Golf: Australian hopes for Presidents Cup

The Presidents Cup is staged for the 15th time later this month, with the International Team hoping to claim just their second success against the United States.

Having endured 12 losses to the USA in 14 previous meetings, the International Team - captained by Mike Weir - will hope to repeat the success of 1998 at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club, when they triumphed 20.5-11.5.

The only other occasion that they avoided defeat came five years later in South Africa, when the match ended in a 17-17 tie.

This time around the Royal Montreal Golf Club is the venue for the high-profile clash, with the Canadian course hosting the competition for the second time.

The International Team are 3.40 to win the match outright, with the USA priced at 1.40, while the Americans are 1.30 to lift the trophy.

And three Australian golfers are part of the International Team this time around, with Adam Scott making a record-extending 11th appearance, while Jason Day features for the fifth time and Min Woo Lee is one of two rookies in Weir’s line-up.

International Team line-up: Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im, Adam Scott, Tom Kim, Jason Day, Byeong Hun An, Corey Conners, Min Woo Lee, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Taylor Pendrith, Si Woo Kim, Mackenzie Hughes.

Resurgent Scott a key figure

The first Presidents Cup match was played in 1998 and Scott made his debut in 2003, with the 2013 Masters champion having featured in every staging of the competition since then.

The 44-year-old needs to gain only a half-point to become the leading International Team points scorer overall, with Scott currently sharing the record on 21 with South African great Ernie Els.

Scott has a career record of 18–25–6 in the Presidents Cup and goes into this match-up on the back of the T10 finish at the Open Championship, his first top-ten finish at a Major since 2019.

More recently he showed up strongly in the FedEx Cup playoffs, finishing in a tie for second place at the BMW Championship before a T4 spot at the Tour Championship saw Scott finish fourth in the overall FedEx Cup standings.

He is an 8.50 shot to be Top Team Points Scorer, with South Korean Sungjae Im the market leader at 6.50, while Japanese ace Hideki Matsuyama is priced at 7.00.

Day arrives in solid form

2015 USPGA Championship winner Jason Day will be making his fifth appearance in the Presidents Cup and, like Scott, he will head to Montreal in good heart after a strong showing at the Olympics in Paris, where he finished in a tie for ninth place.

However, he disappointed in the FedEx Cup playoffs and missed out on a place at the PGA Tour Championship as a result.

Day has won just five of the 20 matches he has played in his four previous Presidents Cup, having missed out on the last two stagings and is 12.00 to be Top Team Points Scorer at Royal Montreal GC.

Lee looks to impress on debut

Min Woo Lee joins home golfer Mackenzie Hughes as the two rookies in the line-up named by Weir and the 26-year-old will hope to show the quality which saw him finish T5 at the 2023 U.S. Open.

Lee struggled at the Majors this year, missing the cut at the Open Championship before ending up in a tie for 22nd at the Olympics and crashing out of the FedEx Cup playoffs at the first hurdle, the FedEx Cup St. Jude Championship.

He can be backed at 15.00 to be Top Team Points Scorer, the same mark as fellow rookie Hughes.