CIG participated as a sponsor of the PGA’s Presidents Cup Golf Tournament held at Harding Park, San Francisco, October 8–11. This year’s special event brought together the top golfers from the U.S. to compete against an International team of the best golfers from other nations.

CIG sponsorship of the eighth

Presidents Cup Golf Tournament

Tiger Woods visiting with President Obama (credit: Los Angeles Times)

For the first time, the international competition was played on the West Coast of the United States. Tiger Woods was the only player to achieve a five-match sweep over the Internationals and led the American team to victory, winning 19.5 to 14.5 head-to-head matches. USA Team Captain Fred Couples had Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker leading the charge. Playing for International team captain Greg Norman, Vijay Singh had the best record (2-0-3) of any International player, and 18-year-old Japanese sensation, Ryo Ishikawa, made his debut with a 3-2-0 performance. Read more about the best performances of the tournament.

As a sponsor of the event, CIG had a table at the Trophy Club. A two-page CIG color advertisement was created especially to salute this event and will appear in the Official Presidents Cup Guide. Peter Cazzolla, CIG President and CEO said, “We salute the Presidents Cup — a very special event that brings the best in the world to compete as a team. The only reward is a team trophy. Our company’s participation underscores CIG’s commitment to leadership and team unity. As the West’s regional leader in protecting people’s property, we believe in leading the way by example and in working with local communities to make life safer and more secure.”

The biennial PGA event commenced in 1994 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia. The golf course chosen this year was the Harding Park Golf Club, which is bordered by Lake Merced in the southwest corner of San Francisco. Harding Park was brought back to tournament standards by the public-private partnership vision of Sandy Tatum, a former USGA president, who spearheaded the renovation of Harding Park, which had fallen into disrepair in the 1980s.

The Presidents Cup competition consisted of 34 matches: 11 Foursomes (alternate shot) and 11 Four-ball (better ball) matches. The 12 Singles matches involved all players on the final Sunday. All matches were worth one point each, for a total of 34 points. There were no playoffs for Foursomes or Fourball, with each side receiving half a point if the match finished all square after 18 holes. Singles matches all square after 18 holes went to extra holes until a team winner was determined.

The Presidents Cup follows the PGA TOUR creed of giving back. There is no purse for the players. Net revenues are divided into equal shares that the players and captains designate for charities or golf-related projects of their choice. The first seven Presidents Cups generated more than $17 million for charities worldwide, including a record $4.2 million donation from the 2007 event.

President Obama was the Honorary Chairman of the event but did not attend. Former President Bill Clinton was on the grounds.

Former U.S. President Gerald Ford presided over the first Presidents Cup as Honorary Chairman followed by former President George H.W. Bush in 1996. Australian Prime Minister John Howard was Honorary Chairman for the 1998 event. In 2000, President Bill Clinton became the first sitting U.S. president to serve as Honorary Chairman. In 2003, Thabo Mbeki, President of the Republic of South Africa, was Honorary Chairman. President George W. Bush served as the Honorary Chairman of The Presidents Cup in 2005, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was the 2007 Honorary Chairman. Honorary Chairman for The Presidents Cup 2009 is current President Barack Obama. The Honorary Co-Chairmen for 2009 were Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mayor Gavin Newsom.