ESPN.com - Golf Online - Presidents Cup 2000

ESPN Golf Online
Thursday, October 19

LAKE MANASSAS, Va. -- The Presidents Cup is a team competition, with 32 matches played over four days in a match-play format.

Three different styles of play will be used -- alternate shot, best ball and singles -- with each match worth one point for a total of 32 points. The alternate shot and best ball matches will be held Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with the 12 singles matches on Sunday.

While the team matches can end in a tie (halved), the singles matches will be played to a conclusion as needed. No singles matches will be halved until one team has won 16½ points and overall victory, after which the remaining singles matches may be halved after 18 holes and result in a half-point for each team.

If the Presidents Cup is deadlocked at 16-16 at the conclusion of singles play, there will be a sudden-death playoff between two players designated in advance by the respective captains.

Alternate shot
Also known as foursomes, these matches feature two players on each team playing just one ball and alternating shots. For example, Player A hits the drive, so Player B hits the second shot. Player A would then hit the third shot and Player B the fourth shot. This would continue until the hole is complete.

At the next hole, Player B would hit the drive no matter who hit the final shot on the previous hole. The guarantees that each player begins an equal amount of holes.

No scores are kept as teams try to win each hole. If both teams make the same score, the hole is halved. If one team scores better on that hole, they win the hole. Teams continue playing holes until one team has built an insurmountable lead.

Best ball
Also known as fourball, this features two-man teams with each golfer playing his own ball for the entire hole. The better score between the two is counted. But like alternate shot, scores don't matter unless they are better than the other team's better score on each hole.

Like alternate shot, play continues until one team builds an insurmountable lead.

Singles
As the name implies, singles pairs one member of the United States team against one member of the International team. Scores are not kept until somebody wins a hole by getting a better score on an individual hole.

Play continues until one player has an insurmountable lead.

Glossary
Some of the phrases used in match play are different than during a regular tournament. Here's a quick rundown of some:

Scoring: When a player wins a hole, he is considered 1-up on his opponent. When he wins another hole, he is 2-up. This continues on throughout the match. If Player A has won three holes and Player B has won one hole, then Player A is 2-up, not ahead 3-1. If the same number of holes have been won by each player or team, the match is considered all square.

Final score: Many matches are stopped before the 18th hole because a lead is too large. For instance, if Player A is 3-up after 16 holes, the Player B has no chance of winning because only two holes remain. Therefore, the match is stopped, and Player A is declared the winner by a score of 3 and 2. That means he was three ahead with two holes to play.

Dormie: This is a term used to describe a match that is nearing the end. When Player A is 3-up with three holes to play, Player A is considered Dormie. This means that Player B would have to win every remaining hole to stay in the match.