Presidents Cup 2019: Teams, Dates, TV Schedule, Format and More

The 2019 Presidents Cup begins on Thursday, when the United States face an international collective featuring the rest of the world's best golfers from outside of Europe.

Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia will host the 13th edition of the four-day biennial tournament, and Tiger Woods will lead the USA team.

The international side will be captained by South African legend Ernie Els, with their team hoping to buck the trend after losing the competition 10 times in 12 attempts.

The event follows a similar format to the Ryder Cup. Teams win points for matchplay victories and half a point is shared if a contest is drawn.

Viewers in the U.S. and Europe will watch the action begin on Wednesday evening due to the time difference.

Date: Thursday, Dec. 12

Time: 9 a.m. local time, 10 p.m. GMT (Wednesday), 5 p.m. ET (Wednesday)

TV Info: Golf Channel (USA), Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Golf (UK)

Live Stream: Golf Channel (USA), Sky Go (UK)

Schedule

Thursday: Round 1 (Fourballs)

Friday: Round 2 (Foursomes)

Saturday: Round 3 (Fourballs), Round 4 (Foursomes)

Sunday: Round 5 (Singles)

Full tournament details and team information are available from the Presidents Cup official website.

Teams

International

Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama, Louis Oosthuizen, Marc Leishman, Abraham Ancer, Li Haotong, Pan Cheng-tsung, Cameron Smith, Im Sung-jae, Adam Hadwin, Joaquin Niemann, An Byeong-hun.

USA

Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Webb Simpson, Matt Kuchar, Bryson DeChambeau, Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau, Patrick Reed, Gary Woodland.

Preview

There's a clear gulf between the two teams this year, with the Americans fielding a world-class collection of players.

Woods will skipper Team USA, and despite losing the mercurial talents of Brooks Koepka because of a knee injury, the holders will field one of the best sides to compete for the Presidents Cup.

The Internationals feature only two of the top 20 in the world rankings, with the U.S. team dominating the top 10.

Koepka has been replaced by Rickie Fowler, and the loss of the world No. 1 should not heavily impact Woods and Co. in the pairings.

Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama and Louis Oosthuizen are expected to lead the charge for the international team, but the rest of their squad lacks winning experience.

Jason Day has been forced to withdraw due to a back injury, denying the international team the presence of a major winner and former world No. 1.

Meanwhile, Scott has called on fellow Australians in the crowd to be vocal in their support of the Internationals, per BBC Sport's Iain Carter: "Last time it was too friendly. Quite bluntly, we want the home-crowd advantage, and I'll be disappointed if they are cheering enthusiastically for Tiger or anyone on the U.S. team."

The team captains were photographed with the trophy as the festivities began in Melbourne:

Woods' form has been strong since his latest return from injury, but the Masters champion will have to balance his captaincy duties with looking after his own game, which could prove tricky for the 43-year-old.

However, the U.S. have players who should need minimal leadership.

Woods will need to dictate the pairings and decide how he uses his wild-card selections. The 15-time major winner became the first captain to pick himself as a wild card, and he is joined by U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland, Tony Finau and Patrick Reed.

Royal Melbourne hosts the competition for a second time, and the Internationals gained their only outright Presidents Cup win at the course in 1998.

Non-playing skipper Els will hope lightning strikes twice for the home side on Australian soil.