One of the best parts of team competitions is the home crowd.
In the Ryder Cup, whether the competition is in the United States or Europe, the opposing team is going to deal with constant jeering, raucous applause and more from the fans.
In the Presidents Cup, it hasn’t quite been that way.
The Americans always have a home-field advantage, with events on home soil being a big advantage regardless of which team competition it is. For the Internationals, this year is bound to be different from the past. And that’s a key if the Internationals want to get their first win since 1998.
“It’s a big part of this competition, I believe, and a big part of team golf where you can ride some momentum and the crowd gets behind you, and you can really feed off that,” International captain Mike Weir said. “I certainly did here in 2007, not only with my match playing Tiger, but just the other matches, you get the crowd energy, and you can raise your level a little bit. So it can be a huge factor.”
One of the challenges the Internationals have faced is trying to unify golfers from around the world for a week to take down the Americans, who compete in team competitions every single year. The Internationals are forced to get people from numerous continents to bond and come together to take down an often-time overmatched foe, and that’s not always simple.
For the crowd, it’s the same thing.
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The Presidents Cup has been hosted in Australia, Canada, South Africa and South Korea, which is a home game for a handful of players on the International team. For the rest of the players, though they’re on the same team as the hometown favorites, they’re still outsiders to the fans.
On Tuesday during the pre-tournament press conferences ahead of the 2024 Presidents Cup, Weir and some of his players raved about the Canadian crowd and how it seems different this year. In the past, many International fans were infatuated with cheering for American stars like Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson as much as they were pulling for their country’s players to have success.
Canadian fans likely won’t be as starstruck.
Jason Day of Australia and the International Team reacts during a practice round prior to the 2024 Presidents Cup at The Royal Montreal Golf Club on September 24, 2024 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
“It’s going to be interesting,” Jason Day said. “This is probably the closest home game that I’ve played in front of because when we go down to Australia, I think they’re just so excited to see everyone because we don’t get a lot of golf down there, like especially the big names. In Canada, it’s obviously so close to the United States, and there’s like that friendly rivalry between the two countries, so it’s nice to actually feel like we have an actual home crowd. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like that before in the times that I’ve played.”
In addition to the friendly rivalry between the countries, there’s a PGA Tour event every year in Canada. Numerous Canadian teams play in American sports leagues, so fans north of the border are familiar with stars across all sports.
When it comes to golf, they will pull for their Canadians over anyone, and this week, it’s the International shield they’ll be backing.
“We’re certainly hoping the fans come out hard and cheer a lot for our guys,” Weir said. “Hopefully it is a factor.”
