Will Quail Hollow consider hosting the LIV Tour? “Not while I’m president of the club.”
Adam Sperling, executive director for the Presidents Cup, moved his family to Charlotte and spent more than three years promoting and selling the biennial competition being played in the Queen City. He got to know as well as anyone just how important hosting a world-class event that would be shown around the world meant to the good people at Quail Hollow Golf Club. That starts with Johnny Harris, the club’s president, who sets the tone with his big personality. “There is a quote,” Sperling says, “Everything’s impossible until it’s done, and there is nothing that these two men (Johnny and son Johno Harris) and the members of Quail Hollow and this community sees as impossible.”
Harris and son Johno, general chairman of the 2022 Presidents Cup, took time out of a busy day at the Presidents Cup on Saturday to participate in a Rolex roundtable discussion with several writers, including Golfweek. Here are excerpts from the Q&A.
“I have never seen a better display of golfers and a worse display of partiers, and I am the best partier.”
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – While Davis Love III may never make it public, Kevin Kisner knows that he was 13th man on Team USA, a last-minute Captain’s pick that otherwise belonged to the injured Will Zalatoris.
Kisner expected to be spending the week hunting, fishing and trying to gain some weight, he said, before Love called him during the Tour Championship and told him he might be needed.
“Kevin Kisner even put down his bow and picked up his clubs after thinking he might have a little bit of a break,” Love said.
Kisner made his second career appearance in the Presidents Cup and tallied a record of 0-2-1 this week, which included a loss Sunday to South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout. But Sunday night that was of little consequence to Kisner, who stole the show again in the post-victory press conference, beginning when he tossed an empty Fireball shooter into a sea of reporters.
His teammates had been calling Kisner, 38, Grandpa, but apparently experience has its benefits, as he explained. Asked about the pending team victory celebration that is sure to last into the wee hours of the morning, Kisner said, “My experience can ultimately win in this scenario. There is nothing that any of these (guys) can do that can hang with me tonight, I promise you.”
He continued: “I have never seen a better display of golfers and a worse display of partiers, and I am the best partier on this (dais). Amen.”
And in the perfect ending to the press conference he added, “That’s why they picked me. I got half a point, but I brought the fun.”
Four players went undefeated and six failed to earn a win at the 2022 Presidents Cup.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The United States held off a charging International squad to claim the 2022 Presidents Cup, 17½-12½, and extend its win streak to nine events dating to 2005.
In the event’s 28-year history, the Americans have dominated to the tune of a 12-1-1 record, losing in 1998 at Royal Melbourne in Australia and tying in 2003 at Fancourt Hotel and Country Club in South Africa.
Speaking of impressive records, Jordan Spieth made his pitch to be the new Captain America with an impressive 5-0-0 showing this week at Quail Hollow Club, with rookie Max Homa just behind him at 4-0-0 after sitting out Saturday afternoon’s four-ball session. On the other side, rookies Sebastian Munoz (2-0-1) and Christiaan Bezuidenhout (1-0-1) were the lone unbeaten players for the Internationals.
Three players went winless for each team, but only two failed to earn a point, and they’re both from Canada, who will play host in 2024 when the event heads to Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal.
Here’s a breakdown of how each player fared this week by event at the 2022 Presidents Cup.
U.S. Presidents Cup Captain Davis Love III trusted that his 12-man team would deliver in Sunday singles.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – After watching his team lose both sessions on Saturday and its lead heading into the final day trimmed to four points, U.S. Presidents Cup Captain Davis Love III trusted that his 12-man team would deliver in Sunday singles.
“This is one of our best formats, and they’re going to come out mad tomorrow,” he predicted.
Love front-loaded his lineup with several of the top players in the world to attempt to put a sea of red on the scoreboard early: Justin Thomas in the leadoff spot followed by Jordan Spieth, Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. They delivered mixed results, but Team U.S.A. needed just four points to retain the Presidents Cup and continue its domination in its biennial match, winning 17 ½-12 ½.
