Presidents Cup 2022: United States XII v International XII

One of sports' most one-sided events takes place in North Carolina this week.

In 13 previous meetings, the United States has come out on top in 11, while the International team has triumphed just once - back in 1998.

The other contest, held at Fancourt Country Club, South Africa in 2003, ended in a 17-17 tie.

All seven matches played on American soil have been won by the hosts, and it's hard to imagine the United States losing at home this week.

Another victory for the USA at Quail Hollow, on Sunday, would give them a ninth straight win in this biennial fixture.

And judging by the USA's winning margin over Europe, in last year's Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, it appears that the International dozen face one of the longest weeks of their lives.

The USA's 19-11 triumph at last year's Ryder Cup, was the widest-winning margin by any team, since Europe took over from Great Britain & Ireland 43 years ago.

Unlike the Ryder Cup, the Presidents Cup is played over four days, rather than three.

American golf is riding high at the moment and, despite the spate of defections to the new lucrative Middle East Tour, the focus this week is expected to be on the home team's likely-winning margin, rather than the visitors pulling-off a first-ever win on US soil.

A quick glance at the World Ranking shows that the current ranking average of the US team is 11.58, while the visitors are 48.92.

All 12 Americans are ranked inside the top 25, compared to three for the International team.

Latest betting for this week's Presidents Cup in North Carolina

Course Details

This year's venue, Quail Hollow, is a regular on the PGA Tour, having hosted 16 tournaments - including one major - every year from 2003 through to 2021.

The course did not stage the Wells Fargo Championship in 2022, because it was selected to host the Presidents Cup four month later.

This highly-regarded parkland course opened for business on June 3rd, 1961, since when it has welcomed one major tournament, plus almost 30 regular Tour events.

For 11 straight seasons from 1969, Quail Hollow staged the Kemper Open, with the course returning to the PGA Tour calendar in May 2003 - following an absence of 24 years.

Architect Tom Fazio has been involved in a number of Quail renovations, most recently in 2016.

This latest upgrade prepared the course for the 2017 PGA Championship which was won by Justin Thomas who plays this week.

The biggest structural change occurred nine years ago, when all 18 putting surfaces were changed from Bentgrass to Bermuda.

Quail Hollow, which was built 600 feet above sea level and six miles south of Charlotte city centre, is a testing tree-lined layout with water in play on six holes - most of these late in the round.

Matches staged on US soil

The USA has won all seven previous matches played on American soil, and here is the list of these results:

Year ... Score
`17: 19 - 11
`13: 18½ - 15½
`09: 19½ - 14½
`05: 18½ - 15½
`00: 21½ - 10½
`96: 16½ - 15½
`94: 20 - 12
Total: 133½ - 94½

Stroke Averages

Quail Hollow (2015-21)
Average .... (Rounds)
70.71: Justin Thomas (14)
70.80: Hideki Matsuyama (15)
71.38: Corey Conners (8)
71.72: Tony Finau (18)
71.75: Kevin Kisner (8)
72.00: Kyoung-Hoon Lee (8)
72.27: Adam Scott (11)
72.80: Xander Schauffele (10)
Min. No. of Rounds = 8

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MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut

Note: There was no tournament at Quail Hollow in either 2020 or 2022. The 2017 performances relate to the PGA Championship which was staged at Quail Hollow five years ago.