Stricker, Price Named Captains For 2017 President's Cup At Liberty National

Tournament officials at Liberty National Golf Club, host course of the 2017 Presidents Cup, announced Tuesday, April 12, that Nick Price and Steve Stricker will serve as captains of the International and U.S. Teams, respectively, for the 2017 event in Jersey City.

The 2017 Presidents Cup will take place next year on Sept. 25 - Oct. 1 at Liberty National.

Price, two-time captain of the International Team, and a World Golf Hall of Famer, joined Stricker, a first-time captain who is a five-time U.S. Team member and 2015 captains’ assistant. Price and Stricker competed against one another in the 1996 edition of the Presidents Cup.

One of the world’s most picturesque golf courses, Liberty National is located along the Hudson River, with striking views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the Manhattan skyline. Liberty National will be just the fourth golf course in the United States to host the prestigious team match-play competition, joining Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Prince William County, Virginia., (1994, 1996, 2000, 2005), TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, California, (2009) and Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio (2013).

“Steve Stricker and Nick Price are two of the most highly-regarded players by their peers, and bring a wealth of experience to their respective teams for the 2017 Presidents Cup,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. “While this is Stricker’s first year as a captain, he has been invaluable as a team member and has had earned the respect of his contemporaries. His calm and collected personality will help guide his team at an amazing course in the one of the most beloved U.S. cities the competition has visited to date.”

“Nick remains one of the most passionate ambassadors for the International Team and The Presidents Cup. He has been an avid advocate for the Presidents Cup from his playing days through his tenure as the International Team Captain both domestically and abroad,” Finchem said. “We’re thrilled that he’s continued with his role as a captain, and I’m confident that his team would say the same.”

Both Price and Stricker are on a level playing field, having an equal amount of Presidents Cup experience as players. Price competed for the International Team a total of five times (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2003), while Stricker’s five appearances are slightly more recent (1996, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013).

Stricker and Price actually matched up against each other once during the 1996 Presidents Cup. Stricker and Tom Lehman squared off against Price and Peter Senior in the Day One morning four-ball match, with Stricker / Lehman coming out on top, 4 and 2. Stricker compiled a 14-10-0 record during his Presidents Cup career, compared to Price at 8-11-4.

Stricker owns 12 victories on the PGA TOUR, including the 2001 World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play, two FedExCup Playoff events (The Barclays 2007 and the 2009 Deutsche Bank Championship) and the Memorial Tournament in 2011. In addition to his five appearances on the U.S. Presidents Cup Team as a competitor and captains assistant in 2015, he competed on the U.S. Ryder Cup Team three times (2008, 2010, 2012), served as a Captain’s Assistant to Tom Watson in 2014 and will continue that role with Davis Love III this year.

An 18-time winner on the PGA TOUR, including three major championship triumphs, Price also collected 29 international victories in a professional career that began in South Africa in 1977. After claiming the 1992 PGA Championship, Price enjoyed his best season in 1993, winning four times, highlighted by a five-stroke victory at THE PLAYERS Championship, and was named PGA TOUR Player of the Year. As an encore in 1994, Price enjoyed one of the most prolific seasons in TOUR history, winning six times, including the British Open and PGA Championship, en route to being named PGA TOUR Player of the Year for a second consecutive season and reaching No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Price, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003, has four Champions Tour victories to date.

“It’s an honor for me to continue to serve as International Team captain once again in 2017,” said Price. “The Presidents Cup has meant so much to me and to my career, both as a player and a captain, and I’m excited to have another chance to be a part of this great event. I am so looking forward to leading what I'm sure will be another very strong International Team and having another opportunity to win the Cup, after such a close finish last year. Steve will be a tremendous captain for the U.S. Team in 2017, as he has always been a tenacious competitor and is respected by so many of us who play the game. I know he will be a tough opponent as well as a very popular captain.

Stricker said, “I’m incredibly honored to have been selected as a U.S. Team captain for the Presidents Cup, and am looking forward to it coming to Liberty National, one of my favorite venues. This event has meant a lot to me, and I’m looking forward to leading what will be a very promising U.S. Team in 2017.”

Led by captains Jay Haas and Price, the 2015 U.S. and International Teams provided one of the most memorable and closely contested competitions in the Presidents Cup history, as 24 of the world’s best golfers squared off over four days of thrilling play that came down to the very last hole on Sunday. Although the U.S Team captured the Presidents Cup for the sixth consecutive time and ninth overall, the event will be remembered for the edge-of-your-seat excitement provided by an International Team’s Sunday comeback that fell just short. Korea’s hero, Sangmoon Bae, squared off against Bill Haas in the last Singles match, which went to the very last hole before Haas secured victory for his teammates and his father. Haas became just the second captain’s pick in history to clinch the Presidents Cup.

The Presidents Cup, a team match play competition featuring 24 of the world’s top golfers – 12 from the United States and 12 from around the world, excluding Europe – is held every two years, and since 1996 has alternated between United States and international venues. The Presidents Cup was developed to give the world’s best non-European players an opportunity to compete in international team match-play competition. The U.S. Team has won seven of the nine previous Presidents Cups, and the only win by the International Team came at the 1998 event in Melbourne. The 2003 Presidents Cup ended in a tie.

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