International Presidents Cup captain Mike Weir says it’s a shame as he’s been informed by the PGA Tour that LIV Golfers will not be eligible to be picked as ‘wildcards’ for the event later this year at the Royal Montreal in Canada.
Unlike the PGA of America who run the US side of the Ryder Cup and last year allowed Brooks Koepka to pull on the USA team colours, the Presidents Cup held every other year is administered by the PGA Tour.
However, in a surprising move that goes against continuing moves to rebuild the broken bridges in men’s pro golf, the PGA Tour has informed Weir that no, ‘LIV Golfers will not be playing in your team.’
In contrast, the Ryder Cup when staged in Europe is run by the European Tour while the PGA of America, and not the PGA Tour, organise the competition when in the States.
Weir’s side is drawn from players born anywhere but not in Europe.
“Certainly I want the best players internationally to be playing (the Presidents Cup). Hopefully we come to a point that they are,” said Weir speaking to the media Tuesday via a conference call.
“It’s just an unfortunate situation that we’re in right now.
“I’ve been told they’re not eligible. They’re not gonna be eligible but hopefully going forward, maybe in Chicago in 2026, they are,” he continued. “It is a shame. I mean, we would want the best players, but I like our team. Our team looks great right now, but yeah, I think as a captain, we want the best international players from around the world to be playing against the best U.S. guys.”
Weir’s side will be looking to not only end a nine-in-a-row USA domination of the biennial competition but to taste success for just the second occasion in the 14 matches since 1994.
Weir, the first left-handed player to win the Masters, does have a relatively strong field of PGA Tour-based players in the make-up of his International side including Tom Kim, currently ranked No. 1 on the qualifying points table, Jason Day at No. 2, Hideki Matsuyama at No. 3, Nick Taylor at 4, Min Woo Lee at No. 8, Adam Hadwin at 9, while veteran Presidents Cup qualifier Adam Scott is currently ranked 11.
However, how much stronger would it be with current LIV stars including red-hot Chilean Joaquin Niemann, Open Champion Cam Smith, and Louis Oosthuizen, who won twice at the end of last year, all in Weir’s side?
“I guess the flip side is they knew that when they left, they knew that they weren’t gonna be part of (the Presidents Cup). That was definitely part of the conversation,” Weir added.
“I think some of that’s one of the reasons some guys struggled with (going to LIV) because they loved (the Presidents Cup) so much and they want to be part of it.”
That said, all Weir can do till competition begins on September 26th is focus on moulding a team that can finally bring down the might of what will be a Jim Furyk led Stars-and-Stripes side.
“That’s always been part of our strategy, we have a lot of different cultures, a lot of different backgrounds,” Weir said.
“We have some new faces this year that are looking like they’ll be part of the team. So just getting everybody together and get to know one another and know what the International team is all about.”
It will be the second occasion the famed Royal Montreal has hosted The Presidents Cup since 2007 when a Jack Nicklaus captained USA side defeated the Gary Player captained International team.
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