2024 Presidents Cup format, schedule: Teams, scoring, rules, TV coverage, where to watch online, dates

The 15th playing of the Presidents Cup continues this week at the Royal Montreal Golf Club as the United States seeks to continue its dominance over the International team in Canada. Coming into this year’s competition with an overall record of 12-1-1 and a nine-match win streak under its belt, the visiting side appears keen to achieve more of the same in the Great White North.

That’s how the Presidents Cup has started, at least, with the Americans achieving just one of seven full-round sweeps in Presidents Cup history through the first day. The United States opened a nearly insurmountable 5-0 lead on Thursday, but just 24 hours later, the Internationals answered in kind with an identical 5-0 sweep to even the proceedings. There are 20 matches left to play — eight on Saturday, 12 on Sunday — so the Presidents Cup is still completely up for grabs.

While the U.S. lauds a lengthy win streak and brings players like world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and world No. 2 Xander Schauffele to the table, road affairs have become inherently more difficult in recent years. After skirting past the International team in South Korea, the U.S. trailed heading into the last day of the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne before mounting a memorable comeback in Sunday singles.

The red, white and blue will hope it won’t get to that point; it not only brings the top two players in the world to Canada but also major champions like Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Keegan Bradley and Brian Harman as well as Presidents Cup rookies Russell Henley and Sahith Theegala.

The Internationals, meanwhile, possess firepower of their own with stalwarts such as Adam Scott, who will play in his 11th straight Presidents Cup hoping this one will be the first of the winning variety. He is joined by familiar faces such as Hideki Matsuyama, off a stellar 2024 season, as well as Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim, both of whom hold winning records in this competition.

There are players like Tom Kim, Min Woo Lee and Jason Day, who are expected to make major contributions for the home side, but the X-factors are the three Canadians captain Mike Weir selected to be on his squad. Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners look to avenge a poor debut at Quail Hollow in 2022, and they are joined by their fellow countryman Mackenzie Hughes who is set to make his debut in his home country.

Keep track of how to watch the event with our 2024 Presidents Cup TV schedule and coverage guide. Below is a complete preview of the Presidents Cup from the event’s format and rules to the scoring process, teams and complete schedule of events.

2024 Presidents Cup format, rules

Unlike the Ryder Cup, which jams four sessions into the first two days of competition, the Presidents Cup begins with one session on Thursday and one session on Friday before ramping up play over the weekend. Golfers from the United States and the International Teams will compete in four-ball (best ball) on Thursday as selected by the home captain. On Friday, the teams will transition to foursomes (alternate shot). The busiest day comes on Saturday as a morning session of four-ball will be followed by an afternoon session of foursomes, setting the table for Sunday, which will consist of 12 one-on-one singles matches.

Below we break down each type of match you will see this week.

Four-ball: Two-man teams representing each side square off against one another. Each of the four golfers plays their own ball, and the lowest score between the two players for each team counts for the hole. The two scores not chosen get thrown out.

Foursomes: Two-man teams representing each side square off against one another. However, the golfers must alternate hitting the same ball until it is holed. For example: If Player A hits the tee shot on No. 1, that means he will hit all the tee shots on odd-numbered holes and approach shots on even-numbered holes. Player B will tee off on all the even-numbered holes and hit approach shots on odd-numbered holes. There is more strategy involved here, as the player teeing off on the odd holes will strike the tee shots on all four par 3s and the second shots into both par 5s at Royal Montreal.

Singles: Only played in Sunday’s final round. Singles consist of 12 one-on-one matches played over the course of the day.

2024 Presidents Cup scoring

Event: Each match is worth 1 point. Matches ending in a tie result in each side receiving 0.5 points. The first team to reach 15.5 points over the three days of play wins the Presidents Cup. If the 30 matches end in a 15-15 tie, both teams will share the Presidents Cup.

Matches: Each hole is scored independently with the lowest score winning. If both teams or players have the same score on a hole, the hole is considered tied with no advantage awarded.

As the teams or players advance through the round, points can be accrued or subtracted from the match total. For example: If Team/Player A wins the first two holes, they would hold a 2 UP lead. If Team/Player B then wins the third hole, Team/Player A’s lead reduces to 1 UP.

Matches can end early if the winning team or player has a larger lead than there are holes left to play. For example: If Team A is 4 UP with three holes remaining, it wins the match 4&3.

Concessions: Unlike stroke-play golf, teams or players do not need to complete each hole. Strokes (usually putts) may be conceded through sportsmanship if they are deemed highly makable or if attempting the stroke will not result in winning or tying the hole.

2024 Presidents Cup teams

Automatic qualifiers

Captain’s picks

2024 Presidents Cup schedule

All times Eastern

Thursday, Sept. 26

Round 1 (four-ball): 11:35 a.m.

Live TV coverage: 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Golf Channel
Live stream: 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on fubo (Try for free)

Friday, Sept. 27

Round 2 (foursomes): 1:05 p.m.

Live TV coverage: 1-6 p.m. on Golf Channel
Live stream: 1-6 p.m. on fubo (Try for free)

Saturday, Sept. 28

Round 3 (four-ball): 7:02 a.m.
Round 4 (foursomes): 6:25 a.m.

Live TV coverage: 7-8 a.m. on Golf Channel | 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on NBC
Live stream: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on fubo (Try for free)

Sunday, Sept. 29

Round 5 (singles): 12:02 p.m.

Live TV coverage: 12-6 p.m. on NBC
Live stream: 12-6 p.m. on fubo (Try for free)