On an overcast fall day at Quail Hollow, they did enough to take care of business, led by Jordan Spieth, who went out in the second match of the day and defeated Australian Cam Davis 4 and 3. Spieth secured his first-ever victory in singles and notched a perfect record of 5-0, the first player from either team to do so since South African Branden Grace in 2015.
Team USA golfer Jordan Spieth hits his chip shot on the second hole during the singles match play of the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports)
“It feels really good,” Spieth said. “When you go out early as I’ve done pretty much every team event on a Sunday, they’re looking for red on the board, and it feels good to finally provide that.”
Patrick Cantlay avenged his lone defeat of the week on Saturday afternoon, besting Adam Scott, 3 and 2.
“I knew it was really important for me to get my point today,” Cantlay said, “and I’m really content with how I played.”
But the outmanned International team kept it interesting until late Sunday. South Korea’s Si Woo Kim shushed the crowd, with his finger at 15 and silenced them with his putter on 18, draining a clutch birdie putt at 18 to edge Thomas 1 up.
International Team golfer Si Woo Kim reacts after making his putt on the 15th green in front of caddie Manuel Villegas during the singles match play of the Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Club. (Photo: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports)
“J.T. give me fist pump, and then I had to do it. And I had to make it, and I made it,” said Kim, who was a team-best 3-0-1, of his putt to tie the 15th hole. “Then, like, yeah, I had to do something. I think that give me more energy.”
Colombia’s Sebastian Munoz was 2-0-1 in the matches he played, knocking off World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who finished 0-3-1, by a score of 2 and 1.
“I believe Munoz is going to come out of this competition with a real infusion of self-belief and confidence,” NBC’s Paul Azinger said. “He has made some huge putts.”
Munoz likely would agree. “Probably one of the best things I ever achieved in my life,” he said.
Xander Schauffele essentially called his shot in clinching the winning point for Team USA.
“I’ll just save mine for tomorrow,” he said when asked for his highlight on Saturday.
Schauffele, who was in the seventh match of the day on Sunday and won a total of three points for his country, squandered a 3-up lead but hung on to defeat Canada’s Corey Conners 1 up.
“Just luck of the draw, you know what I mean?” Schauffele said. “It was close. It was stressful and what you saw there was a big sigh of relief.”
The U.S. team featured six of the top 10 in the world, while Hideki Matsuyama, who tied Sam Burns on Sunday, was the top-ranked international player at No. 17. Missing from the International side was World No. 3 Cameron Smith, Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen and Mexico’s Abraham Ancer, who were among the defectors to LIV Golf and ineligible for the competition.
Nevertheless, the International side made a valiant comeback on Saturday. But they had dug a big hole, requiring a historic comeback of 8½ of the 12 points up for grabs.
“When you consider that we were 8-2 down on Friday evening, this team is no joke, and I’m sick and tired of it being spoken of as a joke,” International team captain Trevor Immelman said. “We love this event, and we love our team, and we cannot wait to run this back and have another shot.”
The International side featured eight rookies and had the youngest team in Presidents Cup history, including 20-year-old South Korean sensation Tom Kim, who won two big points on Saturday to lead a spirited charge as the International team outscored the Americans in a two-session day for the first time since 1998.
“This young kid has burst onto the scene in the last six months,” International team captain Trevor Immelman said. “He’s been such a tremendous gift to our sport. He has an ability to be a global superstar, this kid.”
In singles, Tom Kim blew a 3-up lead after 10 holes to Max Homa, who went 4-0, one of four rookies to go 4-0-0 or better all-time at the Presidents Cup.
The U.S. has won the Presidents Cup nine times in a row and 12 of 14 times, with one tie. The next match will be held in Montreal in 2024.
Breaking down the final matches of the 2022 Presidents Cup.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Internationals made things interesting midway through Sunday’s final round of singles matches at the 2022 Presidents Cup, but in the end, it was the United States who came out on top.
Xander Schauffele clinched the winning point point for the Americans at Quail Hollow Club, defeating Corey Conners, 1 up, to seal the deal and earn the U.S. its ninth consecutive win in the biennial bout against the worldwide all-stars. The Internationals have won just once back in 1998 and earned a tie in 2003. The U.S. have won the other 11 competitions, six by four or more points.
