Rolex, and What Makes the President’s Cup Tick
The past and the future are always exerting influence on the world of golf. There is constant push and pull between innovation and tradition: caddies who pace out yardages and players who use rangefinders during practice rounds; live feeds beamed out across the world and scores kept with paper and pencil. But there are some moments on a golf course when the perpetual tug of war between past and future finds a perfect equilibrium and it feels like time stands still — everyone and everything frozen in the present.
A crisp iron shot is hit on the 13th tee at Royal Montreal during the President’s Cup and, suddenly — fleetingly — it is as if the whole world revolves around nothing but the flight of the ball. Thousands of eyes transfixed, the wind suddenly dying. Not a sound. It lasts only a split second. But even if it feels like everything has stopped, in the background, there is plenty happening: the ball is spinning; the PGA TOUR’s ShotLink technology has, twenty feet after the ball leaves the clubface, tracked the exit velocity, launch angle and spin rate to predict where the ball will land; the famed Rolex clock, with its bevelled gold set against that trademark green, glides on just behind the tee.
On another hole, a birdie putt is drained and a roar washes over the ground, the patrons on the 13th start murmuring, caddies start walking and the ball lands a few feet from the pin. Time is moving again.
Rolex’s commitment to the game of golf dates back nearly 60 years, when Arnold Palmer became golf’s first Rolex Testimonee, in 1967, followed shortly thereafter by Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. They are names and legacies that loom large over the game, revered not only for their wins but for how they carried themselves when they won — and lost. Since then, Rolex has helped support some of the biggest names and most storied tournaments in the game.
There is something about the 2024 President’s Cup at Royal Montreal that best exemplifies not only what makes golf special, but also the relationship between the Swiss watchmaker and the game.
As the tournament’s executive director Ryan Hart, a native Canadian, points out, “[the President’s Cup] is extremely young in its life,” having only been held for the first time in 1994. Royal Montreal, on the other hand, is the oldest continuous golf club in all of North America, steeped in history and tradition. Despite the President’s Cup’s relative youth, the 2007 edition — which was also held at Royal Montreal — gave Hart one of his most important golfing memories, watching Mike Weir beat Tiger Woods in the Sunday individual matches. Hart is not alone in cherishing that moment: it’s a memory that many Canadian golfers cite. Some of the patrons at the 2024 edition were there in 2007 and witnessed Weir’s afternoon of brilliance up close.
Others weren’t even born yet. Before sitting down with Ryan Hart, Rolex hosted some of the best young players in the world — the junior President’s Cup teams. Some will likely go on to play in senior President’s Cups; others might well win a major. At the oldest club in North America, where memories of past glory are woven into the property, these young golfers represent the future. Rolex has a longstanding commitment to fostering that future. Rolex is, after all, synonymous with excellence, not just success; and the quest for excellence starts before major championships are won. A partner of the American Junior Golf Association and the most prestigious amateur golf tournaments in the world, Rolex helps support the environments in which emerging talent can be nurtured and developed, setting them on a path to make history in the future.
It is yet another example of the perpetual interplay between the past and the future, tradition and innovation.
For Hart, who has also served as tournament director for the The PLAYERS Championship, there is something unique about the President’s Cup and about Royal Montreal. The team match play format brings out emotions that might otherwise not be seen on the golf course. And Montreal, a diverse, cosmopolitan city, is representative of the International Team, which boasts players from Canada, South Africa, Australia, Japan and South Korea.
Four days of competitive golf takes four years of unseen work to plan, Hart says. He made his first official visit as tournament director in September of 2020 and, from April of 2021, he was in Montreal every other week until earlier this year when he moved to Montreal full time. “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the support of partners like Rolex,” he says. A testament to the support Rolex gives to the event itself, but also to developing the players that will eventually tee off. Like all things Rolex, the commitment to golf is perpetual and that means ensuring future excellence as well as celebrating the past. It takes years of work, often unseen, for players to reach the peak of their ability. Players like Adam Scott, Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Hideki Matsuyama, and Sungjae Im, as well as captains Mike Weir and Jim Furyk, all Rolex Testimonees.
At the President’s Cup, every shot affords them the opportunity to make their mark on patrons, the same way that Weir did on Hart. And so, they make the short walk from the tricky 12th green to the 13th tee. There is palpable excitement. Notes are exchanged, yardages given, clubs decided on, tees inserted and balls placed. Years of work in the hope of hitting the purest of shots.
Rolex Testimonee Scottie Scheffler
Photo © Rolex/J.D. Cuban.
Rolex Testimonee & 2025 Ryder Cup U.S. Team Captain Keegan Bradley
Photo © Rolex/J.D. Cuban.
The U.S. Team After Winning the 2024 Presidents Cup
Photo © Rolex/Chris Turvey.
Rolex Testimonee & U.S. Team Captain Jim Furyk
Photo © Rolex/J.D. Cuban.
Rolex Testimonee Collin Morikawa
Photo © Rolex/J.D. Cuban.
Rolex Testimonee Adam Scott
Photo © Rolex/J.D. Cuban.
Rolex Testimonee Hideki Matsuyama
Photo © Rolex/J.D. Cuban.
Rolex Testimonee Jason Day
Photo © Rolex/J.D. Cuban.
The wind blows, there are faint murmurs, but as the ball leaves the club, it all fades. Time stands still, even as the Rolex clock behind glides ever forwards. The future is still undecided as the ball is in flight, anything could happen, but memories are about to be made and history is about to be written.
