President’s Cup preview, LIV golf changes

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in sports and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss the upcoming Presidents Cup, the LIV Golf Team Championship and the future, and more.

It’s Presidents Cup week! So let’s go to Canada, where americans take on internationals at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in Quebec. The USA has dominated the event and owns an all-time record of 12-1-1 and has not lost in two decades. If Mike Weir and the Internationals were to win this week, what should happen?

Jessica Marksbury, Senior Editor (@jess_marksbury): The USA will have to seriously come off their game to post an L this week. On paper, Americans are so, so strong. But, as they say, it’s a match game! So of course anything can happen (in theory). Playing on home soil can often be a great motivator. With a Canadian captain and three Canadians on the international team, perhaps the unexpected will happen. But I wouldn’t bet on it.

Zephyr Melton, Assistant Editor (@zephyrmelton): The entire USA team must sleep a lot during their time? I’m kidding (sort of), but I really don’t see a way for the internationals to win. Without the talent they lost to LIV, the international team simply doesn’t have the firepower to keep up with Team USA. I expect another stress-free victory for the Americans.

Josh Sens, Senior Writer (@joshsens): Weir could arrest Scottie Scheffler, and when Team USA goes to protest, he can shut down the rest of them. As Jesse says, it’s match by match. Nothing is predetermined. But the odds have this biased for a reason.

Jack Hirsch, assistant editor (@JR_HIRSHey): The Canadian boys go undefeated. They only way the US team can lose this one is if the home crowd gets really mad about the five Canadians mowing down the opposition. As my colleagues alluded to, match play is the big draw!

The Americans are without long-time standouts in the team event, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, and they are already certainly without any LIV players (Brooks Koepka was on the last Ryder Cup team). Is this American team more beatable than others we’ve seen over the years?

Marksbury: No. Even without those notables, the US is still thus deep! Scottie, Collin, Xander, Sahith, Keegan, to name a few, all in the midst of great seasons.

Melts: They can be one LESS more vulnerable than we’ve seen them in the past, but it’s still a very strong team. The US has an extremely deep talent pool at the highest levels of golf. Although this team may lack some of the previous teams, they still have a lot of talent.

Meaning: All due respect to Spieth and Thomas, but neither has been on fire lately. I don’t see the US losing a step in their absence. And it’s not like internationals haven’t lost talent at LIV either. Not Cameron Smith. Not Joachim Nieman.

Hirsh: Sorry to sound like a broken record, but no. The Americans have won the last seven events, the last two Players’ Championships and each of the last two Olympic medals. And that doesn’t include guys like Morikawa, Cantlay, Theegala, etc. This team is not possible at all.

Look into your crystal ball and predict the highest scorers (for each team) and give us your winner.

Marksbury: Scottie Scheffler would cap an already historic season by going 4-0-0 (four points) to lead the U.S. Tom Kim would scratch three points to lead the internationals, but the U.S. would eventually prevail 18-12.

Melts: Team USA: Xander Schauffele (3.5 points); International team: Adam Scott (2.5 points). Team USA comes out on top 18.5-11.5.

Meaning: I think – or at least hope – it will be closer. Team USA 16-14. Xander will earn 4 points to lead the way for the Americans, with hot Canadian Taylor Pendrith earning 3.5 for the Internationals.

Hirsh: Tom Kim was electric two years ago, I see him and Hideki Matsuyama getting 2.5-3 points for internationals, but I could hear an argument for Corey Conners. For the US, I see Scottie Scheffler and Max Homa (yes, that’s exactly what will get him out of his funk) going 4-0-0. USA rolls 17-13, close enough to make it interesting all week, but still out of the question.

LIV Golf concluded its season with its team championship on Sunday in Dallas and several of the league’s team captains hinted at possible changes in the future. What do you comment on their comments? And what would more “team play” look like in LIV’s future (and mean for the PGA Tour’s pending merger against LIV)?

Marksbury: Without world ranking points — and a larger context for what each tournament means in the world of professional golf — the individual stroke play portion of LIV events lacks the drama of the PGA Tour events they’ll face on the weekend. The team aspect of LIV has always been a differentiator, and making that part of the league more engaging and exciting from a fan perspective would be a huge positive.

Melts: Leaning more into the team aspect would certainly give LIV more of an identity than what they have created so far. Over the course of three seasons, the team aspect has been a little off, but if they made it more team oriented, it would give them a clearer identity that is different from the rest of golf. Maybe LIV will become the place to play for your team, while the Tour is where you play for yourself? I wouldn’t hate the idea.

Meaning: You can tell from the players’ comments that they understand that things need to change. What exactly needs to be done? LIV’s biggest weakness is that it doesn’t feel like anything is at stake. The team-wise bent makes sense, but I’d add more of a Squid Game element to it. Not with blood and guts but with the potential for real and immediate loss. Make it a lower drop bar. If a boy performs poorly several weeks in a row, he gets a warning. If he does not shape the following, replace him with someone else.

Hirsh: I really like that idea, Zephyr, just fully embrace the team aspect. I think the whole playing individual and team tournaments at the same time is problematic in pro golf. It works at the college level because the individual event is secondary to the team event, not so much when there’s $4 million at stake for first place. I thought the tag team championship match aspect was fun and innovative, but it was kind of confusing and hard to follow. But it may change in the future.

Speaking of LIV, with Year 3 now a wrap, what’s next and what’s important? Create paths with the tour? Signing more top talent? A bigger and wider TV deal? If you’re running the show, what’s on your offseason agenda?

Marksbury: A broader arrangement should be at the forefront of the mind. It seems like the only way to give LIV the prominence it needs – and a way to add intrigue and eye candy.

Melts: They should have a better TV deal. It’s hard to take the league seriously when it draws less eyeballs than the World Underwater Basket Weaving Championship. Without a proper TV partner, LIV will never gain wide appeal.

Meaning: TV deal for sure. But I’d also push for more LIV-vs.-Tour events, like the upcoming televised matchup with Scheffer, Bryson, Brooks and Rory. Step it up to a Ryder Cup-style competition and you’d get some attention.

Hirsh: It’s the TV deal as my colleagues said, but they also have to understand that their guys are getting ranking points back and that means getting back on track to majors. There will be a lot of big names missing from the graduation next year.

Rory McIlroy’s latest close call came at the BMW PGA Championship on Sunday, as he lost in a playoff to Billy Horschel. It followed a runner-up finish at the Irish Open last week and, dating further back, his heavy loss at the US Open. He hasn’t won since May. Do you have any reason to worry about what is happening during this period?

Marksbury: A little! I can’t help but feel there are some definite mental game issues at play when a player of Rory’s caliber gets knocked down more than a few times in a season. But we’ve seen him bounce back in the past, and this has been a rough year for him personally and professionally. I’m inclined to give him some grace and hopefully he can get a significant offseason.

Melts: No need to worry – closing golf tournaments is hard! The only reason we’re talking about it is because he keeps putting himself in contention. It would be more worrying if Rory missed the cuts every week. He will soon be back in the winner’s circle.

Meaning: I agree that he will be back in the winner’s circle very soon. But I also think Rory’s fans have reason to worry that he’ll seal the deal at the events that matter most to him, which are obviously the main ones. A 10-year drought is a long dry spell, and there have been a number of painful mistakes along the way.

Hirsh: Pump the brakes! Are we forgetting 2013, 2017 and 2020 when he didn’t win at all? He’s won twice on the PGA Tour this year (technically once) and has been in contention a load of other times. I’d say he’s winning at a more prolific rate than at any time in his career. He just isn’t winning the big ones! it will happen.