While Mike Weir will insist that the Internationals are good enough to win the Presidents Cup, he will be aware of how important it is that the Royal Montreal course plays to his side’s strengths over the coming days.
There is plenty to be excited about when it comes to this International team heading into this year’s Presidents Cup. Their team spirit was evident as they fought back from 8-2 down in 2022 to set up a fairly tense finish at Quail Hollow. Their performance was all the more impressive because of Trevor Immelman seeing two of the top players in qualifying jumping to LIV Golf in the weeks before the event.
They also boast a number of outstanding talents, including Tom Kim and Min Woo Lee. Meanwhile, the Canadian crowds will need no encouragement to get behind Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith and Mackenzie Hughes.
Nevertheless, the US team will be big favourites given their dominance in the Presidents Cup. Their six automatic qualifiers are also all in the top 11 in the world rankings. So with that, you would think that Weir will make sure that the course is set up in a way which is potentially beneficial for the home side.
Smylie Kaufman suggests what surprised him about Royal Montreal’s layout
And speaking on The Smylie Show, Smylie Kaufman suggested what he has found after visiting the course ahead of the event.
“I understand why Mackenzie Hughes was picked, because I think you’re going to have to make some putts. And that was something that surprised me a little bit about this course is that I didn’t expect it to be quite a putting contest, because I thought there’s going to be some challenges tee to green which there are, don’t get me wrong,” he said.
“You’ve still got to hit it really well, you’ve still got to be really accurate off the tee. If you get wayward, it’s going to be playing for a lot of pars, especially if they tuck the pins, but if you have a guy in a foursomes pairing that’s getting on the green and giving Mackenzie Hughes putts, I get that.”
A lot needs to go Mike Weir’s side’s way this week
It does appear that the Internationals are going to require a few things to go their way if they are going to win this week. Certainly, it will be ominous if the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa are all playing at somewhere near their best.
And the Internationals are definitely going to need to be ruthless on the greens. The Americans are probably not going to give them a lot of opportunities, so when the chances come their way, they simply have to take them.
But it was seen at the 2022 Presidents Cup, the 2023 Ryder Cup and the recent Solheim Cup, there is no lead which is big enough for comfort while the event is still in the balance. So that will give the Internationals a lot of hope, particularly if they find themselves up against it once again.
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