Presidents Cup captains Mike Weir, Jim Furyk ready for tournament pressures

There are different kinds of pressure on this year's Presidents Cup captains, whether they let on about it or not.

Mike Weir is guiding the International squad at Royal Montreal, with three Canadians on the team. Jim Furyk's job is to extend the United States' win streak to 10 straight.

On Tuesday, two days before the competition begins, Weir and Furyk sat side by side at their joint press conference.

"Jim knows how close it's been the last few years. It's a tight, intense competition," said Weir, who hails from Brights Grove, Ont. "Yeah, the score the last bunch of years has gone the U.S.' way, but they've been very competitive matches. … I think it's heading the right direction no matter what happens. Sure, it's competitive. We want to win. We're not putting any of that extra, 'We need to do this to elevate the event.'

"It's just a great competition, and we're not adding any layers on top of that."

Weir is the first Canadian to captain the International team, and it comes at a fitting venue, Royal Montreal, which hosted the Presidents Cup in 2007. Weir played in that event and led his team with 3 1/2 points, but the Americans won 19 1/2-14 1/2.

Weir said he's yet to talk with the three Canadian players on his team — Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes and Taylor Pendrith — about what to expect, but that's not to say that he won't.

"This is at home in front of your own fans," Weir said. "I guess for me I used the energy in a positive way when I was here in 2007. I didn't take it as pressure. I took it as, 'Just embrace it.' I don't know if I'll ever have this kind of chance again to play in front of my home country fans. So I just tried to embrace it. That will probably be most of the message is enjoy yourself."

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