Best golfers gather for Presidents Cup

Virginia:

Some of the world's best golfers gathered at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Prince William County, Virginia yesterday to prepare for the sixth edition of the Presidents Cup. A biennial matchplay event, The Presidents Cup is attempting to distinguish itself from the more famous Ryder Cup, which started in 1927. With so many of the world's best golfers on both the American and International teams, competition will surely be fierce, but the tone on Tuesday was distinctly different from that of a Ryder Cup week. Intense competition The Ryder Cup has been criticised for being too fierce, with the gamesmanship and even gallery roars sometimes crossing the line of fair play. But that's not to say the competition won't be intense. And with the likes of Fiji's Vijay Singh, Australia's Stuart Appleby and South Africa's Retief Goosen on his side, captain Gary Player fancies his chances. It was Ernie Els - who will not be playing this week - who halved three playoff holes with Tiger Woods in South Africa two years ago so that the matches were deemed a tie, with the teams choosing to share the Cup until this week. For many on both sides, that moment was illustrative of just one of the many differences between the Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup. The Presidents Cup begins on Thursday September the 22nd.