THE US PGA Tour is sending one of its top guns, Joe Tomek, to Melbourne to take charge of operations ahead of the 2028 Presidents Cup at Kingston Heath.
And the first thing he must do come hell or high water is lobby heavily with the game’s controlling body back in the US for the renegade LIV players to be allowed to play for both Presidents Cups teams.
It seems certain now that LIV is in its death throes. It’s time for an olive branch to be handed to Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert and Elvis Smylie.
It would be an exciting prospect and inject massive interest into the event on Australian soil. The atmosphere would be electric, and the PGA Tour would gain considerable mileage out of the goodwill gesture. Save the bickering and recrimination for the board room and treat the fans to exciting golf. It is a wonderful opportunity.
Without the vanquished LIV stars, it will be far from an onerous task for Tomek to make sure the 2028 Presidents Cup is a huge success. But letting LIV players back into the fold would blow golf fans away.
Melbourne golf galleries have shown their appetite for golf with a crowd of more than 110,000 cramming into Royal Melbourne for the ‘Rory’ Australian Open last December.
Kingston Heath, will be the host venue for the 2028 President’s Cup and for the Australian Open later this year.
Rory McIlroy carried the event on his shoulders even though he just made the cut. (He birdied four of the last five holes on the Friday to make sure he played on the weekend.) And we all loved it.
McIlroy – and if the jungle drums are right LIV’s ‘last man standing’, Bryson DeChambeau – will be the main drawcards at Kingston Heath for this year’s national Open.
Momentum will be strong for the Presidents Cup. Yes, it may be the poor cousin compared to the Ryder Cup. But galleries have been starved of team golf in Australia.
The Heath will be heaving for this year’s Australian Open and for the 2028 Presidents Cup.
Tomek has stepped down as executive director of the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis to take on control of the 2028 Presidents Cup. He will be responsible for planning and delivering the biennial team event played between the US and an International team, excluding Europe.
On current world rankings, Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Russell Henley would lead a star-studded American squad taking on the likes of Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, South Korean Si Woo Kim and Australians Min Woo Lee and Adam Scott.
This year’s Presidents Cup will be played at Medinah Country Club in Illinois, with Australian US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy to captain the International team.
The Internationals have only won once out of the 15 events played since 1994 – at Royal Melbourne in 1998. That year Jack Nicklaus captained team USA while Australian legend Peter Thomson led the Internationals to victory.
The PGA Tour’s Joe Tomek will take charge of operations for the 2028 President’s Cup at Kingston Heath.
The Internationals also tied the event in South Africa in 2003.
The 2028 tournament will be the fourth Presidents Cup in Melbourne. Apart from 1998, Royal Melbourne also hosted in 2011 and 2019 when Tiger Woods led the US to a runaway win.
“Kingston Heath is an iconic venue primed to showcase global team golf,” Tomek said. “Melbourne sports fans have a passion and energy that are unmatched, and bringing this international event back to Australia is an incredible opportunity.
“Our team is ready to build something truly unforgettable for fans, partners, players and viewers across the world. The Presidents Cup always brings out the very best in our sport and we can’t wait to deliver something truly special in 2028,” Tomek told media at Augusta in April.
That may be the case, Joe.
But it will be infinitely better with the Marc Leishman Cam Smith. Lucas Herbert and Elvis Smylie ’batting’ for the internationals.
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