almost assured to be involved, but imagine if the likes of Joaquin Niemann, Cam Smith, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Sebastian Munoz and Abraham Ancer were available?
“I guess the flip side is they knew that when they left, they knew that they weren’t gonna be part of (the Presidents Cup). That was definitely part of the conversation,” Weir explained. “I think some of that’s one of the reasons some guys struggled with (going to LIV) because they loved (the Presidents Cup) so much and they want to be part of it.”
With six months to go until the first round of matches, Weir is now focused on team camaraderie and figuring out how to set up the golf course to make it more favorable to the International team. In fact, a group dinner is scheduled ahead of this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill with guys on the team to start the team-building process.
“That’s always been part of our strategy, we have a lot of different cultures, a lot of different backgrounds,” Weir said of the struggle to build connections on a team with so many language barriers. “We have some new faces this year that are looking like they’ll be part of the team. So just getting everybody together and get to know one another and know what the International team is all about.”
The 2003 Masters champion isn’t just focused on a favorable golf course. He also wants a raucous crowd to provide the Internationals with a much-needed homefield advantage. Weir was a member of the International side the last time the event was held at Royal Montreal in 2007, and he admitted the fans were a bit too cordial to Tiger Woods and the Americans, who won 19½-14½.
“I’ll have something,” said a grinning Weir of his home field plans. The Internationals are leaning on the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens and plan to tap into their fan base to provide a hockey-esque atmosphere. That said, he wants the entire country to be involved and engaged, not just folks from the area.
The Presidents Cup debuted in 1994 and in the 14 matches since, the U.S. has dominated with 12 wins, one loss in 1998 and one tie in 2003.
