What if Lydia Ko hadn't boarded a plane bound for South Korea immediately after winning the Kroger Queen City Championship and instead headed north of the border to Montreal for the 2024 Presidents Cup?
It's been talked about for years, this idea of making the Presidents Cup – a lopsided affair that tilts toward the Americans – into a mixed event.
Wouldn't it be something to see Ko team up again with Australia's Jason Day, as they did in the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational last December? Ko and Day, of course, won that event at Tiburon Golf Club, a spark that spurred Ko on to a magical 2024.
Ko, who got into the LPGA Hall of Fame this summer after winning Olympic gold in Paris, isn't eligible for a Solheim Cup, and New Zealand doesn't have enough good players to qualify for the LPGA's International Crown.
It's a shame to have one of the game's biggest stars shut out of these team events.
The U.S. has won every edition of the Presidents Cup since 1994, with the exception of 1998 when the Americans lost, and in 2003, when the two teams tied. Two-time U.S. captain Stacy Lewis brought up the idea of making the Presidents Cup a mixed event earlier this month at the Solheim Cup.
"It's the perfect way to blend the two tours," she said. "The international team will get better very quickly."
Indeed, if the International team included women, there would be six players ranked in the top eight in the world added to the roster. That's seven more top-10 players than are currently on the men's International team.
In Naples, Florida, last year at the Grant Thornton, Billy Horschel told Golfweek that a bigger team a competition that involves men and women would be a home run for golf.
“If it’s not being talked about, then I don’t know," said Horschel, "maybe we need to change the people in the positions and get some more innovative thinkers in there.”
Of course, if the LPGA gets involved in the Presidents Cup, that takes away opportunities for the men as well as revenue, since the tours would have to share the pie.
One has to wonder, though, how much longer the PGA Tour thinks this event can go on as is and be relevant. A more competitive cup would go a long way toward growing the game both at home and internationally, which should be at the heart of this competition's mission.
Not to mention the fact that the top two players on both tours right now are Americans. A Scottie Scheffler/Nelly Korda pairing seems too good to pass on.
Here’s what this week could look like if some forward-thinking officials wanted to give fans a real treat. Note: These teams were created off OWGR and Rolex Rankings and do not include captain's picks, though those should certainly be part of the selection process. (It also includes LIV Golf player Bryson DeChambeau.)
Rolex Ranking: 1LPGA titles: 14Team appearances: Solheim Cup (2019, 2021, 2023, 2024) International Crown (2023)
OWGR: 1PGA Tour titles: 13Team appearances: Ryder Cup (2021, 2023) Presidents Cup (2022, 2024)
Rolex Ranking: 2LPGA titles: 5Team appearances: Solheim Cup (2023, 2024) International Crown (2023)
OWGR: 2PGA Tour titles: 9Team appearances: Ryder Cup (2021, 2023) Presidents Cup (2019, 2022, 2024)
OWGR: 4PGA Tour titles: 6Team appearances: Ryder Cup (2021, 2023) Presidents Cup (2022, 2024)
OWGR: 6PGA Tour titles: 3Team appearances: Ryder Cup (2023) Presidents Cup (2024)
OWGR: 9PGA Tour titles: 8Team appearances: Ryder Cup (2021, 2023) Presidents Cup (2019, 2022, 2024)
Rolex Ranking: 10LPGA titles: 2Team appearances: Solheim Cup (2023, 2024)
OWGR: 10PGA Tour titles: 9Team appearances: Ryder Cup (2018, 2021) Presidents Cup (2019)
Rolex Ranking: 15LPGA titles: 2Team appearances: Solheim Cup (2024)
Rolex Ranking: 18LPGA titles: 3Team appearances: Solheim Cup (2019, 2021, 2023, 2024)
Rolex Ranking: 20LPGA titles: 1Team appearances: Solheim Cup (2019, 2021, 2023, 2024)
Rolex Ranking: 3LPGA titles: 22
Rolex Ranking: 4LPGA titles: 3Team appearances: International Crown (2023)
Rolex Ranking: 5LPGA titles: 15Team appearances: International Crown (2023)
Rolex Ranking: 6LPGA titles: 6Team appearances: International Crown (2016)
Rolex Ranking: 7LPGA titles: 5Team appearances: International Crown (2023)
OWGR: 7PGA Tour titles: 10Team appearances: Presidents Cup (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2024)
Rolex Ranking: 8LPGA titles: 2Team appearances: International Crown (2023)
OWGR: 18PGA Tour titles: 14Team appearances: Presidents Cup (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2024)
OWGR: 21PGA Tour titles: 2Team appearances: Presidents Cup (2019, 2022, 2024)
OWGR: 24PGA Tour titles: 3Team appearances: Presidents Cup (2022, 2024)
OWGR: 33PGA Tour titles: 13Team appearances: Presidents Cup (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2024)
OWGR: 34PGA Tour titles: 0Team appearances: Presidents Cup (2019, 2024)
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Here's what Presidents Cup teams could look like if the best women in the world were added
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