Lydia Ko boarded a plane bound for South Korea immediately after winning the Kroger Queen City Championship instead of heading north to Montreal for the 2024 Presidents Cup.
For years, there has been talk of turning the lopsided Presidents Cup, which tends to favor the Americans, into a mixed event. Imagine Lydia Ko teaming up again with Australia’s Jason Day, as they did in the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational last December at Tiburon Golf Club, which sparked Ko’s magical 2024.
Ko, inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame this summer after winning Olympic gold in Paris, is not eligible for the Solheim Cup, and New Zealand lacks sufficient good players to qualify for the LPGA’s International Crown, leaving one of the game’s biggest stars excluded from these team events.
The U.S. has dominated the Presidents Cup since 1994, except for their loss in 1998 and tie in 2003. Two-time U.S. captain Stacy Lewis recently suggested turning the Presidents Cup into a mixed event to enhance the competition. “It’s the perfect way to blend the two tours,” she says. “The international team would quickly improve.”
If the International team included women, they would add six players ranked in the top eight in the world to the roster, seven more top-10 players than are currently on the men’s International team.
In Naples, Florida, at the Grant Thornton, Billy Horschel mentioned that a bigger team competition involving both men and women would be ideal for golf’s growth. “If it’s not being discussed, maybe we need to bring in more innovative thinkers,” said Horschel.
Of course, getting the LPGA involved in the Presidents Cup would limit opportunities for men and revenue-sharing between tours. The PGA Tour will need to consider how much longer the event can remain relevant as-is. A more competitive cup can significantly contribute to growing the game both domestically and internationally.
If this week’s event were to feature forward-thinking officials, here’s a glimpse of what the competition could entail for fans:
More players and their credentials…
