[PHOTO: Gregory Shamus]
US Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis felt the game missed a chance to promote itself with the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup being held in the same year in 2023. Her next big suggestion for the two tours to grow the game is to make the Presidents Cup a blended event.
“I’d love to see the Presidents Cup become mixed,” Lewis said. “It’s the perfect way to blend the two tours. The international team will get better very quickly.”
The International team would get a huge talent upgrade if the event became mixed, adding world Nos.3 to 8 in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings, led by 2024 Olympic gold medallist Lydia Ko. The International team has only world No.7 Hideki Matsuyama in the top 10 in the current (although admittedly skewed) Official World Golf Ranking.
Since the President’s Cup started in 1994, the US overwhelmingly leads the competition 12-1-1. The International side has been competitive in recent years, losing a pair of close contests of 15½-14½ in 2015 and 16-14 in 2019. Heading into the 15th President’s Cup at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Quebec, Canada, from September 26, the Internationals are vying for their first victory since 1998.
There has been momentum building towards more mixed events in recent years. The Grant Thornton Invitational was the first time the two tours had a mixed event for the first time since the 1999 JC Penney Classic. In March, the Associated Press reported that the Olympics are close to adding a mixed-team event for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
Lewis started advocating for a mixed matchplay team event a decade ago. In 2014, Lewis told the BBC that she’d enjoy a mixed Ryder Cup, enjoying the possibility of playing with Rickie Fowler or Jordan Spieth as a matchplay partner.
“Anything like that would help sell our sport,” Lewis said. “I’d be a huge fan. I’d be all over it and love to play.”
