As the Presidents Cup heads into Sunday’s Singles matches, Team USA finds itself surprisingly on the back foot, trailing the International team 10.5-7.5 after three days of action. While some may attribute the deficit to the Americans’ performances on the course, former CBS analyst and instructor Peter Kostis has pointed the finger at the PGA Tour for the team’s struggles.
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“This is an observation and not intended to be seen as an excuse because I detest excuses,” he wrote on X. “However, it is my opinion. Since the PGA Tour invented the Presidents Cup, having a ‘team event’ every year has been problematic. US players are expected to play every year while their opponents get a year off and 2 years to build up excitement and emotion for the competition. Same goes for the fans. I get it.”
Because the Ryder Cup is held in odd-numbered years while the Presidents Cup takes place in even-numbered years, American players are involved in a major team competition every year. Meanwhile, the PGA Tour owns and operates the Presidents Cup, whereas the Ryder Cup is jointly administered by the PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe. According to Kostis, that difference in ownership and scheduling is at the heart of the problem.
“The PGA Tour has no ownership of [the] Ryder Cup while the European Tour does. So the Tour creates the PC and owns the whole thing. Neither team this year put forth the best US players or the best international players. They put forth the best players who are members of the PGA Tour. Professional golf needs to get its act together and provide the fans with a good, entertaining product.
“To me, that means best against the best, and not every week or every year, because that waters down the anticipation and excitement for everyone.”
Notably, players for the biennial golf team event are selected via a mix of automatic qualification and captains’ choices. For the U.S. team, the automatic spots go to the leading six players on a weighted FedExCup points list compiled over a multi-month qualifying window. For the International team, the automatic spots are awarded to the six highest-ranked eligible players on the OWGR at the end of the qualifying period.
The captains then select six players to round out their respective teams. It is worth noting that European players who are members of the DP World Tour are ineligible for the Presidents Cup, as they have their own biennial team competition in the Ryder Cup. LIV Golf players, meanwhile, are also ineligible to compete because the PGA Tour owns it. So, this part of Kostis’ argument holds.
However, Team USA’s poor performance cannot simply be attributed to the PGA Tour’s restrictions on team selection. After all, the Americans have historically dominated the Presidents Cup, holding a commanding 13-1-1 record in the event. Even in 2024, when the International team swept Friday’s matches, the U.S. rallied over the following days to win the Cup.
This year, however, the script has been different. After the International team completed another clean sweep on Friday, it managed to prevent the Americans from mounting a similar comeback. Instead, the International side maintained its advantage through Saturday and now heads into Sunday’s Singles with a 10.5-7.5 lead.
That said, this isn’t the first time the former CBS analyst has pointed his finger at the PGA Tour.
Peter Kostis felt the PGA Tour played a role in his exit from CBS
The 78-year-old’s nearly 30-year run with CBS came to an end in 2019 when the network decided not to renew his contract, ending his longtime role as one of the voices of PGA Tour golf. Gary McCord was also let go, with both broadcasters denied the opportunity to have a final season to say goodbye to viewers and colleagues.
Following the news, Kostis opened up about his departure and suggested that the PGA Tour’s changing television landscape at the time may have contributed to the decision. He pointed to the then-ongoing negotiations over a new television rights agreement, with CBS and NBC’s existing deals set to expire in 2021.
“The timing and the reason for mine and Gary’s departure are the ongoing negotiations with a new television contract,” Kostis told ScoreGolf.
He also believed the Tour’s preparations for gambling could influence the next deal, saying, “I do know the tour is gearing up to be able to handle gambling.” However, Kostis acknowledged that he had no concrete evidence, describing his theory as his “gut instinct.”
Having said that, it appears Peter Kostis still has a bone to pick with the PGA Tour. While he made a fair point about American players having to compete in major team events year after year, attributing their poor performance to the PGA Tour’s restrictions doesn’t quite hold up.