Masters champion Spieth advances in The Presidents Cup 2015 U.S. Team standings, International Team taking shape
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. – With the first major championship of the season in the books and a host of big events on the horizon, the U.S. and International Teams are starting to take shape for The Presidents Cup 2015 event being held in Asia for the first time, Oct. 6-11 at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Songdo IBD, Incheon City, South Korea. Among the most impressive moves in the team standings has been Masters champion Jordan Spieth, who first played The Presidents Cup in 2013, making the U.S. Team as a captain’s pick and becoming the first rookie to compete in the biennial event for the U.S Team.
There’s little need for a captain’s pick this time around. Spieth began the 2014-15 season ranked No. 7 in the U.S. Team standings, but he has posted seven top-10 finishes thus far, including wins at the Valspar Championship and his first major championship win at the Masters on Sunday. He’s now No. 1 and assured of a spot on Jay Haas’ team come October.
His impressive victory at Augusta National Golf Club made Spieth (21 years, 8 months, 16 days) the second-youngest winner of the green jacket in the tournament’s 79-year history, behind Tiger Woods (21 years, 3 months, 14 days). His 18-under-par 270 total matched Woods’ record-setting 1997 performance. The win moved Spieth to No. 1 in the FedExCup standings for the first time in his career.
U.S. Team hopeful Kevin Na, who was born in South Korea, is at No. 15 in the U.S. Team standings, buoyed by seven top-25 finishes this season, including a T12 at the Masters Tournament last week.
| U.S. Team Ranking | Player | Finish at the Masters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordan Spieth | Win |
| 2 | Jimmy Walker | T38 |
| 3 | J.B. Holmes | MC |
| 4 | Patrick Reed | T2 |
| 5 | Bubba Watson | T38 |
| 6 | Dustin Johnson | T6 |
| 7 | Charley Hoffman | T9 |
| 8 | Ryan Moore | T12 |
| 9 | Robert Streb | MC |
| 10 | Brandt Snedeke | MC |
Climbing the International Team standings is Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama who is currently ranked No. 3. Matsuyama finished fifth at the Masters this past Sunday behind Spieth, Phil Mickelson (T2), Justin Rose (T2) and Rory McIlroy (4th). No stranger to majors, Matsuyama finished T10 at the U.S. Open and T6 at The Open Championship last year, both marked as the best finishes by a rookie at each event. Like Spieth, Matsuyama made his first appearance at The Presidents Cup in 2013.
| Int’l Team Ranking | Player | Finish at the Masters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Day | T28 |
| 2 | Adam Scott | T38 |
| 3 | Hideki Matsuyama | 5 |
| 4 | Louis Oosthuizen | T19 |
| 5 | Anirban Lahiri | T49 |
| 6 | Charl Schwartzel | T38 |
| 7 | Branden Grace | MC |
| 8 | Thongchai Jaidee | 55 |
| 9 | Marc Leishman | WD |
| 10 | Tim Clark | DNP |
Presidents Cup veterans Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Tiger Woods also made an appearance at the Masters last week. Mickelson, who has played in all ten playings of The Presidents Cup, finished T2 at the Masters alongside Justin Rose and moves up in the U.S. Team standings from 47th to 34th. Mickelson will need to continue these types of performances to qualify for The Presidents Cup in October. Woods, who took a brief hiatus to work through a back injury, returned to the Masters and finished T17 after showing signs of returning to top form at different times during the week. All eyes will continue to be on Woods’ future performances to see if he can return to the form that led to his impressive 24-15-1 record at The Presidents Cup and either qualify for the team outright or make him a potential Captain’s pick for Jay Haas. Els, who sits just outside of the top 10, is currently ranked 16 in the International Team standings. Els has competed in an impressive 40 total matches, just outside of the 47 that Phil has played, and has won 20 of those for the International Team.
The U.S. Presidents Cup Team comprises the top-10 U.S. players who earn the most FedExCup points from September 13, 2013, through September 7, 2015, with points earned in 2015 doubled, plus two captain’s selections. The International Team consists of the top-10 international players from the Official World Golf Ranking as of September 7, 2015, plus two captain’s selections.
Tickets to The Presidents Cup 2015 are now on sale at 2015presidentscup.com. Weekly and daily grounds tickets are being sold as well as weekly Captains’ Club VIP tickets. Tickets are limited to this once-in-a-lifetime event, and prices will increase June 1 and again as the event approaches. Those who purchase early will save and be guaranteed a place in Korean sports history.
About The Presidents Cup
The Presidents Cup, a team match play competition featuring 24 of the world’s top golfers – 12 from the United States and 12 from around the world, excluding Europe – is held every two years, and since 1996 has alternated between United States and international venues. The Presidents Cup was developed to give the world’s best non-European players an opportunity to compete in international team match-play competition. The U.S. Team has won eight of the 10 previous Presidents Cups, and the only win by the International Team came at the 1998 event in Melbourne. The Presidents Cup 2003 ended in a tie.
The Presidents Cup 2015 will be held Oct. 6-11 when the biennial competition makes its first trip to Asia. Nick Price and Jay Haas will serve as captains of the International and U.S. Teams, respectively. Korea’s K.J. Choi was named the first vice-captain in Presidents Cup history and will help Price lead the International Team in front of what is sure to be a supportive “home” crowd.
Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea will be the fourth international venue to host The Presidents Cup, joining The Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (1998, 2011); The Links at Fancourt, George, South Africa (2003); and The Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (2007). The event is projected to be broadcast in 225 countries and territories, reaching more than 1 billion homes in 30 different languages around the world.
The Presidents Cup is a unique golf event in that there is no purse or prize money; instead, each player, captain and captain’s assistant allocates an equal portion of the funds generated to charities of his choice. Since the inception of The Presidents Cup in 1994, more than $32 million has been raised for charity from event proceeds, including more than $5 million from The Presidents Cup 2013. Over the past 20 years, The Presidents Cup has benefited more than 450 charities in 15 countries worldwide and 35 states in the U.S.
Citi and Rolex are the exclusive Global Partners of The Presidents Cup.
For updates on The Presidents Cup, check www.presidentscup.com, join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thepresidentscup and sign up for The Presidents Cup e-newsletter.
About Incheon Metropolitan City
Uniting the community, Bringing Incheon to the world
Incheon is rapidly becoming one of the most prominent cities in Northeast Asia, as well as one of the best cities in which to live. Incheon has been trading with foreign countries since the Three Kingdoms Period, and in 1883 was the first city in Korea to accept Western culture. Throughout its history, Incheon has been at the center of Korea’s modernization. Today, more than 2.9 million people live in its 10 districts, called ‘gus’ and ‘guns,’ as well as on the more than 150 beautiful islands of Ganghwa-gun and Ongjin-gun. Incheon is now one of the three major cities of Korea.
About Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea
At 7,413 yards (6,773 meters) from the tournament tees, the par 72 Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea is the first and only golf club in Korea to carry the name of the Golden Bear himself. Its dramatic park land, links and rock formation styles are in perfect harmony with the panoramic views of Incheon Bay and the skyline of the Songdo International Business District. Crafted by the hand of master himself, the Jack Nicklaus design features unique fairway routings, a variety of tee locations, and greens protected by strategically located bunkers and hazards that provide a special challenge to golfers of all levels. In 2010 and 2011 the course hosted the PGA Champions Tour Songdo Championship event. The Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea is proud to have been selected as the host venue for The Presidents Cup in 2015, the first time the event will be contested in Asia. For more information visit: www.jacknicklausgolfclubkorea.com.
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