PRESIDENTS CUP: The event will be different when Canada host next year

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CHARLOTTE, NC — The next stop for the Presidents Cup is Canada in 2024 and the event will be very different from 2007 when Royal Montreal last hosted it, including a special twist that is sure to make the international team feel more at home than ever.

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Much has changed in major golf tournaments over the past 15 years, so much so that 2024 General Manager Ryan Hart decided it was necessary to bring a contingent from the Montreal Organizing Committee to Quail. Hollow to see in person how important the event has become. since the last time in Canada.

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« There are some things you have to see for yourself, » Hart said when meeting with Canadian media.

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Anyone who’s been to the RBC Canadian Open or any PGA Tour event lately knows that gone are the days of cramming into the stands for six hours and wishing they’d had lunch and had more cream. sunscreen before sitting down. Golf tournaments are now sprawling entertainment venues with massive welcome areas, plenty of food and drink options, and off-course activities that grab your attention. All of this is even more important during the Presidents Cups where 30-40,000 fans try to watch just a handful of games almost every day.

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This year’s Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow was the biggest build-up in Cup history and the increased scale of the event – 40% larger than the PGA Tour’s flagship Players Championship – was evident, with 700,000 square feet of grandstands, hospitality tents and concession areas all sporting the eye-catching new branding for the event. Quail Hollow, it should be noted, is a huge golf course apparently built for these big events. The Royal Montreal, on the other hand, celebrates its 150th anniversary next year and probably wasn’t designed with food trucks, concerts, or a festival atmosphere in mind.

Does this mean Canadians will get a smaller version of the Presidents Cup?

« We’re not looking to get smaller, » Hart said, confirming that in two years it will only be bigger.

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What the Royal Montreal lacks in space directly around its more traditional layout, it makes up for by being a 54-hole club, which effectively equates to even more land than Quail Hollow had at its disposal.

The most striking difference fans and players will notice when they arrive in Montreal two years from now is that, for the first time in Presidents Cup history, all structures on the course will be made of international team black, rather than the traditional white. It will be a stark contrast to all the other Presidents Cups and most other golf tournaments. Although this is only a cosmetic change, it will mark another milestone in the international team’s growing identity, one that will certainly not be lost on its players.

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CAPTAIN WEIR? BET ON IT!

Although it hasn’t been announced yet, Canadian Mike Weir is a lock for the captain of the international team in Montreal in 2024.

The five-time Presidents Cup player and three-time assistant captain will be tasked with continuing to build on the energy of the international squad that Ernie Els launched in Melbourne in 2019 and Trevor Immelman developed at Quail Hollow. Much of the team’s growing identity can be traced back to the sleek international logo that debuted in 2019. As oddly unifying as playing under one shield has proven to be, having attended the last two events and observed many fter the internationals, captain Els was the real genesis of what many believe will be a new era for the world team.

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The South African’s powerful personality brought a swagger and leadership to his team that made everyone believe the impossible was possible. Don’t let the Big Easy moniker fool you, the swing is smooth but the man himself dominates every room he enters, including those shared with USA captain Tiger Woods at Royal Melbourne. That week he stubbornly and repeatedly refused to give an inch, leading his team to a two-point lead before the Americans turned the tide in singles on Sunday.

At Quail Hollow, Immelman did a great job of further strengthening the bond inside the international room, and his players clearly had a deep respect for the heart and soul Immelman poured into the team. If there was one thing that seemed to be missing, it was the cut-throat mentality with which Els was captain. Immelman has frequently mentioned how strong Team USA is, giving their obvious superiority the respect they certainly deserve, but one that Els in 2019 refused to give. The tall South African would have nothing to do with the American’s supposed superiority, sharply and emphatically dismissing such questions, treating the Americans as nothing more than a team to beat, not to admire.

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Weir has seen both styles of leadership up close, and while he doesn’t naturally have the stage-stealing Els presence, he’s proven over the course of his career to be a tough-nosed, no-nonsense competitor. who does not shy away from the spotlight.

It will be interesting to see what kind of captain Weir will be, but the best thing he could instill in his team would be the stubborn will to fight and the endless passion to keep finding answers that has seen him punch above his weight. above his weight his entire career.

It might not be the warmest part of Weir’s personality, and it’s mellowed slightly over the years, but the 2003 Masters champion would be wise to dust it off and show his team how to least an underdog won the hard way.