Presidents Cup: Who already made it, who should make it and who is on the bubble
Credit to Author: Mark Schlabach| Date: Mon, 26 Aug 2024 14:27:29 EST
There’s only one event left in the 2024 FedEx Cup season, this week’s Tour Championship at revamped East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
Many of the top golfers in the world will tee it up at the Presidents Cup in Canada, which will be played Sept. 26-29 at Royal Montreal Golf Club.
On Sunday, the six automatic qualifiers for the United States and International teams were finalized. Jim Furyk of the U.S. and Mike Weir of the International team will announce their six captain’s picks on Sept. 3.
Keegan Bradley, who next year will be the youngest Ryder Cup captain since 34-year-old Arnold Palmer was a playing captain in 1963, might have altered Furyk’s plans when he captured the BMW Championship on Sunday. Furyk had already named Bradley as an assistant captain for the Presidents Cup.
He might have to be a playing one now.
“I don’t know where that’s going to go, but I’m happy to play whatever role they want me to play,” Bradley said. “I hope I didn’t throw a huge wrench in everybody’s plans, but I’m proud to be in consideration.”
The U.S. team has dominated the Presidents Cup since its inception in 1994, winning 12 of 14 matches and tying once. The U.S. won the most recent match 17½-12½ at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2022.
Here’s a look at the who has made the Presidents Cup teams, who should make it and the golfers on the bubble:
Automatic qualifiers
Scottie Scheffler (first in Presidents Cup points)
For as dominant as the world No. 1 golfer has been the past three seasons, he hasn’t fared well in his past two international competitions. He went 0-3-1 in his Presidents Cup debut at Quail Hollow in 2022 and was 0-2-2 at the 2023 Ryder Cup. Scheffler was left in tears after he and Brooks Koepka fell 9 & 7 to Ludvig Åberg and Viktor Hovland at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club outside Rome.
Xander Schauffele (second)
A two-time major winner this season, Schauffele has played as well as anyone outside of Scheffler. He picked up three points in each of his past two appearances in the Presidents Cup in 2019 and 2022. Schauffele secured the winning point at Quail Hollow with a singles victory over Corey Conners.
Collin Morikawa (third)
The two-time major winner will be making his fourth appearance in an international event as a pro. He had a 6-4-1 combined record in two Ryder Cups and the 2022 Presidents Cup. Morikawa has seven top-10 finishes this season, including ties for third and fourth at the Masters and PGA Championship, respectively.
Wyndham Clark (fourth)
After a hot start this spring, the 2023 U.S. Open winner at Los Angeles Country Club struggled off the tee for much of the summer. He tied for 13th at the BMW Championship, a sign that he might be turning things around. Clark went 1-1-1 in his international team debut at the 2023 Ryder Cup.
Patrick Cantlay (fifth)
Cantlay’s pace of play and calm demeanor has drawn the ire of European fans, who waved their hats at him throughout the 2023 Ryder Cup. Cantlay allegedly wanted to be paid for competing on the U.S. Ryder Cup team, an allegation he denied. He is 11-5-1 in four past appearances in international team competitions.
Sahith Theegala (sixth)
The 26-year-old will be making his Presidents Cup debut in Montreal. He has seven top-10 finishes this season, including runner-ups at The Sentry and RBC Heritage. While playing at Pepperdine, he competed in the 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup in France.
Should make the team
Sam Burns (seventh)
After a rough stretch in March and April, Burns has played better lately, with six top-15 finishes in his past eight starts. He finished in the top five of the first two FedEx Cup playoff events, including a runner-up at the BMW Championship. Burns went 0-3-2 in his Presidents Cup debut in 2022.
Tony Finau (eighth)
Finau’s form has been good over the past three months — he finished in the top 20 in eight of his past nine starts. He tied for 18th at the PGA Championship and for third at the U.S. Open. He has good length off the tee and is third in strokes gained: approach (.824) but his putting is a concern. He’s 132nd in strokes gained: putting (-.215) this season.
Keegan Bradley (10th)
Bradley, 38, was left off the 2023 Ryder Cup in a controversial decision by then-captain Zach Johnson. Bradley will captain the U.S. team at Bethpage Black Course in New York in September 2025. He might be a playing assistant captain at the Presidents Cup after he captured his seventh PGA Tour victory at the BMW Championship.
On the bubble
Russell Henley (ninth)
Henley has quietly climbed to 14th in the Official World Golf Ranking with 10 top-25 finishes in 18 starts on tour. He tied for seventh in the U.S. Open and was solo fifth at The Open. He doesn’t hit it far off the tee but is great on approach, around the green and on the green.
Brian Harman (11th)
The 2022 Open Championship winner at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in England was the last golfer left out of the Tour Championship after he finished 31st in the FedEx Cup points standings. He went 2-2 in his Ryder Cup debut and is regarded as a great match-play competitor.
Max Homa (12th)
Homa was the lone bright spot for the U.S. team at the 2023 Ryder Cup, earning 3½ points with a 3-1-1 record. He went 4-0 in his Presidents Cup debut at Quail Hollow. Homa has struggled mightily this season, however, and doesn’t have a top-20 finish since tying for eighth at the Wells Fargo Championship on May 12.
