An American squad with 11 of the world's 18 top-ranked players is ready for the Presidents Cup, which begins on Thursday (local time), as huge favorites for a ninth consecutive victory over a depleted Internationals line-up.

Top-ranked Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, No. 4 Patrick Cantlay, fifth-ranked Tokyo Olympic champion Xander Schauffele and multiple major winners Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Collin Morikawa lead the 12-man US team into Quail Hollow.

They face an Internationals team with a record eight rookies, their youngest-ever line-up averaging 28.8 years after defections to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series denied them British Open winner Cam Smith of Australia and top-25 players Joaquin Niemann of Chile and Abraham Ancer of Mexico.

Four Koreans, Im Sung-jae, Tom Kim, Lee Kyoung-hoon and Kim Si-woo, have joined the International Team at the 2022 Presidents Cup. (AFP)