What's the Presidents Cup format, schedule and TV times?
PGA Tour

What’s the Presidents Cup format, schedule and TV times?

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The 2015 Presidents Cup gets underway on Thursday from the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon, South Korea. This marks the 11th time that the United States team will take on the Internationals, comprised of all the world's countries outside of the United States and European nations. The U.S. is 8-1-1 in the series, with their lone loss in 1998 at Royal Melbourne and the only tie coming after negotiation in 2003 at Fancourt in South Africa.

The event runs Thursday-Sunday as it always has, but the number of matches has been reduced from 34 to 30 after the PGA Tour changed the rules and format at the behest of returning International captain Nick Price.

As in the past, there will be one session on Thursday and Friday. However, there will only be five matches in each session, down from the six in the past, which involved all 24 players on each of the first two days. On Thursday, the teams will play foursomes -- also called alternate shot. On Friday, they'll play five fourball -- or best ball -- matches.

On Saturday, there will be a morning and afternoon session, with four matches of foursomes in the morning leading into four afternoon fourball matches. Those sessions will each have one match less, as well, compared to past Presidents Cups.

In the past, all 12 players were forced to compete in three of the first four sessions. The rules have now been amended to force the captains to play each of their charges just twice in the four team sessions.

The matches will conclude on Sunday with 12 singles matches.

The first team to score at least 15.5 points will win. Unlike in the past, matches can be halved.

The matches start on Thursday at 11:05 a.m. local time. Friday play begins at 9:35 a.m. The opening session of foursomes on Saturday starts at 7:35 a.m., with the afternoon fourball session expected to begin at 11:35 a.m. The 12 Sunday singles matches start at 10:35 a.m.

There is a 13-hour time leap from New York and the Eastern time zone to South Korea, meaning coverage of the matches will start Wednesday night as far as the United States is concerned. Golf Channel will air Day 1 coverage of the event on Wednesday night from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. Eastern. Day 2 coverage runs on Thursday from 8:30 p.m.-3 a.m. Day 3 coverage will go from 6 p.m.-4 a.m. on Friday. The 12 singles matches will air live from 9:30 p.m.-3:30 a.m. on Saturday.

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