Korea Named as Host of 2015 Presidents Cup

With Korean women having long established themselves as a dominant presence in the U.S. LPGA, the country is set to host another major sporting event -- this time for some of the world's best male golfers.

U.S. PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem held a press conference following the opening ceremony of the 2011 Presidents Cup in Melbourne on Wednesday afternoon, and announced that the 2015 edition of the competition will be held in Korea.

David Pillsbury, the U.S. PGA Tour's Executive Vice President, said the event will be held in the first or second week of October after taking into account local weather conditions and the PGA Tour schedule.

The venue will be decided in the first half of next year. The U.S. PGA Tour has already conducted field inspections of several golf courses in Korea.

The Presidents Cup is a biennial team tournament that pits the U.S. against the rest of the world sans Europe, known as the Internationals. Europe takes on the mighty U.S. in another team event called the Ryder Cup.

Since the event was inaugurated in the U.S. in 1994, the venue alternates between U.S. and foreign locations. This year marks the ninth edition of the Presidents Cup, and four countries -- the U.S., Australia, South Africa and Canada -- have so far played host. Korea will be the first to do so from Asia.

The 2015 tournament is expected to draw more attention worldwide as it takes place shortly before the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where golf will be introduced as an official Olympic event.