Format and schedule of the Presidents Cup 2024: teams, standings, rules, dates, TV broadcast, where to watch online

The 15th edition of the Presidents Cup takes place this week at the Royal Montreal Golf Club, with the United States looking to continue its dominance over the international team in Canada. The visiting team, which enters this year's competition with an overall record of 12-1-1 and a nine-match winning streak, appears eager for more of the same up north.

While the U.S. has a long winning streak and features players like world number one Scottie Scheffler and world number two Xander Schauffele, away matches have become inherently more difficult in recent years. After narrowly edging past the international team in Korea, the U.S. trailed on the final day of the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne before making a memorable comeback in singles on Sunday.

The red-white-blues hope that it will not come to that; after all, not only the two best players in the world are coming to Canada, but also great champions such as Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Keegan Bradley and Brian Harman as well as Presidents Cup newcomers Russell Henley and Sahith Theegala.

The Internationals, meanwhile, have their own firepower with heavyweights like Adam Scott, who is making his 11th consecutive Presidents Cup appearance and will be hoping to make it his first win. He will be joined by familiar faces like Hideki Matsuyama, who had a stellar season in 2024, and Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim, who both set winning records in the competition.

There are players like Tom Kim, Min Woo Lee and Jason Day who are expected to make big contributions for the home team, but the X-factors are the three Canadians that captain Mike Weir has named to his squad. Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners will be looking to avenge their poor debut at Quail Hollow in 2022, and they will be joined by fellow Canadian Mackenzie Hughes, who will be making his debut in his home country.

Follow the event with our TV schedule and coverage of the Presidents Cup 2024. Below you'll find a complete preview of the Presidents Cup, from the event format and rules to the scoring system, teams and full event schedule.

Format and rules of the Presidents Cup 2024

Unlike the Ryder Cup, which has four sessions over the first two days of competition, the Presidents Cup begins with a session on Thursday and a session on Friday before play picks up over the weekend. Golfers from the United States and the international teams compete in four-ball (best ball) on Thursday, as selected by the home team captain. On Friday, the teams switch to foursomes (alternate shot). The busiest day is Saturday, as a four-ball session in the morning is followed by a foursomes session in the afternoon, setting the stage for Sunday, which consists of 12 one-on-one singles matches.

Below is a breakdown of all the game types you'll see this week.

Fourball: Teams of two, representing each side, compete against each other. Each of the four golfers plays his own ball and the lowest score of the two players on each team counts for the hole. The two unselected scores are discarded.

Four: Teams of two, representing each side, compete against each other, but golfers must take turns hitting the same ball until it is holed. For example, if Player A tees off on No. 1, this means he hits all tees on odd holes and approach shots on even holes. Player B tees off on all even holes and hits approach shots on odd holes. More strategy is required here, as the player teeing off on the odd holes will be taking the tee shots on all four par 3s and the second shots on both par 5s at Royal Montreal.

Single: Played only in the final round on Sunday. Singles consists of 12 one-on-one matches played throughout the day.

Ranking at the Presidents Cup 2024

Event: Each game is worth 1 point. In the event of a tie, each team receives 0.5 points. The first team to reach 15.5 points over the three match days wins the Presidents Cup. If the 30 games end in a 15-15 tie, both teams share the Presidents Cup.

Matches: Each hole is scored independently, with the team with the lowest score winning. If both teams or players have the same score on a hole, the hole is considered a tie, with no advantage granted.

As teams or players progress through the round, points may be added or subtracted from the overall score of the game. Example: If Team/Player A wins the first two holes, they will have a lead of 2 UP. If Team/Player B then wins the third hole, Team/Player A's lead will be reduced to 1 UP.

Games may be ended early if the winning team or player's lead is greater than the number of holes remaining to be played. Example: If Team A is 4 UP and there are three holes remaining, they win the game 4&3.

Discounts: Unlike stroke play, teams or players are not required to complete every hole. Strokes (usually putts) may be allowed on sporting grounds if they are considered very feasible or if attempting the stroke will not result in winning or tying the hole.

The 2024 Presidents Cup teams

Automatic qualifiers

The captain’s recommendations

Schedule for the Presidents Cup 2024

All times Eastern

Thursday, September 26

Round 1 (Fourball): 11:35 am

Live TV broadcast: 11:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on the Golf Channel
Live stream: 11:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on fubo (free trial)

Friday, September 27

Round 2 (foursome): 13:05

Live TV broadcast: 1pm-6pm on the Golf Channel
Live stream: 1pm-6pm on fubo (try for free)

Saturday, September 28

Round 3 (Fourball): 7:02 am
Round 4 (foursome): 6:25 am

Live TV broadcast: 7-8 a.m. on Golf Channel | 8 a.m.-6 p.m. on NBC
Live stream: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on fubo (try for free)

Sunday, September 29

Round 5 (Singles): 12:02 pm

Live TV broadcast: 12pm-6pm on NBC
Live stream: 12pm-6pm on fubo (try for free)