LAKE MANASSAS, VA – Feb. 23, 2005 – As the PGA Tour season heats up with memorable performances by the games' top players, so does the battle to earn places on the United States and International teams. Each of the first six winners on the 2005 PGA Tour competed in the 2003 Presidents Cup and is in contention to earn return berths.
Phil Mickelson, winner of the FBR Open and AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in back-to-back weeks, leads the United States team standings, while Tiger Woods, who earned his 41st career PGA Tour title earlier this year at the Buick Invitational, is in second place. Bob Hope Chrysler Classic champion Justin Leonard has moved into eighth place with his strong early-season showing.
Vijay Singh, the world's top-ranked player, and winner of the Sony Open in Hawaii, heads the International team list. Australian Stuart Appleby, who won the season opening Mercedes Championships, is currently in eighth place.
The Presidents Cup returns United States for the fourth time when the event is held Sept. 20-25, 2005 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club on Lake Manassas in Prince William County, Va.
The 2005 Presidents Cup will allow Captains Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player to settle unfinished business. They were the Captains presiding over last year's scintillating event at the Gary Player-designed Links Course at Fancourt Hotel & Country Club Estate in George, South Africa. That competition was declared a tie after both teams finished regulation with 17 points apiece, and the sudden-death playoff between the International Team's Els and Woods of the United States could not determine a winner before darkness descended after three holes.
In a show of sportsmanship, both teams decided that the competition would be declared a tie and that the teams would share the cup.
Tickets, which are limited to enhance the viewing experience for spectators, may be purchased by visiting www.presidentscup.com. There will be a limit of 20,000 spectators per day to provide the best viewing experience, and with more daily tickets available than in the past, it is expected that the event will sell out quickly.
Source: Presidents Cup
