When was the last time a top men’s golfer visited a Solheim Cup and cheered on the women?
I haven’t seen it recently. Does it sound like a pie in the sky idea? Maybe, but a blended Presidents Cup would at least have the potential on the American side to build that strong bond among the best male and female players, something pro golf could use.
We saw it two weeks ago when a shirtless caddie celebration got a number of top PGA Tour golfers engaged and bantering on social media about the Solheim Cup. That felt so rare.
If I had it my way, that interaction would be just the beginning—top women golfers should be added to the Presidents Cup, transforming the sleepy event into something worth watching as the men and women finally convene for a big-time match.
The Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup often get compared because they are the one time each year that America’s best male players take on an opposing team in match play. Clearly the Ryder Cup’s history and strong Team Europe identity have made it a more interesting watch when going up against the Presidents Cup. And it’s certainly helped having a once-in-a-generation underdog spirit that came from Seve Ballesteros to bolster the Ryder Cup into more prominence. Since 1979, when continental Europe joined the Ryder Cup, Team Europe has won the event 13 times while the U.S. team has won nine.
In the Presidents Cup’s 30 years of existence, the U.S. has won 10 in a row and 13 of the 15 played against the International Team (composed of players not from the U.S. or Europe).
This past week, the Americans obliterated the International squad once again. The U.S. went up 5-0 after the first day and eventually won in a landslide, 18.5-11.5. There was (once again) little intrigue to the event.
For an event generally modeled after the Ryder Cup, the Presidents Cup just continues to miss the mark.
The International team hasn’t won since 1998 as they hold a 1-12-1 overall record. Yes, the past two Presidents Cups on foreign soil have been pretty close (16-14 in 2019 and 15.5-14.5 in 2015 in favor of the U.S. side), but that’s not enough for me to overlook what the event could become with the injection of LPGA talent.
Do golf’s leaders want to grow the game? This is the perfect way to do it. Get young girls from all over Asia, Australia, Canada, the U.S. and many other countries watching Presidents Cups and dreaming of the possibilities that they could play in it one day. Augusta National was wise to initiate the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals in 2014 at the course, and this year an original junior participant (Akshay Bhatia) made his Masters debut. It was the first time that happened. Inspiration goes a long way.
Imagine what that would look like with a mixed event at the Presidents Cup as six men and six women compete for each side. While the Tour, which owns the Presidents Cup, might not want to share the spotlight, they could use the positive PR by enhancing their event into something far more interesting than it’s been while promoting women’s golf in a new way (at a time when women’s sports are quickly gaining popularity).
Stacy Lewis expressed her interest in adding some of the LPGA’s best to the Presidents Cup recently during Solheim Cup week.
“I’d love to see the Presidents Cup become mixed,” Lewis said in her captain’s pre-tournament presser. “It’s the perfect way to blend the two tours. The international team will get better very quickly.”
There’s no doubt adding the women to the Presidents Cup would make it more competitive. The third- through eighth-ranked players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings would play for the International Team—this includes the red-hot Lydia Ko who successfully paired with Jason Day to win last year’s inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational.
Right now, Hideki Matsuyama is the only International Team player ranked in the top 10 of the men’s rankings. Six players from the top eight, instead of just one, sounds appealing.
“I really think (blending the Presidents Cup) would be great for golf as a whole, not just for each Tour,” Lewis told MyGolfSpy by email this week. “Our main goal should be to grow the game. Team events and mixed formats, like what we saw at the Olympics, are definitely the way to go. Plus, I’m sure the players would be excited to team up and make this happen.”
Junior golfers would have another tangible event to aspire to play in. Lewis sees the value of those possibilities as well.
“I believe this could evolve into one of the premier stages in golf, showcasing some of the toughest competition to break into,” she said in her email. “At the junior and youth levels, many kids are already competing alongside their male counterparts so it only makes sense to transition this dynamic into professional sports.”
The Junior Ryder Cup has been a blended event among European and U.S. junior golfers since its inception in 1997. Ko vocalized the importance of aspiring juniors in her winning Grant Thornton Invitational partnership with Day last December.
“I hope a lot of juniors who are either here or watching on the TV get inspired,” Ko said.
Another potential Presidents Cup blended pairing is Corey Conners and Brooke Henderson who finished second that week. Conners was happy to pair with his fellow Canadian.
“It was a fulfilling week to be able to team together with Brooke,” Conners told MyGolfSpy this summer. “Brooke was such a pleasure to spend time with that week and we really enjoyed the experience.”
He told the media that week when he finished that he hoped for more blended events in the future. “Yeah, after my experience this week, I’d love for more events to be added where the Tour players can play alongside the LPGA Tour players. They’re so impressive. It was so much fun this week. Hopefully it leads to more in the future.”
What would a blended Presidents Cup look like? Well, it would only make sense to keep it to the current 12-player structure and have six spots for the men and six spots for the women. That kind of small size would make it very difficult to earn one’s way on the teams which gives it a bigger feel and increases the competition coming in even more.
Adding the game’s best women to the U.S. and the International teams would add intrigue. It would also open a door to some good old trash talk stories between the men and women.
Remember the story in Annika Sorenstam’s prime when she won the 2005 LPGA Championship (now KPMG Women’s PGA Championship) and then texted Tiger Woods that night to say where their major championship count stood (a 9-9 tie)?
Women getting the chance to play in the Presidents Cups would add this kind of bond and fun rivalry among the players. It even could spark some banter between males and females from opposing teams. Professional golf needs more bonding and playful digging like this, especially between players from the LPGA and PGA tours.
But here’s a critical part: If you add women to the mix, the decision would be felt not just during the event but throughout the year on social media and within player relationships between the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour stars. Those relationships would strengthen overnight. Just think of all the fun team meetings and dinners young LPGA players could be a part of throughout the season. Some of the social media posts from those dinners would be hilarious, real, fun, and just the injection of life the Presidents Cup needs.
That was such fun banter started during Solheim Cup week when Max Homa, Kevin Kisner, Joel Dahmen and other male players chimed in on the shirtless caddie celebration during Day Two of the Solheim Cup. The inside jokes and back-and-forth on social media in the lead-up to these events would only increase.
So let’s give it a shot. Give the fans a fresh Presidents Cup.
Top Photo Caption: The Presidents Cup could add some juice by bringing top women golfers into the mix. (GETTY IMAGES/Douglas P. DeFelice)
Murray Krambeer
7 months ago
Agree, said this 20 years ago. Also Every year USA, Europe, INT, compete winner stays. I e USA vs Europe, USA wins, they play INT, and so it goes. Just like 3 teams at the Y.