Team USA dominated at Royal Montreal, winning the Presidents Cup over the Internationals 18.5 to 11.5.
Keegan Bradley’s point clinched the Presidents Cup, but the Americans went on to win two more matches, lose two and tie two.
This week produced such an entertaining Presidents Cup full of excitement and drama. Despite some television coverage issues, both teams gave fans plenty to watch.
After the first two days of play, it was anyone’s game, making Saturday and Sunday crucial.
Out of both teams, who were the ones that shined brightest, and what did not go right at Royal Montreal?
Let’s discuss our winners and losers.
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Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images 3. Si Woo Kim
Si Woo Kim may not have been on the victorious team, but his positive energy makes him a winner. He is an International Team icon.
His celebrations were some of the best among each team. Kim did not care if he won or lost the match; if he did something awesome, he got excited.
The Steph Curry celebration from Saturday will likely become one of the top moments throughout this event.
Seeing him and Byeong Hun An defeat Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley on Friday was another incredible moment. Overall, he went 2-2-0 at Royal Montreal for the Presidents Cup.
It does not matter that he finished .500 this week because his energy kept the Internationals in the event.
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Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images 2. Patrick Cantlay
Patrick Cantlay brought back Patty Ice at this year’s Presidents Cup. He was incredible all week long, going 4-1-0 overall.
The only match he lost was on Friday when he and Xander Schauffle lost 7 & 6 to Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im.
Statistically, he was one of the best on Team USA as well. He picked up 8.87 strokes gained in total throughout the five rounds, per Golf Data.
Tee to green, Cantlay picked up 6.81 strokes and 5.16 in strokes gained approach. He also added 2.06 strokes on the putting greens.
Not much went wrong for Cantlay as he came up clutch so many times for the Americans.
When Team USA needed a boost, Cantlay delivered.
It also seems like he appreciates having his back to the wall because when the fans criticized him, Cantlay played even better.
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Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images 1. Keegan Bradley
Keegan Bradley loves team events, and watching him clinch Team USA’s victory was incredible. Overall, he went 2-1-0 at Royal Montreal.
As one of the oldest guys on the team, Jim Furyk took a chance on him with a captain’s pick.
He was such a staple for this team. When Furyk called his name, Bradley did his best to deliver. The 7-time PGA Tour winner clinched the sweep on Thursday and came up clutch again on Sunday.
After he got snubbed for the 2023 Ryder Cup, this moment seemed therapeutic for him.
Bradley can confidently enter his captaincy role for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.
3 Losers of the Presidents Cup
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Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images 3. Brian Harman
Brian Harman was the only Team USA member who did not win a single point at Royal Montreal. He went 0-3-0 on the week.
Despite having success at the Ryder Cup with Max Homa, it did not follow them to Canada. While they played with each other, Harman’s game was not up to par.
He lost 8.54 strokes overall and 6.75 tee to green. Harman also lost 4.16 strokes gained in his approach game, per Golf Data.
The 2023 Open champion was a weak link for the Americans, but it did not matter because the team was so stacked.
2. Mike Weir’s pairing choices
His pairing choices on Saturday and Sunday may have cost International Captain Mike Weir the Cup.
Keeping the same pairings for the morning and afternoon matches on Saturday cost the Internationals three crucial points.
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Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images They needed to win that afternoon session to have a chance on Sunday, but instead, they lost 3-1.
Then Weir put out many heavy hitters first on Sunday rather than pairing them up with the best opponent.
The International Team battled hard, but fatigue and poor strategy hurt them.
1. Presidents Cup television coverage
There is only one word to describe this week’s Presidents Cup television coverage — commercials. It was unwatchable at times because there were so many interruptions.
NBC Sports and Golf Channel handled the broadcast, which meant there were commercials every few minutes.
It also seemed like the network used the Playing Through segment too much.
Fans already struggle to watch this event because it is during college football season, but the network did not help itself at all.
It is hard to get into a rhythm watching golf when the commercials interrupt it repeatedly. If professional golf wants the Presidents Cup to be more popular, it should find a way to limit the commercials as much as possible.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.
