Sunday's thrilling finale, in which the United States claimed the trophy in the very last singles match, was the perfect riposte to critics who said the Cup had become an "exhibition" and will leave the Internationals counting down the days till the next event in two years' time.
In 11 editions of the Cup, which pits the United States against a team of international players minus Europeans, the Americans have won nine times with one tie and one defeat.
The United States have now won six in a row stretching back to 2005. The last time they failed to win the Cup was in 2003 in South Africa when the event ended in a tie.
Many of those victories were achieved far too easily as the Internationals struggled to match the Americans' strength in depth.
Internationals skipper Nick Price pushed hard for changes, calling for the total number of points on offer to be reduced to 28 from 34, believing it would make for a much closer competition.
PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem agreed on the need for a shake-up but would only go as low as 30 for this year's Cup, which was played in Asia for the first time.
In the days leading up to the event, Finchem said the final result was not a benchmark of success for the Cup - though he did hope to see closer matches.
In the end, it was closer than he could possibly have imagined.
After a poor first day, where they trailed 4-1 after the foursomes, the International team fought back in the Friday four-ball format to trail by one.
The eight points available on Saturday were split down the middle, leaving the United States ahead by one heading into Sunday's 12 singles matches.
Back and forth the matches and momentum swung, from red to blue and back again, before Bill Haas, son of U.S. captain Jay Haas, claimed the winning point in a 15.5-14.5 victory.
NEW LIFE
As an advertisement for team golf, in a market the PGA Tour is keen to exploit, the 2015 Presidents Cup was an overwhelming success.
Price said he, his assistants and the players had been vindicated in calling on the PGA commissioner to change the format.
"I think we have proved our point," he added. "People say I drove it; maybe I spearheaded it, but the support that these guys, and what they all felt about this competition, this has certainly been a huge step in the right direction.
"They are probably looking forward to the next one as much as anything."
Australian Adam Scott, who has now competed in seven Cups without success, gave a ringing endorsement to the changes implemented by the PGA Tour.
"There's no doubt this team was much more invested in this event than any team I've ever been on before ..." said Scott.
"And I think they made the right decisions, and the proof was in the pudding today with how it all panned out."
The Presidents Cup will revert to U.S. soil in two years' time at Liberty National in New Jersey before returning to Melbourne, Australia for a third time in 2019.
Phil Mickelson, who has played in all 11 Presidents Cup, said he hoped this would breathe new life into the event.
"I hope so. I notice that the interest on the outside might not have been as great as you would think when you have this many great players in the world competing against each other," he added.
"But for us, we still feel the pressure. We still feel the emotion. We still feel the excitement. It still means that much to us. Always has and I hope others see what a great event this Presidents Cup is."
(Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
Share
