With the rosters of the two Presidents Cup teams set in stone, it’s time to take a look at each of the squad’s talent, or lack thereof.
Starting with the betting favorites, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and two-time 2024 major winner Xander Schauffele will headline Team USA’s roster of auto-qualifiers. They’ll be joined by Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay and Sahith Theegala.
Keegan Bradley highlighted the six at-large picks by captain Jim Furyk. The New England native, who’d earlier been named a vice-captain for the Montreal matches, will now instead tee it up as a player. Brandt Snedeker will replace Bradley as one of the vice-captains.
Sam Burns, Russell Henley, Brian Harman, Max Homa and Tony Finau were the other picks by Furyk.
The International team will be captained by former Masters champion Mike Weir. The 54-year-old Canadian will lead a squad headlined by a pair of fellow green jacket owners: Hideki Matsuyama of Japan and Australia’s Adam Scott.
The International team’s four other qualifiers were Australian Jason Day alongside a trio of South Koreans in Sungjae Im, Tom Kim, and Byeong Hun An.
Weir’s six at-large picks included three compatriots in Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith and Mackenzie Hughes, a third Aussie in Min Woo Lee and Christiaan Bezuidenhout of South Africa.
The 2024 Presidents Cup will be contested at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Canada, Sept. 26-29.
Controversial Captain Picks
Furyk came under heavy criticism for choosing the slumping duo of Homa and Harman.
Homa has not produced a top-20 result on tour since the middle of May. His last six starts are: MC, T61, T70, T43, 70, T33.
Meanwhile, Harman has registered just a single top-10 (T9) finish going all the way back to March.
Neither player even qualified for the FedExCup’s Tour Championship.
Furyk, though, disagreed with the criticism.
“I think he’s a great teammate,” Furyk said of Homa. “I think he plays well in partnerships. It’s his personality. I don’t think it’s popularity, he’s kind of the glue. He’s an emotional leader on and off the golf course.”
One of the more notable names left off the U.S. team included Justin Thomas, who finished the season in solid form and owns a 10-3-2 record in Presidents Cup play.
“I think when you look at it, there’s about 16 or 18 guys that I’d love to have on this team,” Furyk said. “At the end of the day, I love JT. I probably know him as well or better than any members of my team. Again, great record and feisty and [an] emotional leader.
“Just kind of trying to put the puzzle pieces together and find the right 12 to take to Montreal. Tough, tough. He’s a great team room guy, and he’s going to play on a ton of these teams in the future as well, and one day he’s going to be a captain, and a great one.”
International captain Weir was also criticized, particularly for snubbing Cam Davis, who finished eighth in the standings, as well as passing on a pair of Canadians in Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin. Taylor finished 12th while Hadwin was 13th.
The consensus online was that Davis was far more deserving than fellow Aussie Min Woo Lee and that Canadians Taylor and Hadwin (either or) should have been chosen over Korea’s Si Woo Kim.
“Would have taken as many Canadians as possible to get the fans on their side,” wrote one commenter on X. “Taylor and/or Hadwin should definitely have gone.”
Since debuting in 1994, Team USA has dominated the biennial series, producing a 12-1-1 record. The Americans won the most recent match 17.5-12.5 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, NC.
U.S. Team
Pos-Player (World Rank, FedEx Cup Finish)
1. Scottie Scheffler (1st, 1st)
2. Xander Schauffele (2nd, 5th)
3. Collin Morikawa (4th, 2nd)
4. Wyndham Clark (6th, 8th)
5. Patrick Cantlay (9th)
6. Sahith Theegala (12th, 3rd)
7. Sam Burns (17th, 12th)
8. Tony Finau (21st, 23rd)
9. Russell Henley (15th, 4th)
10. Keegan Bradley (13th, 21st)
11. Brian Harman (19th, 31st)
12. Max Homa (24th, 46th)
International Team
Pos-Player (World Rank, FedEx Cup Finish)
1. Hideki Matsuyama (7th, 10th)
2. Sungjae Im (20th, 7th)
3. Adam Scott (18th, 6th)
4. Tom Kim (23rd, 51st)
5. Jason Day (33rd, 33rd)
6. Byeong Hun An (34th, 21st)
7. Corey Conners (38th, 39th)
8. Min Woo Lee (40th, 60th)
9. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (46th, 29th)
10. Taylor Pendrith (44th, 14th)
11. Si Woo Kim (50th, 32nd)
12. Mackenzie Hughes (63rd, 52nd)
By World Rankings
World Rank-Player (Team)
1. Scottie Scheffler (USA)
2. Xander Schauffele (USA)
4. Collin Morikawa (USA)
6. Wyndham Clark (USA)
7. Hideki Matsuyama (INT)
9. Patrick Cantlay (USA)
12. Sahith Theegala (USA)
13. Keegan Bradley (USA)
15. Russell Henley (USA)
17. Sam Burns (USA)
18. Adam Scott (INT)
19. Brian Harman (USA)
20. Sungjae Im (INT)
21. Tony Finau (USA)
22. Tom Kim (INT)
24. Max Homa (USA)
33. Jason Day (INT)
34. Byeong Hun An (INT)
38. Corey Conners (INT)
40. Min Woo Lee (INT)
44. Taylor Pendrith (INT)
46. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (INT)
50. Si Woo Kim (INT)
63. Mackenzie Hughes (INT)
