The Presidents Cup brings together some of the best golfers in the world for four days of match play, but its format looks considerably different from a normal PGA Tour tournament.
Instead of players competing individually for the lowest 72-hole score, the Presidents Cup pits a 12-player United States team against a 12-player International team. Players compete for points across four-ball, foursomes and singles matches, with the first team to reach the required point total winning the Cup.
Here is how the Presidents Cup format works, how points are awarded and what happens if the competition ends in a tie.
What Is the Presidents Cup?
The Presidents Cup is a biennial team competition between the United States and an International team consisting of players from countries outside the U.S. and Europe. European golfers are excluded because they compete against the United States in the Ryder Cup.
The competition debuted in 1994 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia and is generally played every two years. Each side has 12 players, with the event alternating between courses in the United States and international locations.
Unlike a traditional stroke-play tournament, a player’s total number of strokes for the week doesn’t matter. Every Presidents Cup match is played under match-play rules, meaning players or teams compete to win individual holes.
How Many Matches Are Played in the Presidents Cup?
The Presidents Cup features 30 matches over four days, with a total of 30 points available.
The first three days are devoted to team competition. There are nine four-ball matches and nine foursomes matches for a total of 18 team matches.
The event concludes Sunday with 12 singles matches, meaning every player on both teams competes head-to-head against an opponent.
The exact order of four-ball and foursomes can vary depending on which format is selected to begin the competition. Five matches are played Thursday, another five Friday and eight more Saturday across two sessions. All 12 singles matches take place Sunday.
What Is Four-Ball in the Presidents Cup?
Four-ball features two-player teams, but all four golfers in the match play their own ball throughout the hole.
Only the better score from each partnership counts.
For example, if one American player makes a 3 and his partner makes a 5, the team’s score for the hole is 3. If the International players make a 4 and 5, the United States wins the hole.
That format gives players more freedom to attack because a mistake doesn’t necessarily cost the team the hole. If one player is in trouble, his partner can still make birdie or par and keep the team alive.
Foursomes is commonly known as alternate shot, and the format puts a greater emphasis on teamwork.
Each two-player team uses only one ball. One golfer hits the tee shot, his partner hits the next shot and they continue alternating until the ball is holed.
Players also alternate who hits the opening tee shot depending on whether the hole is odd or even. That makes strategy important when captains construct their pairings, as certain players’ strengths may fit particular holes better than others.
Unlike four-ball, there is no second ball to provide insurance. One poor shot can immediately put both players in a difficult position.
How Does Presidents Cup Scoring Work?
Each of the 30 matches is worth one point.
Because the competition uses match play, the golfer or team that wins a hole goes 1-up. If the other side wins the next hole, the match returns to all square. The process continues until one side has a lead larger than the number of holes remaining.
A match that remains tied after 18 holes does not go to extra holes. Instead, each team receives half a point.
That differs from a typical PGA Tour tournament, where a playoff may be necessary to determine a winner.
With 30 total points available, a team needs 15.5 points to win the Presidents Cup outright.
The competition can also end without a winner. If the teams finish Sunday tied at 15-15, they share the Presidents Cup.
That rule has roots in the dramatic 2003 competition in South Africa. The teams were tied following singles, leading to a sudden-death playoff between Tiger Woods and Ernie Els. Darkness eventually forced the playoff to be called, and captains Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player agreed to share the Cup.
The competition has allowed for a 15-15 tie ever since rather than requiring a playoff to determine an overall winner.
How Are Presidents Cup Pairings Determined?
Captains don’t simply submit their complete lineups and compare them. Instead, the matchups are created through a selection process before each session.
The captains take turns announcing players and responding with pairings of their own. That creates an element of strategy because a captain can see part of the opposing lineup before deciding which players to send against it.
The process is repeated throughout the team sessions and again when the singles lineup is determined.
Captains also have to manage playing time. Every golfer must appear in at least one match before Sunday’s singles session, but players do not have to compete in every four-ball or foursomes session.
How Is the Presidents Cup Different From the Ryder Cup?
The basic match-play formats will look familiar to anyone who watches the Ryder Cup, but the biggest difference is the teams involved.
The Ryder Cup features the United States against Europe. The Presidents Cup features the United States against an International team made up of eligible players from outside Europe.
The Presidents Cup also features more matches. There are 30 points available compared with 28 in the Ryder Cup, creating additional opportunities for players to compete before Sunday’s singles session.
The 2026 Presidents Cup will Start Thursday at 12:35 p.m. ET.
How Does the Presidents Cup Work? Rules, Format & Scoring Explained