International team members Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Conners of Canada, walk up to the 12th hole during practice at the Presidents Cup golf tournament at the Royal Montreal Golf Club, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi
L’ÃŽLE-BIZARD – SAINTE-GENEVIÈVE – The Presidents Cup begins on Thursday at Royal Montreal Golf Club. The best-on-best match-play tournament sees 12 American golfers take on 12 players from around the world, excluding Europe.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the elite men’s golf event:
FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME – Despite the high quality of the golfers in the tournament, the Presidents Cup is unique on the PGA Tour because there is no prize money. Mackenzie Hughes, one of three Canadians on the International team and a member of the PGA Tour’s player advisory council, said he is OK with that arrangement.
“I love these competitions. I love the game,” said Hughes, who is playing in the Presidents Cup for the first time. “If you said, ‘hey, you have to pay to play in this,’ I would love to pay to play in this.
“There would be guys, I’m sure, on the other side that have won multiple majors and maybe feel like they deserve to be paid to be here. I never feel that way. I feel like it’s an honour that doesn’t need to come with any monetary value.”
POUTINE IS UNREAL – The International team is made up of golfers from five countries: Canada, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and South Africa. To overcome the cultural and linguistic differences, captain Mike Weir has introduced the golfers to Canadian culture, like hockey and poutine. Australia’s Min Woo Lee tweeted that Quebec’s signature dish was “unreal” and elaborated at a news conference on Wednesday.
“It looked amazing, and I tried it, and it was even better than it looked,” said Lee. “I thought it was a bit more complicated, but it was just fries, cheese curds, and gravy. It was unbelievable.”
DARK CLOUDS – A thunderstorm is forecast for the Montreal area on Thursday, with heavy rain expected through the daylight hours at Royal Montreal on L’Ile Bizard, Que. Temperatures are expected to reach a high of 21 Celsius, despite the rain. The weather is expected to clear on Friday, but the temperatures will remain relatively cool.
SCOTT IS DUE – Australia’s Adam Scott had been a mainstay on the International team, participating in 11 Presidents Cups. However, the Internationals are winless in that span, last winning in 1998.
“I absolutely do not feel bad for Adam Scott,” said American Xander Schauffele. “I like Adam Scott a lot, but I do not feel bad for him at all.
“I’m stubborn, and the more I get knocked down, the harder I push back up. If I had lost 10 times in a row, I’d come back champing at the bit even harder than ever. I’m sure that’s what they’re doing.”
PRIME MINISTER’S CUP – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was named the honorary chair of the Presidents Cup on Sept. 9. It’s expected that he’ll be at Royal Montreal on Sunday to hand the trophy to the winning team as part of the tournament’s championship ceremony.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2024.