Here’s a breakdown of each of the 12 Sunday singles matches at the 2022 Presidents Cup.
Sunday singles results
Si Woo Kim (Intl.) def. Justin Thomas (U.S.), 1 up
Si Woo Kim shushed the crowd, with his finger and with a clutch birdie putt at 18 to edge Justin Thomas 1 up.
“ It’s really special for me because I play with J.T. a match like three years ago,” said Kim, noting he was beaten on the 13th hole. “I was a little emotional. But this time, I (got) revenge.”
Thomas made birdies on two of the first four holes, clenching his fist after canning the putt at No. 4 and exclaiming, “Let’s go!”
But Kim battled back, rallying on the back nine with birdies at Nos. 10 and 11 to tie the match. Thomas regained the lead at the 12th but gave it back with a bogey at 14. Kim fired up the crowd when he shushed them at 15.
“J.T. give me fist pump, and then I had to do it. And I had to make it, and I made it,” Kim said of his putt to tie the hole. “Then, like, yeah, I had to do something. I think that give me more energy.”
Kim backed up his gesture by taking his first lead of the day with a birdie at 16. Thomas responded with a 4-foot birdie at 17 to send it to the final hole deadlocked.
Both Thomas and Kim hit their approaches to 10 feet. Kim putted first and canned it; Thomas missed on the low side. He dropped to 0-3 in singles in the Presidents Cup. — Schupak
International Team golfer Si Woo Kim (right) shushes the crowd during Sunday singles at the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Club. (Photo: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports)
Jordan Spieth (U.S.) def. Cam Davis (Intl.), 4 and 3
Jordan Spieth is winless in singles no more. The American rallied from a 2-down deficit through three holes to defeat Cam Davis, 4 and 3.
“I was more nervous than I probably should have been today just because I want to get that monkey off my back,” Spieth said.
Playing in his fourth Presidents Cup, Spieth hadn’t won in six combined singles matches between the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup.
“I had a great back nine,” said Spieth, who rattled off three straight birdies beginning at No. 11 to take control of the match. “When you go out early as I’ve done pretty much every team event on a Sunday, they’re looking for red on the board, and it feels good to finally provide that.”
It capped off a phenomenal week for Spieth, who had a perfect record of 5-0-0 and became the first player to do so since South Africa’s Branden Grace in 2015.
“He putted great,” Davis said of Spieth. “He kept his momentum early when he wasn’t playing great, and then I think he got a little comfortable when I started missing a few shots.” — Schupak
Team USA golfer Jordan Spieth lines up his chip shot on the second hole during the singles match play of the Presidents Cup golf tournament at Quail Hollow Club. (Photo: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports)
Hideki Matsuyama (Intl.) ties Sam Burns (U.S.)
American Sam Burns and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama dueled to a tie and a half point for each side.
Matsuyama took the early lead with a birdie at the second and stretched the lead to 2 up at the turn. That’s when Burns flipped the match in his favor, making three straight birdies beginning at No. 10 to assume the lead. Burns, however, made a double bogey at 15 to gift-wrap that hole to Matsuyama and the match was tied once more.
Matsuyama nearly stole a full point when his birdie chip at 18 crashed into the flagstick but didn’t drop. Burns had a chance for the win but missed his 23-foot birdie putt.
Burns had a record of 0-2-2 while Matsuyama went 1-3-1. — Schupak
Patrick Cantlay (U.S.) def. Adam Scott (Intl.), 3 and 2
Patrick Cantlay wasn’t going to lose twice in a row, and it showed early in his singles match against the veteran Adam Scott. The American held at least a 2-up lead from the third hole and on and put Scott to bed on the 16th hole, 3 and 2.
Scott won just two holes on Sunday and made more bogeys than birdies to bookend a week to forget that saw him go 2-3-0 in his record 10th appearance in the event. — Woodard
Sebastian Munoz (Intl.) def. Scottie Scheffler (U.S.), 2 and 1
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler held the advantage for most of the front nine before a three-hole swing on Nos. 8-10 saw Sebastian Munoz take control.
