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Rediff.com  » Sports » Presidents Cup returning to Melbourne in 2019

Presidents Cup returning to Melbourne in 2019

Last updated on: October 10, 2015 12:31 IST
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Melbourne will host the 2019 edition of the Presidents Cup, as well as next year's World Cup of Golf, PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem announced on Saturday.

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem attends a news conference during the 2015 Presidents Cup golf tournament in Incheon, South Korea, on SaturdayThe biennial Presidents Cup, which pits the United States against a team of International golfers minus Europeans, returns to American soil in 2017 at Liberty National in New Jersey before moving to Melbourne two years later.

"The state of Victoria in Australia will serve as the host for the World Cup in 2016 and the Presidents Cup in 2019," Finchem said at a news conference.

"The venue for both events will be at one of the very many Melbourne premier golf courses in the sandbelt region. And we will be announcing a date in a few weeks.

"Both events will be in the November time frame as we have historically played these events in Australia."

The Presidents Cup has been played twice in Australia, both times at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club, with the Internationals recording their only win in the event there in 1998.

The United States got their revenge at the course in 2011.

World number two Jason Day said he was delighted the event would be played in his homeland in four years' time.

"Whether we play at Royal Melbourne or some other golf course, I just like playing that sort of golf, and being back in front of the home crowd will be fantastic," said Day, one of the four Australians competing at the 11th edition in South Korea.

Finchem said in a statement that the Presidents Cup had broken new ground this year by coming to Asia for the first time and that the response, not to mention the support from Korean President Park Geun-hye, had been "fantastic".

"It will spur the understanding that Korea can put on big-time golf events," he said. "We've had a very positive reaction from representatives in other Asian countries this week about President Park's involvement and what that means and the message it conveys, and what's great about golf.

"So it was new territory and it's worked out well. And Australia is different. Australia, we know the event, we know the events can be great from a presentation standpoint, there isn't any question; we've been there before."

The Presidents Cup was previously held at in Melbourne in 1998 and 2011, at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club (both Day and Scott were members of the 2011 International Team). Melbourne hosted the World Cup of Golf in 1959, 1972, 1988 and 2013.

In 2013, the event was a 72-hole stroke play tournament held at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club. Jason Day shot a final-round 70 to win the individual tournament, and he paired with Adam Scott to claim the team prize. In 2016, the World Cup will return to its original team format.

Both events will be played in the November timeframe in 2016 and 2019 on one of Melbourne's premier Sandbelt Golf Courses. The venue and exact dates will be announced at a later time.

Image: PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem attends a news conference during the 2015 Presidents Cup golf tournament in Incheon, South Korea, on Saturday.

Photograph: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

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