Melbourne to host 2011 Presidents Cup

Sydney - Australia will host the 2011 Presidents Cup, U.S. PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem announced on Tuesday.

The tournament will be played in Melbourne in November with the venue course to be announced later this year. Royal Melbourne hosted the Presidents Cup when it was held in Australia in 1998.

"We are thrilled to be bringing the Presidents Cup back to Melbourne in 2011," Finchem said in a statement released by the Australasian PGA Tour.

"Every player, fan and tour staff member who either attended or watched the 1998 Presidents Cup still vividly remembers the incredibly warm welcome extended to the participants and the first-class atmosphere Melbourne created."

The Presidents Cup is a matchplay competition between the best 12 players from the United States and an International team made up of the same number of players from the rest of the world, excluding Europe.

It is similar in format to the Ryder Cup, although there are six extra matches. The competition has been played every two years since 1994, alternating between venues in the U.S. and the rest of the world, but switched to odd years in 2003.

The U.S. have won four of the previous six editions. The only time the International team won was in in Melbourne in 1998, with the 2003 match in South Africa ending in a tie.

The 2007 Presidents Cup is due to be played in Montreal in September while the 2009 edition will be held in San Francisco.

"We are delighted to have secured the return of the Presidents Cup to Melbourne in 2011," said Ben Sellenger, chief executive of the PGA Tour.

"The impact of Australian players has been felt on golf tours around the world and the staging of this prestigious event on the world renowned sand belt in Melbourne is a further reflection of the strength of our country in world golf." - Reuters