Both players drove the green and made eagle on the 325-yard par-4 11th and they also matched each other’s birdie-bogey-par efforts on holes 12-14 before Munoz pulled ahead, 2 up, with birdie on the 15th. Scheffler got one back when Munoz left the door open with bogey on the 16th, but ended the match on the next hole, 2 and 1, after a Scheffler concession.
In his Presidents Cup debut, the reigning Masters champion failed to win a match and went 0-3-1 while Munoz was an impressive 2-0-1. — Woodard
Tony Finau (U.S.) def. Taylor Pendrith (Intl.), 3 and 1
A real back-and-forth match here saw both players lead for at least six holes, with Tony Finau winning the first two before Pendrith won four of the next five to take a 2-up lead of his own.
Slowly but surely the American climbed back with wins on Nos. 9, 12 and 13 to take a 1-up that he never gave back. Consecutive birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 sealed the deal for the 3-and-1 victory and brought the Americans just one point away from victory. — Woodard
Team USA golfer Tony Finau celebrates making his putt on the first green during the singles match play of the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports)
Xander Schauffele (U.S.) def. Corey Conners (Intl.), 1 up
The deciding point came from a tightly-contested match between Corey Conners and Xander Schauffele.
Tied through the first five holes, consecutive wins gave Schauffele a 2-up lead that he extended to 3 up before he let Conners back into the fold. Looking for his country’s first point of the week, the Canadian won Nos. 12-14 to square the match before a bogey of his own gave the lead back to Schauffele on 15. The 16th was squared with birdies and Conners failed to take advantage of a Schauffele bogey on the 17th, which sent the match to the 18th, where par was good enough to decide the event. — Woodard
Sungjae Im (Intl.) def. Cameron Young (U.S.), 1 up
Cameron Young never led his match against Sungjae Im, who won the first three holes with par. Then it was Young’s turn as the young American claimed three of the next five to square the match just before the turn.
The pair went shot-for-shot aside from an Im birdie on the 12th, where he briefly took a 1-up lead before giving it up two holes later after a bogey on No. 15. A Young three-putt on the 17th gave the lead back to Im, which he turned into a 1-up win. — Woodard
K.H. Lee (Intl.) def. Billy Horschel (U.S.), 3 and 1
Billy Horschel’s national team debut didn’t quite go as planned as the 35-year-old went just 1-2-0 after a 3-and-1 loss to K.H. Lee. The South Korean was in control from the jump, winning the first two holes to take a lead that he never relinquished.
In fact, Horschel won just three holes and got as close as 1-down, but this one was never in doubt. — Woodard
Max Homa (U.S.) def. Tom Kim (Intl.), 1 up
Have a debut, Max Homa. The fan-favorite went undefeated at Quail Hollow and had to come back against one of the best players this week, 20-year-old South Korean rising star Tom Kim.
Kim got all the way to 3 up around the turn before Homa caught absolute fire on No. 12, winning four consecutive holes to flip the match by taking advantage of multiple missteps from Kim. Homa never gave it back and ended the week a perfect 4-0-0.
“Best week of golf I could ever imagine. It was very special just to be on this team and to contribute and to bond with the guys,” said Homa. “Some of the moments we’ve had together on the golf course and in the team room have been amazing. I feel very, very, very lucky to be on this team.”
— Woodard
Collin Morikawa (U.S.) def. Mito Pereira (Intl.), 3 and 2
Mito Pereira won just one hole in his match against Collin Morikawa, but it came just a little too late. The pair were tied through four holes before Morikawa made birdie on the par-4 5th, followed by an eagle on the par-5 7th and another birdie on the par-4 8th to take a 3-up lead to the back.
The two-time major champion then went 4 up with a birdie on the 10th before Pereira’s lone win on the 11th. The next five holes were tied as Morikawa did just what he needed to do to put yet another point on the board for the U.S.
“I haven’t won in a while. And just to kind of feel those nerves and kind of feel that energy, it was so exciting,” said Morikawa. “Those are the things we live for. I think every single one of us here on both teams loves that position that you’re in when you’re coming down the stretch or you need to make a putt to win a hole.”
Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Intl.) def. Kevin Kisner (U.S.), 2 and 1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout never let Kevin Kisner lead in this final match that didn’t see a birdie until the 6th hole (and only four more after that). Every time the American was able to square the match, Bezuidenhout was right there to respond and re-claim the lead.
Down the stretch the South African was nails, making birdie on Nos. 14 and 16 to take a 2-up lead which he carried to a 2-and-1 win. — Woodard
If the scene that unfolded Sunday on the first tee at Quail Hollow Club is any indication, Sammy Spieth is the next heir to the throne.
Shortly before beginning his Sunday singles match in the 2022 Presidents Cup against Cam Davis, Jordan Spieth walked out to big cheers from the home crowd as he walked over to his wife, Annie Spieth, and their son, Sammy.
Jordan grabbed his son and then turned him around and hoisted him to the crowd engulfing the first tee, bringing a loud cheer from the fans. Many quickly made the comparison to the movie “Lion King”, when Rafiki took Simba to the top of Pride Rock and held him up for all to see.
“It was fun to see him on the first tee,” Spieth told Golf Channel’s Steve Sands after his match. “That was super cool. He’s finally old enough to just be looking around and taking it all in and being interested in everything. He loves the ear muffs luckily because it has been loud out here.”
Spieth beat Cam Davis 4 and 3 in singles, becoming the first U.S. player to go 5-0-0 in Presidents Cup play since Jim Furyk in 2011.
Take a scroll through the Presidents Cup team uniforms of the past and present.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Since the event’s debut in 1994, golf fans have seen an array of Presidents Cup.
The Americans are usually donning some display of Red, White and Blue. The Internationals now have a set logo with black and gold colors thanks to Ernie Els’ efforts to create an identity for the team in 2019, but over the years the squad has been a bit more diverse and bold with its uniforms.
As the 2022 Presidents Cup continues on at Quail Hollow Club, take a scroll through some of the best (and worst) team uniforms in the competition’s 28-year history.
“We were in a deep hole,” International team Captain Trevor Immelman said, “and we dug deep.”
The putts started to drop for the International side, none bigger than the 10-foot birdie putt on 18 at Quail Hollow Club by Kim to beat the U.S. team of Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, and cut the deficit to 11-7 going into Sunday’s singles session.
“We got to refocus, and we’ve got a lot of pissed off guys that want to come out really strong tomorrow,” said Jordan Spieth.
“Guess I’d be one of those pissed off guys,” Schauffele, who was seated next to Spieth said.
Spieth and Thomas won the lone four-ball match of the afternoon session to stretch the U.S. lead to 11-4 before the International side captured the final three points up for grabs. It was shades of the 2012 Ryder Cup when Europe staged a furious rally on Saturday to set up a comeback dubbed the Miracle at Medinah – from four points behind. As if that isn’t enough of a coincidence, the U.S. captain that year was none other than Love.
“Four points is four points. It’s been a big number,” Love said. “I’ve been four behind before too, you know. We’ve been four ahead, four behind. We’ve watched the Solheim Cup be four ahead. So it’s a magical number.”
If the Internationals are to complete the biggest comeback in the event’s 28-year history and win on American soil for the first time, they’ll need to claim 8½ of the 12 points up for grabs.
Love has stacked his Sunday singles lineup with big names going out early: Justin Thomas in the leadoff spot followed by Jordan Spieth, Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
Speaking on Golf Channel’s Live From, Paul McGinley said, “it’s very important that they don’t leak any more oil. Then the pressure flips onto America in front of the home crowd. Every one of us thought here thought this was over yesterday.”
Despite playing on foreign soil and being outmanned and missing the likes of Cameron Smith, Immelman has molded a team that took his mantra of playing with freedom to heart. Immelman’s lineup is a bit more eclectic and surprisingly left the team’s Energizer Bunny, Kim, to the 10th match rather than send him out early to provide another spark.
“We have our system, and we try and run it,” Immelman explained. “If we’re 10 up or 10 down, we run our system, and we see what happens.”
