President's Cup Preview

In just a couple of weeks, the top 12 United States golfers will take on the top 12 International golfers (excluding Europe) in the Presidents Cup. The Presidents Cup is the second biggest team event in golf, to the Ryder Cup. The Presidents Cup just lacks the intensity of the Ryder Cup, probably due to the history of the Ryder Cup, and being a close copy of it. But still the Presidents Cup is a very glorified event in golf, and is something we will all be watching intensely to see how it unfolds.

The U.S. has eight returning veterans, and the International team has five. Considering the U.S. has only lost once to the Internationals, and also tied them once, I would rank them as the favorites. I wouldn't rank them by too much though, considering the International team has the two men who were in the playoff at Augusta this year, and last years British Open winner. But it will definitely take a lot for the global team to win.

Heres a list of the teams:

United States:
Tiger Woods
Brandt Snedeker
Phil Mickelson
Matt Kuchar
Jason Dufner
Keegan Bradley
Steve Stricker
Bill Haas
Hunter Mahan
Zach Johnson
Webb Simpson
Jordan Spieth

International:
Adam Scott
Jason Day
Charl Schwartzel
Ernie Els
Louis Oosthuizem
Hideki Matsuyama
Branden Grace
Graeme Delaet
Richard Sterne
Angel Cabrera
Marc Leishman
Brendon de Jonge

Some of the names that I believe could play huge impacts on how this ends up for the United States are Jason Dufner, Steve Stricker, Hunter Mahan, and Jordan Spieth. It's going to be interesting to see how J-Duf performs after his win at the PGA Championship. Since the PGA, Dufner's made all three cuts in the Playoffs, and had a T-9 finish at the Deutsche Bank. He currently sits 20th in the Fed Ex Cup standings, meaning he most likely win the Fed Ex Cup, but he's in line for a high finish.

Steve Stricker who shares a similar game with Jason Dufner, isn't just looking for a high finish in the Fed Ex Cup Standings this week, currently sitting in 6th place, Stricker is in line to win the Tour Championship, and take home the Fed Ex Cup. Stricker decided to play a limited schedule this year on the PGA Tour, and still he had no issue qualifying for the Presidents Cup. I think Stricker could have a huge impact on how the Presidents Cup plays out. Stricker had a less than stellar Ryder Cup performance last year, and that's what makes me wonder if he's still got the intensity for these things as he once had. I don't think the number one nicest guy on the PGA Tour lives and dies by these events, but it would be nice to see him have another good week because he's running out of how many more he can play in as he gets older.

Hunter Mahan, not only my personal favorite golfer, but also one of the most fashionable players on the PGA Tour. It's going to be interesting to see if he's going to break out the flat-bill for the Presidents Cup. Mahan who is making his fourth appearance in the Presidents Cup, went 4-1 at the last Presidents Cup, and has improved his play greatly since. Mahan had a multiple win season last year, and barely missed the Ryder Cup Team. This year, Mahan had a second place finish at the WGC match play, and had four other top tens. I think he will be a big part of this team because he was a huge part the last time around, and he has a lot to prove after not being a Captains pick at the Ryder Cup last year, when he really should have been, and there was a lot of talk after he was to blame after a chunked chip and loss at the last Ryder Cup he played in. It's going to be interesting to see how these three Americans impact the result of this years Presidents Cup.