The Presidents Cup is set to start this Thursday as a team of the world's best non-European international players take on America's best golfers at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio.
The biennial tournament is played under different formats, with Thursday featuring alternative shot play, Friday best ball play, Saturday both formats, and Sunday is singles competition. All 12 players for each team play on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday with two golfers sitting out Saturday's session.
The event began in 1994, played in similar match-style fashion as the Ryder Cup, with the International team having just won just one time, 14 years ago, since the inception of the tournament.
"It's not a question of beating the Americans. It's a question of winning the cup," said International team captain Nick Price. "I think that's something that's really important to the International team. We've had a tough time. So what I'm trying to figure out is how do we turn the tide?"
Price's (Zimbabwe) team will consist of Angel Cabrera (Argentina), Jason Day (Australia), Brendon de Jonge (Zimbabwe), Graham DeLaet (Canada), Ernie Els (South Africa), Branden Grace (South Africa), Marc Leishman (Australia), Hideki Matsyama (Japan), Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa), Charl Schwartzel (South Africa), Adam Scott (Australia), and Richard Sterne (South Africa).
Tiger Woods, who had emphasized rest as key for his preparation for the Presidents Cup even as the PGA Tour Championship was winding down last week, has stayed in constant contact with U.S. team captain Fred Couples to discuss potential playing partners for the tournament.
"Freddy's been blowing up my phone with some options and what he thinks for some of the pairings," said Woods last week after finishing up his final round at the PGA Tour Championship last week. "We've got some options going into it. We're going to get together with (assistant captains) Jay (Haas) and Davis (Love III) and figure things out, what we need to do."
Couple's team will consist of Woods, Keegan Bradley, Jason Dufner, Bill Haas, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Phil Mickelson, Webb Simpson, Brandt Snedeker, Jordan Spieth, and Steve Stricker.