Presidents Cup reduces number of matches to try to keep event close

The Wyndham Championship was Kaymer’s 13th event and he needed 15 to meet his PGA TOUR membership requirement.

Davis Love III fired a closing round of 64 to take a one-shot victory at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday.

“Those 22 points in the (Presidents Cup) team matches make it very easy for one team to get so far ahead that it takes all the excitement out of the Sunday singles”.

Kaymer will be able to play a maximum of 12 events as a non-member.

The Presidents Cup began in 1994 with 32 matches and went to 34 matches in 2003.

“After careful consideration of all the viewpoints and closely examining the history of the matches, I feel strongly that the changes we are implementing will strike a balance between maintaining the unique makeup of The Presidents Cup – which is important to the players, fans, sponsors and partners – and the competitive environment for both teams”, Finchem said.

The Presidents Cup was created to give global players from outside Europe a chance to compete in a team event made popular by the Ryder Cup. The other was a draw in South Africa. “I don’t think the Ryder Cup would have been as successful if they had had the Presidents Cup format. That’s a big deal”. For the 2007 matches at Royal Montreal, the worldwide team had nine of the top 20 in the world, compared with five of the top 20 for the Americans.

The tour also agreed to let the home team’s captain determine the order of the format. Starting in 2015, the host team captain will decide whether to start the Presidents Cup with foursomes or fourballs. In previous years, singles’ matches went to extra holes until a victor was decided if the overall event victor had yet to be determined. The last four times, that hasn’t been an issue.