Airdate: 2011 The President’s Cup

Next week Nine’s Wide World of Sports broadcasts The President’s Cup from Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

Nine will broadcast the four days of play plus the tournament’s opening and closing ceremonies. Coverage will be hosted by Eddie McGuire and Mark Nicholas with commentary from Ian Baker-Finch, Jack Newton and Wayne Grady.

Also reporting are James Brayshaw, Ken Sutcliffe, and Tim Sheridan.

Coverage begins with the Opening Ceremony on Wednesday, November 16 on GEM. The first round of the tournament starts on Thursday, November 17 on Nine.

The Today show will also cross live to Royal Melbourne on Saturday, November 19 and Sunday, November 20.

Held every two years, The Presidents Cup pits 12 players from the United States against a 12-strong International Team representing the rest of the world, excluding Europe.

The star-studded United States Team will be captained by former world No.1 and U.S. Masters champion Fred Couples. John Cook, an 11-time PGA TOUR winner, and former Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup representative Jay Haas will be his assistants.

The United States Team is Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk, Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson, Nick Watney, Bubba Watson, David Toms, Hunter Mahan and Bill Haas.

Two-time British Open champion Greg Norman will captain the International Team, with PGA TOUR winner Frank Nobilo and Players’ Championship winner Tim Clark as his assistants.

Golfers from four nations have made the International Team, including five Australians: Jason Day, Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy, Robert Allenby and Aaron Baddeley. South Korea has K.J. Choi, K.T. Kim and Y.E. Yang, while South Africa provides former World No.1 Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Charl Schwartzel, and Ryo Ishikawa flies the flag for Japan.

The United States Team has won six of the last eight Presidents Cups. The only win by the International Team came in 1998 at Royal Melbourne, and the 2003 Presidents Cup ended in a tie.

Unlike most sporting events, the players do not receive prize money at The Presidents Cup. Instead, the PGA TOUR pledges to contribute funding to charities nominated by the players, captains and captains’ assistants.

International Team  / U.S. Team
Jason Day (Australia) / Matt Kuchar
Adam Scott (Australia)  / Steve Stricker
Charl Schwartzel (South Africa)  / Dustin Johnson
K.J. Choi (South Korea)  / Webb Simpson
K.T. Kim (South Korea) / Nick Watney
Retief Goosen (South Africa) / Phil Mickelson
Geoff Ogilvy (Australia)  / Bubba Watson
Ernie Els (South Africa) / David Toms
Y.E. Yang (South Korea) / Hunter Mahan
Ryo Ishikawa (Japan) / Jim Furyk
Robert Allenby (Australia) / Tiger Woods
Aaron Baddeley (Australia) / Bill Haas

Broadcast Schedule (Melbourne):
Wednesday, November 16
The Presidents Cup Opening Ceremony
4pm Live on GEM

Thursday, November 17
Day 1 Play
Foursomes competition
12.30pm Live on Channel 9

Friday, November 18
Day 2 Play
Four-ball competition
11.30am Live on Channel 9

Saturday, November 19
Day 3 Play
Foursomes and four-ball competition
7am Live on GEM
9am Live on Channel 9

Sunday, November 20
Day 4 Play
Singles competition
10am Live on Channel 9

Sunday, November 20
Closing Ceremony
Following conclusion of play

NOTE: Please check local guides for full telecast details.