You know how the saying ‘Practice is the key’ goes, right? Well, it seems like the top golfers playing at the Presidents Cup this year don’t really believe it. We all know that Team USA made a huge mistake by taking a long break before last year at the Ryder Cup as the Tour Championship concluded on August 27, and the pros teed off at Marco Simone on September 29. This somewhat made them rusty and not ready to play their best, and as a result, they lost.

Even Jordan Spieth expressed his thoughts on this and told the Fried Egg that he does not want to repeat the same mistake. “If you asked us when we would like to play the Ryder Cup relative to our schedule, I think we would probably say, Give us a week after the Tour Championship or two weeks after and then go, instead of five,” he said. So one would think they will not repeat the same mistake, right? Well, not exactly.

The showdown at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in Canada is set to take off on September 24-29. One could say that the international team already has an upper hand in the competition as nothing really beats the support you get from the home crowd, and it truly fuels the golfers at times like these.

And with top players like, Scottie Scheffler, Colin Morikawa, and Xander Schauffele not participating in any tournaments these days, it’s only adding to their rival’s advantage. The last golf tournament where these golfers were seen was the Tour Championship, which was weeks ago. There’s no doubt that their performance was phenomenal, as Morikawa scored 26 under par and took the T2 spot, while Schauffele settled for the sweet T4 with a score of 19 under, and Scheffler took home the trophy. This adds to the argument: Is Scheffler, and co repeating the same mistake they did in Rome last year?

But are they though? Schauffele and Scheffler have had a tremendous season this year. Schauffele went from being a zero-time major winner to being a 2-time major winner, and does Scheffler’s season really need any comment? 7 wins on the Tour, and a gold medal in Paris! So, it could be that they are taking it slow before heading to Canada to put things in perspective and enjoy some time with their families to recharge. We will only see that on the course!

We all know the controversy that went down when the Team USA for the Presidents Cup was announced. Fans were saying all kinds of things, but the one thing that was on every tongue was that Max Homa was a captain’s pick. He failed to make the cut at the Procore championship as well. So there goes the support of fans.

However, some players like Wyndham Clark and Sahith Theegala are keeping their wheels running by polishing their skills. Clark played at the last Ryder Cup and seems like he is adamant on not repeating the mistake of taking a significant break from the greens.

“I took too much time off”—Wyndham Clark after the 2023 Ryder Cup

Despite being a major winner, Clark’s skills fell short at the 2023 Ryder Cup. “I think the last time I screwed up, I took too much time off and wasn’t quite prepared for the Ryder Cup, and this year I wanted to make sure I don’t do that,” said Clark recently about his 1-1-1 score at his debut Ryder Cup. He continued by saying, “There’s no preparation better than playing against the best players. I think this is the best prep you can have.” And indeed it is. Despite the poor performance, Clark’s determination to keep his skills polished is definitely notable.

Wyndham Clark admitted to his mistake of taking too much time off before the 2023 Ryder Cup, and as the Presidents Cup is around the corner, the golfer is ensuring he is prepared. “Last year it was realistically four weeks (off),” said Clark. “And then by the time you pegged it up to play, it was the fifth week, so it’s five weeks. I mean, I would never prepare for a big event where I had five weeks off between one tournament to the next.”

Clark recently competed at the Procore Championship; however, his performance was quite poor. The golfer missed the cut after the second round at a score of 2 over par. Another Presidents Cup player who was seen at the Procore Championship was Sahith Theegala whose amazing skills were on full display. And he finished with a score of 12 under par and rested at T7.

So, do you think Team USA will be able to win the 2024 Presidents Cup? Let us know in the comment section below!