Does anybody beat Adam Scott 10 times in a row at the Presidents Cup?

Some days, there is no way to tell what Adam Scott is really thinking, and if you ask him, you might not get the most expansive answer anyway.

Scott has never been wired that way. Instead, you try to look for visual cues as to how one of the coolest athletes on the planetmight actually be feeling. The eyes are usually the best clue, but they’re perpetually wrapped in sunglasses.

But at one crushing press conference at the end of the Presidents Cup in Melbourne in 2019, his emotions were laid bare.

On the end of the preposterously long podium, Scott sat towards one end, and the dejection was written all over his face. The International team had lost to the United States (again), but only after holding a significant lead heading into the Sunday singles.

Scott was blown away in his own match by Xander Schauffele, and the red, blue and white tidal wave, started by Tiger Woods, swept to another win, one which seemed unlikely all week.

“I remember walking with him a few times, and he was getting down a little bit in the [singles] match,” International captain Mike Weir says. “I was trying to keep his energy high and keep him optimistic he could come back. I knew how much it meant to him.

Adam Scott will be playing his 11th Presidents Cup.Credit: AP

“As a friend and former player, I tried to be there for him to help get over the line. Sometimes, you don’t in this game. Yet, I just knew it meant a lot to him playing at home. The matches were so close.”

But that’s been problem with the Presidents Cup, it’s never usually close.

Since Scott debuted for the International side in 2003, the famous tied event which ended after a handshake in South African darkness with Tiger Woods and Ernie Els splitting three play-off holes, nothing has been close. The United States have wobbled and looked weary at stages, but have still won every one. No one has carried the burden more than Scott, 44, who will make his 11th appearance in Montreal next week and might not be around for the next one in Australia, at Kingston Heath in 2028.

The biennial question is, given how lopsided the ledger has been, is there any point persisting with an alternative to the Ryder Cup for non-Europeans?

Min Woo Lee will make his Presidents Cup debut in Montreal.Credit: Getty Images

Just don’t tell those still involved. Even this week, American captain and usually mild-mannered Jim Furyk told a reporter from Golfweek to “go f— yourself” after being asked whether it would be good for the concept if, say, the United States actually lost for once.

“You’d say the law of averages is going to happen sooner rather than later,” shrugs Weir, who has Canadians Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes and Taylor Pendrith in his 12-man International team to whip up crowd support. “We’ve been so close before, and I’m certainly hoping the fans get behind us. We’ve got a lot of guys playing really well at the moment.”

Chief among them is Scott, who is having his best year in recent memory despite not winning a top tour event in the post-COVID era. He will be joined by Australians Jason Day, an automatic selection having finished in the top six International players, and captain’s pick Min Woo Lee, making his Presidents Cup debut.

Unashamedly, Weir knows Lee’s showmanship and ability to energise a crowd will be just as important as his serious game. He leans on an ice hockey analogy to prove his point. The last time the Presidents Cup was in Montreal, the crowds, in Weir’s mind, were very respectful of Woods and his star-studded teammates. He wants the US to feel like they’re on away ice. He wants them to hear about every bad miss or International success.

Whether he pairs veterans Scott and Day together in any of the fourball or foursomes components remains to be seen, but he hinted Lee could be with one of his compatriots.

Young stars like Lee have come and gone for the Internationals over the past two decades. There’s been two constants: Scott and defeat.

“You couldn’t ask for a better quality person to be leading our team into this Cup,” Weir says of Scott, whose individual record is a creditable 18 wins, 25 losses and six ties. “He has the respect of all the other players. He’s a voice in the room. The guys really look to him for support and advice and that leadership. The captain of the hockey team wears the ‘C’ on the jersey, and he’s our internal captain.”

So, does anybody really beat Adam Scott 10 Presidents Cups in a row?

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