Several Presidents Cup participants utilized he 2024 Procore Championship last week as a form of last-minute preparation ahead of next week's international event. Obvious coming out of the tournament was how much more polished the International team seems at the moment compared to its United States counterpart.
The sample size was tiny, sure, but it does seem like the Americans may not be as heavy favorites as some might expect in Montreal.
The case for the U.S. is strong. It has the two best players in the world (Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele) while the International team is missing many of its stalwarts because they play in LIV Golf and are not allowed to participate. There's also, you know, the fact that the Americans have not straight up lost this event in a quarter century.
Still, my perception of this U.S. team is that it is not as strong as usual and may not be as sharp, either. Most of its top players will not have played since the Tour Championship (or earlier), and the ones that played last week in Napa, California, did not perform particularly well.
Wyndham Clark, an automatic qualifier for the team, missed the cut at the first event of the FedEx Cup Fall. Max Homa, ostensibly the final captain's pick for the U.S. team, missed it as well. It's the latest in a long run of poor play for Homa, who does not have a top 20 anywhere since May. Sahith Theegala played well but not as well as some of his International counterparts.
In fact, the International team's 12th man, Mackenzie Hughes, finished T5 at the event. Fellow Canadian Corey Conners posted a top 10 finish, and Min Woo Lee made the cut. The International team captain, Mike Weir, missed the cut but shot the same score as Homa -- a few better than Clark.
This is not a death sentence for the United States, of course. Far from it. However, it cannot exist in a vacuum, either.
One of the go-to narratives out of last year's Ryder Cup is that the U.S. was rusty because it had not played in a while, and yet, there are few opportunities for players to perform in the month leading into next week's Presidents Cup. The same is true for the International team, but it is the American side that seemed frustrated playing logistics leading into Rome a year ago.
Furthermore, there are not many American players who would be considered "go-to guys" right now. This was a moniker adopted by the likes of Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth in prior international events. Homa is one of those guys, but he's probably playing the worst golf of anyone on the team. Scheffler and Schauffele could be those guys, but they haven't necessarily proved it at team events to this point; those are an entirely different animal than individual 72-hole stroke play tournaments.
Is there anyone on this U.S. team that inspires confidence to go into enemy territory, thump his chest a little bit and lead the Stars and Stripes to another victory?
Patrick Cantlay? Perhaps, but his golf has been down a bit. Brian Harman? Russell Henley? Tony Finau?
The answer to all of the above is ... we'll see. Scheffler and Schauffele are monsters -- easily the best players on the planet in 2024 -- and they clearly have the ability to carry a team to this win.
But the International team is hungry, its Canadian fans will be rabid for a Mike Weir-led victory in Montreal, and the U.S. has not (at least publicly) apepared as prepared and locked in as it has in the past. Jim Furyk's captain's picks did not help matters. (It is probably not true, but at times, it felt as if he was simply reading down the list of Presidents Cup points earners.)
Furyk is a dogged competitor, but the International team has progressed enough that any foothold they gain at this year's event could pose real problems for the U.S.
The reality is that the U.S. will still probably win the Presidents Cup. The International team players are probably not good enough to overcome the talent deficit. The U.S. is a -270 favorite for a reason: It has the better team and does not lose Presidents Cups.
However, the sense I have is that this Presidents Cup will not be the cakewalk it appears like it might be on paper. The U.S. has several players who have either struggled at past team events, never played in one or are playing poor golf in general right now. The International team will have a lively home crowd and a nothing-to-lose mentality.
That can be an intimidating thing to walk into if you're an opposing team. Even more so if you're not completely ready for it.
