As we inch closer to the 2024 Presidents Cup, one hackneyed question again makes its way to the conversation. Will this year be any different for Team International? The team’s history at the Presidents Cup is shabby and needs no reiteration. However, despite being sparse and sporadic, there have been moments of glory. Moments that this year’s team can look up to for inspiration. Before the 16th edition of the patriotic tournament starts, here are five moments from history ranked worst to best.

A humiliating defeat at the 2000 Presidents Cup

Team USA was raked over coals for the 1998 drubbing at Melbourne. Questions were raised about their sincerity to the tournament. Two years later, the international team was at the receiving end as they started answering those criticisms. Ken Venturi’s boys left nothing to fate as they tightened their grip on the trophy from the get-go. 

By Sunday, the Stars and Stripes held an 8-point lead. The debacle was marked by the top players’ no-show. Vijay Singh & Greg Norman earned only one point each and Ernie Els none. It’s the only time a winning team recorded a double-digit victory margin (21.5 – 10.5).

A repeat of 2000 at Liberty National

The 2017 iteration was all but over by Saturday. The tempo was set by Friday itself when the Stars and Stripes took an overwhelming 8-2 lead by afternoon. The next day, it extended to 14.5–3.5. On Sunday, no Miracle of Medinah was expected, and Daniel Berger made sure there was none. Before half the day passed, the USA was already the winner, rendering the rest of the Sunday singles a formality. Team International’s Presidents Cup woe extended to another two years. 

A close call at the 2019 Presidents Cup

Ernie Els wanted to reinvigorate the team when he took the mantle from Nick Price in 2017. The venue was perfect. Melbourne remains the only place where the international team scored a victory. And it seemed Els’s men could do the same for the first time in two decades. It wasn’t to be. 

Hideki Matsuyama & Co. failed to capitalize on the two-shot lead on Sunday as playing captain Tiger Woods & Co. rallied to win six of the 12 singles. Woods himself won in a now-famous duel against Abraham Ancer. Matt Kuchar drained the winning putt that dashed all hopes of a different outcome. 

2003 Presidents Cup: when the world’s two best players dueled

The last time Team International came within touching distance of a victory was in 2003. Helmed by two giants—Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player—both teams looked indomitable throughout the weekend. After Sunday singles couldn’t offer a decisive victory to any team, as per the rules then, both captains picked one player for a playoff. Tiger Woods and Ernie Els. 

Then world no. 1 bested world no. 2 in the Sunday singles (4 & 3). But in the sudden death playoff, Els clung to Woods till the very end, resulting in a tie even after three holes. As darkness set in over the Fancourt Hotel and Country Club Estate, the two captains decided to jointly hoist the trophy. To date, it remains the only instance where the Presidents Cup ended in a tie.

The Massacre in Melbourne

1998 remains the only taste of victory for the international team. And it was not just a regular run-of-the-mill triumph; it was a thunderous dressdown of Stars and Stripes. After the first day, Greg Norman & co. held a four-shot lead over the Americans. But make no mistake, it had all the elements of a lopsided battle.

The international team only had five players inside the top 30. Whereas Jack Nicklaus came with the world’s top-four players. Yet when the biennial showdown ended, the leaderboard read 20½ – 11½ in the international team’s favor. Later popularized and even mythologized as Mascare in Melbourne, the 1998 triumph still remains the only time Americans were bested at the Presidents Cup.

The 16th edition of the Presidents Cup kicks off at the Royal Montreal Golf Club this Thursday. The Stars and Stripes boast two of the world’s top three players. Whereas Hideki Matsuyama is the only international player in the top ten. By Sunday, the world will know if the 2024 edition will dish out a similar result or if it will be one for the history books.