ÎLE BIZARD, Que. — It’s hard to lead a squad into what has quickly become a losing battle for the Internationals at the Presidents Cup. They’re the underdogs, but captain Mike Weir has embraced that characterization in 2024 with the competition on home soil.
And, well, every dog has its day.
“I think it's just a fact, just dealing with reality,” Weir said Tuesday during his introductory press conference at Royal Montreal and the start of this year’s Presidents Cup. “I think that's the thing for me, even as a player myself, trying to deal with reality and what's in front of you. No doubt, that's what's in front of us."
The American team — this year led by Jim Furyk — has won the last nine Presidents Cup competitions in a row, including in 2022 in North Carolina by a score of 17.5-12.5. Team USA also boasts the two best players in the world in Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele (in fact, the Americans have nine golfers in the top 20 in the world while the International side as two). Weir is not inaccurate in his assessment. In order for the International Team to emerge victorious on Sunday night, they’re going to need some big weeks from their gathered group.
A hurdle that the International side has to get over is the mixing of cultures and languages. Five countries make up Weir’s side, including three Canadians — a record number. In 2019, a friend of Ernie Els (whose friend was a Navy SEAL) came up with the ‘shield’ logo that the International squad now plays under. On site at Royal Montreal is a sea of black and gold — the International team colours — and Weir told Sportsnet.ca that it really felt “like its own country.” The team is united under one banner. There are, as well, eight members (out of 12) who are returning to the squad after playing together in 2022.
“There’s a lot of things we've implemented team-wise — just team dinners, guys playing practice rounds together, getting together with one another a lot more, that gap has shrunk quite a bit, and the guys really interact with each other a lot more,” Weir said. “It's different than the U.S. Team. It just is. We have, obviously, all these cultural differences. Not that they don't have differences, too, but ours is just some cultural things.
“It's gotten a lot better, and our guys have a great vibe going. I like where our team is at right now.”
Weir said that he’s leaned on some former Team Canada coaches or hockey executives with advice to his players about coming together, like Ken Hitchcock, Glen Sather, current St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong, and Jon Cooper, who will coach Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in 2025. Weir has tried to learn from them and implement those things into his team, including the ‘family’ aspect of a week like this.
“I think when you involve the kids, the wives, the team, and make it all feel like a big family, that was something I took away that seemed to be a common theme with all the coaches I talked to,” Weir said. “That's what we've tried to do.”
The trio of Canadians who are playing under Weir — Taylor Pendrith, Corey Conners, and Mackenzie Hughes — are all in the middle of a dream-come-true week, they’ve said. A Canadian Presidents Cup on Canadian soil under a Canadian captain? Come on now. The best. But Weir has made sure that the rest of his squad are taken care of, too. He’s got two South African assistant captains, an Australian, and a Japanese for the first time — mostly to help out with Hideki Matsuyama, the International side’s top-ranked golfer and who has never had a countryman on the team or involved in any capacity.
There’s an undeniable youthful energy from his team, too. Tom Kim of South Korea is just 22. At 20, he was the energetic spark plug to the International side in his debut in North Carolina. That juju hasn’t subsided this time around either. In front of Weir on the ninth green during a practice round, his teammate Min Woo Lee (who shaved ‘INT’ into the side of his hair this week) rolled in a long putt and Kim, after multiple double fist-pumps, gave Lee a chest bump.
“I think we're a lot stronger than we were two years ago. I just think it's an exciting week,” Kim said. “It's our home turf.”
Weir, who is likely hoping that they save some of that energy for Thursday’s opener, hasn’t told them about past defeats. They’ll hear about it enough.
But they’re not focused on anything that’s gone on in the past. Just, maybe, the future, and a trophy tilt on Sunday night.
“We've got a tall challenge, but the guys are up for it,” Weir said, “They're ready for it, and they're embracing that.”
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