I want it loud tomorrow Charlotte 🇺🇸 Bring the damn noise
Australian Adam Scott, who is competing in his 10th Presidents Cup, liked what he saw on Saturday. It was the future of a team that even if it doesn’t pull off an unlikely upset could be the core for years to come, including someday when he’ll be calling the shots. Saturday’s rally is a day that he’ll not soon forget.
“I think over the course of my career in this, there hasn’t been many times I’ve felt momentum going our way,” he said. “And today, we had the momentum. We certainly have it finishing this evening, and it will be great if we could keep it rolling tomorrow.”
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Two months ago, Tom Kim joined the PGA Tour as a special temporary member in a quest to earn his card for the 2022-23 season.
Last month, he claimed his first win on Tour at the 2022 Wyndham Championship and started to grow in popularity in the golf world, largely due to the origin of his name stemming from the TV show, Thomas the Tank Engine.
This week, the 20-year-old South Korean is hitting pure 2-irons under immense pressure, walking in clutch putts and providing some much-needed juice to an International team looking to make Presidents Cup history.
And you thought you had a good summer.
Kim has been praised all week long by his International teammates and captains for his youthful exuberance and talent, and on Saturday he was the catalyst for the change in momentum at Quail Hollow Club that saw the worldwide all-stars split the morning foursomes and earn their first win of the week in afternoon four-ball to bring the overall score to 11-7 in favor of the U.S.
“But when it comes to Tom Kim, you know, this young kid has burst onto the scene in the last six months, and it has been such a tremendous — he’s been such a tremendous gift to our sport,” captain Trevor Immelman said of his rising star. “He has an ability to be a global superstar, this kid. I know he has the game. We’ve seen he has the game. But what I’ve learned about personality and his heart and what he stands for this week, man, I am a huge fan.”
Kim was victorious in both sessions, first taking down the struggling American pairing of Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns in foursomes, 2 and 1, alongside K.H. Lee. He then teamed up with Si Woo Kim in the first match of the afternoon and took down the previously undefeated pairing of Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele after stuffing a 2-iron to 10 feet and burying the birdie putt on the final hole to win, 1 up.
Kim not only wanted that moment on the 18th green, but he was ready for it, celebration and all.
“I was already thinking in the back of my mind, ‘If this goes in, what am I going to do? How am I going to celebrate?'” he said with a smile. It’s a miracle he didn’t have a wardrobe malfunction, seeing as he’s already split his pants not once, but twice this week.
“I mean, in tournaments, I would never, ever shout this loud or go this crazy,” Kim explained. “But I’m just trying to bring some good energy to the team. You know, that’s all I can do. We’re behind a little bit. So I’m just trying to bring positive vibes and try to get the team going and just give momentum to the team.
“To beat a team like (Cantlay-Schauffele) today, I feel like tomorrow we’re going to have a lot of momentum going in.”
And the Internationals will need every bit of that momentum if they are to win on American soil for the first time and complete the comeback, which would be the largest in the event’s 28-year history.
“Job’s not done. We’ve got a job to do tomorrow,” Kim said of Sunday. “We’ve got a great group of guys, and we believe. I think that’s the biggest thing. No one really believed in us, but we believe in ourselves.
Kim takes the stage once again at 1:50 p.m. ET Sunday for his singles match against fan-favorite Max Homa. Talk about an encore.
The Internationals defeated the Americans, 3-1, after flipping two matches over the last three holes.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The momentum swayed back toward the Internationals on Saturday at the 2022 Presidents Cup, but Trevor Immelman’s squad still has a steep hill to climb.
After splitting the morning foursomes session at Quail Hollow Club, the worldwide all-stars won their first session of the week in the afternoon, mounting a pair of late comebacks in the first and last matches to swipe a 3-1 win and bring the overall score to 11-7.
Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, the lone American winners in the afternoon, remained unbeaten on the week after another impressive performance that failed to reach the 18th tee.
Here’s a breakdown of each Saturday four-ball match on Day 3 at the 2022 Presidents Cup.
