LIV Golf’s Ongoing Impact Still Looms Over Presidents Cup

The Presidents Cup will tee off Thursday at the Royal Montreal Golf Club, and the disruption of LIV Golf on the PGA Tour–operated team event is still being felt after three full seasons for the controversial circuit.

Comprising two 12-man rosters from the U.S. and foreign countries outside of Europe, both squads this week would likely look different without LIV’s presence, particularly on the international side. LIV players remain banned from PGA Tour events, including the Presidents Cup, despite ongoing negotiations with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. “There’s just so many moving pieces in that deal,” top Team USA qualifier Scottie Scheffler said. That differs from the Ryder Cup, which is managed by the PGA of America and European Tour and does not have an explicit ban on LIV members.

How We Got Here

The last Presidents Cup before the men’s professional game became fractured was in 2019, when eight players who are now on LIV competed in Australia (five internationals, three Americans), as the Tiger Woods–captained U.S. team came from behind to win 16–14 on the final day. A ninth now-LIV player, Brooks Koepka, made the U.S. team but withdrew due to injury. 

At the 2022 Presidents Cup (delayed one year by the COVID-19 pandemic), top international qualifier Cam Smith was ineligible due to his late-summer move to LIV. So was No. 4 qualifier Joaquín Niemann. With stronger depth to withstand LIV defections (like Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, and Dustin Johnson), the U.S. won 17.5 to 12.5. Comprising 30 available points, players compete as pairs in alternate shot and four-ball matches, as well as head-to-head singles.

While it’s impossible to say which LIV players would have made this year’s Presidents Cup teams under different circumstances, many of those mentioned above would have at least been in the mix. DeChambeau won the U.S. Open, while Niemann and Smith finished second and seventh, respectively, in LIV’s individual standings.

In Canada, the U.S. will be led by the likes of Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, and Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott, and Jason Day on the international side.

Northern Mentality

LIV aside, the PGA Tour is gearing up for a big week in Montreal.

With a six-day total capacity crowd of 162,000 expected (practice rounds Tuesday and Wednesday), this marks the largest international staging of the event with more than 550,000 square feet of hospitality, and a 2,000-seat first tee stadium. Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the honorary chairman of this Presidents Cup, will be at the final round Sunday. 

Topping the premium offerings is the Trophy Club, which includes space inside Royal Montreal’s clubhouse and a two-sided on-course venue with views of the 10th and 11th holes. A single ticket for the weekend costs just under $2,000.