2022 Tournaments We'll Remember: Presidents Cup

A lopsided opening two days powered the U.S. to its usual win, but the Internationals showed star power that will carry over to the next edition.

Author:
Alex Miceli
Publish date:
Dec 29, 2022

The SI Golf team looked back at 10 memorable tournaments from 2022.

The Event: Presidents Cup

Site: Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, N.C.

Dates: Sept. 22-25

Result: U.S. defeats Internationals, 17.5-12.5

Why We’ll Remember It: Coming into the 14th edition of the Presidents Cup, most believed that the USA Team was far superior and the likelihood of defeat was limited at best.

Those beliefs played out over the four days, with the USA winning three of the five sessions, including winning the first two sessions and taking an 8-2 lead after the first 10 matches and putting Internationals Captain Trevor Immelman’s team in an insurmountable hole.

Peeling back the onion, there were parts of the week in Charlotte that were in fact memorable starting with Immelman, who was passionate, committed and got his team within striking distance at 11-7 before Sunday’s singles. Those were the most competitive matches of the week, with the U.S. winning just 6.5 to 5.5.

Watching U.S. assistant captain Fred Couples taking charge of the selection process was an evening highlight. It was comical to watch U.S. captain Davis Love and his other assistants hanging on Couples's every word as he seemingly held court over every U.S. pairing. How is it he has not been a Ryder Cup captain?

Inside the ropes, the emergence of the Korean players Sungjae Im, Tom Kim, Si-Woo Kim and K.H. Lee appeared to be the future foundation of an international team.

Kim, a 20-year-old from Seoul, showed no fear and at times took the popularity battle to the U.S. team and evolved as a fan favorite over the four days.

The next event will be in Canada with Masters champion and native Mike Weir captaining the Internationals, with the U.S. leading the series 12-1-1 going into Royal Montreal Golf Club in 2024.