'The Obvious Answer Is To Make It A Mixed Event Or Get Rid Of It Entirely' - What (If Any) Changes Should Be Made To The Presidents Cup?
With the Presidents Cup due to begin on Thursday, a handful of the Golf Monthly team discuss how or even if we'd improve the biennial competition
It would not be unfair to say the Presidents Cup has long been an event which splits opinion among golf fans around the world.
Some really enjoy the biennial team competition between the US Team and the International Team while others, to be frank, couldn't care less.
A considerable part of the reason for the general apathy in certain quarters is the lack of competitiveness.
Around a third of the contests so far have ended in a close scoreline, but ultimately the US side has almost always reigned supreme anyway and that has proved to be a turn-off for many.
Then there's the far more recent problem relating to team selection - certainly on the Internationals' side of the tee box.
Since the Presidents Cup is owned, controlled and operated by the PGA Tour, LIV golfers have been unavailable in each of the last three (including this one).
Geoff Ogilvy (left) and Brandt Snedeker stand with the Presidents Cup
2026 International Team captain Geoff Ogilvy recently suggested a little more separation between the two sides involved in terms of their organization might benefit an event which has continued to grow in stature since its arrival in 1994.
Certainly a stronger level of competition would help the Presidents Cup, but if we're making changes, why stop there? What else could be tweaked? Let us know in the comments box below.
Meanwhile, four of the Golf Monthly team have shared their thoughts below.
There's a lot that could change about the Presidents Cup, like adding women or even Europeans, but that would completely change the identity of a match that gets a lot of criticism but does always make for entertainment.
In truth, I actually really like the Presidents Cup and it's clear the players do too. The PGA Tour is probably very happy with it, and until that changes it will stay exactly as it is.
I would perhaps like to see it be exclusively played internationally, but that does impact the integrity of the tournament as the Internationals will then always have a home advantage - that's fine as things stand but might not be in the coming years when the team gets stronger.
The Internationals were gutted when LIV fractured the sport and with LIV 2.0 maybe or maybe not going ahead, I can see the likes of Joaquin Niemann and other international stars returning to the PGA Tour ecosystem.
If or when that happens, the Presidents Cup will immediately become a better match, and that could be as soon as the next edition Down Under at Kingston Heath.
I think let's just leave it as it is and we will continue to be entertained as the likes of Niemann, Smith, Ancer, Herbert and co. make their way back into the fray.
The 2019 PC at Royal Melbourne was fantastic, and it hasn't been the same since following LIV's emergence. Now the rival tour is no longer a big threat, the Presidents Cup should be able to return to a tighter contest.
To be honest, I'd be tempted to make several changes to the Presidents Cup. Firstly, I'd trim it to three days and follow the Ryder Cup style of four matches in each session over the first two days before all 12 players go out on Sunday in the singles.
It's a format that also works so well in the Solheim Cup and I don't think what the Presidents Cup currently has is different or compelling enough to retain it.
Having said that, I know the PGA Tour wouldn't change the format and schedule of the week because they reportedly see around 200,000 people through the gates and they're not going to turn their noses up at all that extra cash, are they? Still, I can dream.
Similar to Geoff Ogilvy's point (mentioned above), I'd also love for the International Team to go out on their own, so to speak, and really run the process how they'd like.
If they want LIV golfers, so be it. The competition of what is still a game should be more important than politics. To me, it feels slightly farcical that the PGA Tour is effectively capping the limits and possibilities of the US Team's opposition.
Lastly, I wouldn't mind reducing the number of players on each team to 10 - but only if the contest continues to be governed by the PGA Tour and the Presidents Cup is reduced to three days of competition.
The International Team is currently fighting an uphill battle without some of its best players and therefore I wonder if a tighter roster might actually lead to a closer scoreline?
The obvious answer is to make it a mixed event or get rid of it entirely, but those ideas have been discussed at length, so I'll go for something else.
I think if it were to be shortened to two days, it might capture more interest around the world. The Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup are three days, but for some reason the Presidents Cup is contested over four days.
I'd mirror the format of the Walker Cup and cut it back to a Saturday and Sunday contest. That way there's drama right from the get go and every match is consequential.
Unlike the Walker Cup, I wouldn't have singles on both days, though. I'd have a four-ball and foursomes session on Saturday, then a full slate of singles on Sunday.
I also think reducing the number of matches makes an International victory more likely (I'm saying more, not very!), and a more competitive contest would certainly benefit the event.
The Presidents Cup's identity crisis is nothing new and is particularly obvious this year courtesy of two seriously lob-sided teams in terms of quality.
I'm happy to be proved wrong, but I can't see this international team being overly competitive, and the long-standing American dominance has put on a hard ceiling on excitement levels heading into this week.
To save the event from becoming a predictable exhibition, if it isn't one already, the PGA Tour should transform it into a mixed-gender tournament.
Incorporating LPGA players would instantly restore competitive parity, as international women's golf features immense global talent, particularly across Asia and Oceania where seven of the world's top ten female players originate.
Beyond elevating on-course drama, this change offers women's golf something it severely needs and richly deserves - the same spotlight as the men.
The women's game deserves more eyeballs on it, but the men's game can't even take a week off during the Solheim Cup to allow for this to happen.
Not only would converting the Presidents Cup into a mixed event turns a lopsided men's tournament into a compelling, globally balanced, and potentially riveting matchplay spectacle, it gives female golf the attention it needs and deserves.