Does Presidents Cup Need Some Ryder Cup-Like Changes?

More than a half-century ago, the Ryder Cup changed forever.

With the United States holding a 15-3-1 overall record against Great Britain, the rules were changed to allow Ireland to become part of the opposition in an attempt to create a more equitable competition.

Spoiler alert: It didn’t work. The Americans won each of the next three editions of the event by an average margin of seven points, only increasing their dominance.

In 1979, the team was expanded to include all of continental Europe, and it wasn’t long before the event really turned into what it’s become today, with a greater back-and-forth between the teams that in turn inspired more passion not just amongst the players, but fans on both sides.

Without this rule change, there would’ve been no Seve at the Ryder Cup. No Jose Maria or Bernhard or Sergio or Rahm. Without it, the Ryder Cup likely never would’ve matured into the major global sporting event that it’s become.

This is all relevant right now, because it feels like this week could be an inflection point for the Presidents Cup.

In case the mere mention of this biennial competition instinctively prompts you to hit the snooze button, here’s the all-time record: The United States holds a 13-1-1 advantage over the International team, with 10 wins in a row and that lone loss coming a long 28 years ago.

We’re essentially living in the pre-1979 days of the Ryder Cup.

I’m skeptical that the Presidents Cup can ever grow into anything close to the Ryder Cup, but it’s worth asking this question: Should some rules be changed to make this one a similarly equitable competition?

And if the answer to that question is yes, then what should be changed?

I’ve long heard the idea that turning this into a mixed-gender event would create a more competitive atmosphere. That’s a tough one to argue. There are so many talented women’s players from around the world that the recent Solheim Cup featuring the U.S. and Europe included just three of the top-15 in the current Rolex Rankings.

Even if this was logistically feasible, it’s impossible to envision the PGA Tour – which owns the Presidents Cup – eliminating the need for half of its own players, instead opting to share the spotlight with the LPGA’s best.

At the risk of being accused of whataboutism, imagine suggesting that the one thing missing from making the Solheim Cup a better event is … men! That doesn’t seem right at all, but neither does adding female players to this one.

Other ideas? Try this one: If an American player competed in the previous year’s Ryder Cup, then he wouldn’t be eligible to compete in this year’s Presidents Cup.

That would mean the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young, Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa couldn’t partake this week, instead replaced by players further down the list.

Sure, I suppose this would lead to a better matchup of the rosters, but it would also neglect a massive piece of this puzzle. As an entertainment product, eliminating the best players seems counterproductive to the overall goal.

Perhaps the current format could be altered. More matches? Fewer matches?

The Presidents Cup consists of nine fourball matches, nine foursomes matches and a dozen singles matches for a total of 30 available points.

There’s nothing which says these numbers are set in stone, but here’s the competitive balance issue: The U.S. team is traditionally stronger at the top of the roster than its International opposition, but it’s even stronger at the bottom. Whether it’s more matches or fewer matches, it feels like the scales are still tipping in the direction of the Americans.

Just a few weeks ago, I spoke with Retief Goosen on PGA Tour Radio about this event. He was a part of six teams that went 0-5-1, despite his personal winning record of 14-12-3.

When opining on the competition, he started by saying the quiet part out loud.

“It is becoming a little bit like, people starting to think, is it still worth having the Presidents Cup?” he said. “It’s a tricky one. At some stage, I suppose it has to start turning. … It’s going to be hard. I don’t know, I just hope the tide will turn at some stage. Hopefully this year, it will be good for the event.”

He’s not wrong – and that’s not just an International team perspective.

Right now, the future of this event is largely dependent on the hope that we start having something more than a hammer-and-nail rivalry. Without any surefire ideas on wholesale changes like those which forever altered the arc of the Ryder Cup, that hope might be all we have.