Can the Presidents Cup end in a tie?

Can the Presidents Cup end in a tie?

The short answer: Yes.

If the matches were to end in a 15-15 tie, both teams would “share” the cup.

This is one way in which the Presidents Cup differs from the Ryder Cup, where in the event of a tie, the team that currently holds the cup retains it.

At the Presidents Cup, a tie really is a tie, with both teams sharing the cup for two years.

There has in fact been one tie in the history of the biennial matches, which began in 1994 and which the U.S. has dominated, leading the series 12-1-1. That tie, though, at the 2003 Presidents Cup at The Links at Fancourt Hotel and Country Club Estate in George, South Africa, was the result of very different circumstances.

Back then there were a total of 34 points up for grabs, and the U.S. and International teams wound up tied 17-17, which necessitated a playoff. U.S. Captain Jack Nicklaus selected world No. 1 Tiger Woods to represent the U.S side; International Team Captain Gary Player chose world No. 2 Ernie Els. Woods had defeated Els earlier in the day in Singles, 4 and 3.

The playoff, though, was different. With both teams living and dying with every shot in the fading light, Woods and Els traded blows and were still tied after the third playoff hole, on which Woods made a 15-footer for par and Els made a 6-footer to tie him.

With darkness precluding a fourth extra hole, Nicklaus and Player huddled up and elected to call it a tie, with each side sharing the cup for the first and only time.