John Wood reveals what Trevor Immelman told him about the Presidents Cup format at Royal Montreal

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With the dust still settling on Royal Montreal, it is little surprise that there has already been plenty of debate concerning whether the Presidents Cup format needs to be altered following another USA victory in the event.

There was real excitement heading into the 2024 Presidents Cup, with the Internationals arguably having a fantastic chance of securing only their second victory in the event’s history. They had fought back so well two years ago in all kinds of adversity, and this team was being led by Mike Weir on Canadian soil.

Unfortunately for the Internationals, the US were able to get the job done relatively comfortably this time around. Jim Furyk‘s men won four of the five sessions, with nearly half of the Internationals’ points coming just on Friday.

There were some nervy moments on Sunday, but nothing like some of the drama at Quail Hollow. And it was Keegan Bradley in the sixth match of the day who secured the cup for the Americans.

What Trevor Immelman said about the Presidents Cup format

Some have insisted that the PGA Tour needs to make changes to the Presidents Cup to ensure that fans do not lose interest. But US vice-captain Stewart Cink has insisted that the Presidents Cup should stay as it is.

And it appears that his opposite number feels a similar way. Speaking on Golf Channel, John Wood – who was reporting on the course at Royal Montreal, and will also manage the US team at the Ryder Cup – shared what he heard from one of the International vice-captains.

“I say leave it alone as well. And I’ll tell you this, I spoke to Trevor Immelman at one point, and he told me and really expressed how much they love this event. They want to figure out a way to win it, they don’t want to change the rules to try and win it,” he said.

“The final score was a significant win for the United States, but it was way closer than the final score was. And you mentioned Korea, could’ve gone either way, went down to the very last match; same thing down in Melbourne, they dominated for the first two sessions, and had they been able to close that out a little more, they would have won there.”

What is difficult to argue after Royal Montreal

It is important that the PGA Tour do not make so many changes that it becomes obvious that they are being made to significantly improve the Internationals’ chances of winning the event. Ultimately, their second victory is going to become all the sweeter because of the challenges they have faced over the last 25 years.

However, it is a fine line, as the Presidents Cup was criticised beforehand. And those critics will have felt vindicated by the scoreline at Royal Montreal. Eventually, fans will start to ignore the event if they have no faith in the Internationals potentially winning.

Wood is correct that the score did not tell the full story, but it is hard to argue that 2024 felt like a step forward for the International team. And the concerns will perhaps be that there is little reason to think that enough will change by the time the two teams head to Medinah in 2026.