What is the Presidents Cup and why is it called that?
The ongoing Presidents Cup from September 20 to 25 has golf fans all over the planet hanging on to every one of the event's updates. What is more exciting than watching the best of the best golfers in the world go head-to-head?
For the unversed, the Presidents Cup is a biennial golf team competition played between the United States and an International Team which represents the rest of the world barring Europe.
The 12-membered teams battle it out on the greens for the prestigious title. In the tournament's history, the international side has only won once in 1998 in Melbourne. The 2003 edition in South Africa ended in a historic tie of 17-17. In the last competition, in 2019, captain Tiger Woods helped the US take home the prize once again.
The event venues alternately switch between the US and other countries. This year it is taking place at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, US.
What makes the Presidents Cup different from other golf competitions is that it is not played for a cash prize. In fact, no golfer receives remuneration for their participation. Instead, each competitor allocates an equal portion of the generated funds to charities of their choice.
Ever since the inception of the coveted tournament in 1994, more than $54.4 million has been raised from event proceeds for charity. Contributions made on behalf of the Presidents Cup count towards charity as well, including a charitable donation of $5.3 million from the 2019 event alone.
Citi, Cognizant and Rolex are the exclusive global partners of the tournament.
Why is the championship named Presidents Cup?
The first-ever Presidents Cup was played in 1994 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Prince William County, Virginia, US. World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Hale Irwin and David Graham captained the US and international sides, respectively.
The 38th President of the United States, Gerald R. Ford, who was also an avid golfer, served as the Honorary Chairman for the championship. The tradition followed with George H. W. Bush, Australian Prime Minister John Howard, US President Bill Clinton, President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki, US President George W. Bush, and the Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper.
In short, the incumbent US president or the head of state of the host country, depending on where the tournament was held, played the role of Honorary Chairman.
The championship is named after this tradition.
This year, US president Joe Biden will serve as the Honorary Chairman.
Well, all that is left now is to wait with bated breath to see what unfolds next. Will the international side make a rousing comeback? Or will the US defend their lead? It will be interesting to see.