Chris Kirk (13th)
The former Georgia golfer picked up a victory in each of the past two seasons and qualified for the Tour Championship with a tie for ninth at the BMW Championship. He has one international team appearance as a pro, at the 2015 Presidents Cup.
Akshay Bhatia (14th)
The 22-year-old is one of the PGA Tour’s rising stars with victories at the 2023 Barracuda Championship and Valero Texas Open on April 7. He competed in the Junior Presidents Cup, Junior Ryder Cup and Walker Cup, winning each time. Bhatia will compete in the Tour Championship for the first time this week.
Billy Horschel (17th)
After struggling mightily with his game in 2023, Horschel bounced back and won the Corales Puntacana Championship on April 21. He went 1-2 in his Presidents Cup debut at Quail Hollow. His form has been solid lately with three straight top 10s, including a tie for second at The Open.
Justin Thomas (19th)
Thomas has played for every U.S. team in international competitions since 2017, but he might have to do something special at East Lake Golf Club to have an argument this time. He was a controversial choice for the 2023 Ryder Cup squad and went 1-2-1 in Rome. JT was one of the U.S. team’s best performers until his recent struggles.
“I feel like I played well in some big tournaments this year,” Thomas said. “I just did it earlier in the season. I know I’m playing well enough, but that’s up to Jim and the rest of the captains and the guys on the team.”
Nick Dunlap (28th)
The former Alabama All-American got a late start on the season and didn’t start earning Presidents Cup points until he turned pro in February. He won the American Express as an amateur before that and then claimed the Barracuda Championship on July 21. He qualified for the first two legs of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, tying for fifth at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and is ranked 36th in the world.
Automatic qualifiers
Hideki Matsuyama (No. 7 in Official World Golf Ranking)
The 2021 Masters champion figures to be the International team’s best player in Montreal. He picked up two more PGA Tour victories this season at the Genesis Invitational and FedEx St. Jude Championship and won a bronze medal at the Olympics in Paris. Matsuyama will be making his sixth Presidents Cup appearance. He was in contention at last week’s BMW Championship before withdrawing before the second round because of lower back pain.
Sungjae Im (20th)
A two-time winner on the PGA Tour, Im has been one of the International team’s most consistent players with a 5-3-2 record in the past two Presidents Cups. He defeated Gary Woodland and Cameron Young in Sunday singles in 2019 and 2022, respectively.
Adam Scott (21st)
Scott, from Australia, will be making his 11th appearance in the Presidents Cup, which is second most in history. Phil Mickelson is the only other golfer with more with 12. Scott has an 18-25-6 record in the event. His game has been heating up over the past six weeks with a solo second at the Genesis Scottish Open and tie for second at the BMW Championship.
Tom Kim (22nd)
The South Korean golfer became a well-known name when he provided some electricity at the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow. Kim helped give the International team a fighting chance when he teamed up with K.H. Lee to take down Scheffler and Burns 2 & 1 in Saturday morning foursomes, then he and Si Woo Kim beat Cantlay and Schauffele 1 up in an afternoon fourball match.
Jason Day (29th)
The 13-time PGA Tour winner will be making his fifth Presidents Cup start and his first since 2017. He has a 5-11-4 record in the event with three of those victories coming at Muirfield Village Golf Club in 2013.
Byeong Hun An (34th)
The South Korean golfer, also known as Ben An, has enjoyed one of his better seasons on tour. He’s 16th in FedEx Cup points and will make his Tour Championship debut. He has five top-10s in 21 starts, including a playoff loss at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Should make the team
Corey Conners (39th)
Back-to-back 73s on the weekend at the BMW Championship kept Conners from advancing to East Lake — he finished 39th in FedEx Cup points. The Canadian is a ball-striking machine and performed well in the past two majors, tying for ninth in the U.S. Open and for 25th at The Open. Conners went 0-4 in his Presidents Cup debut at Quail Hollow.
Cameron Davis (41st)
The Australian golfer had a solid performance in his first Presidents Cup with a 2-3 record at Quail Hollow. Davis and Si Woo Kim picked up the team’s lone point in the opening session with a 2-up victory over Scheffler and Burns in a foursomes match.
Min Woo Lee (43rd)
The International squad could use some of Lee’s energy and confidence. He was runner-up twice on tour this season at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches and the Rocket Mortgage Classic. It would be his Presidents Cup debut.
On the bubble
Christiaan Bezuidenhout (45th)
Bezuidenhout, from South Africa, picked up 1½ points as a Presidents Cup rookie in 2022. He defeated Kevin Kisner 2&1 in Sunday singles. He finished 29th in FedEx Cup points and will play in his first Tour Championship.
Taylor Pendrith (46th)
At one point this season, Pendrith missed the cut in five of six starts. But then he picked up his first PGA Tour victory at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and piled up eight other top-25 finishes. Pendrith is playing in his first Tour Championship. He was 0-4 in his first Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow.
Nick Taylor (47th)
Another Canadian golfer who would love nothing more than to compete at Royal Montreal Golf Club, Taylor made the FedEx Cup playoffs, but didn’t advance past Memphis. Last year, he became the first Canadian to win the Canadian Open since 1954.
Adam Hadwin (48th)
Hadwin, yet another Canadian, scuffled with his form at times this season, but had some bright spots. He tied for fourth at the Genesis Invitational and for fifth at the Valspar Championship. He was solo third at the Memorial, a signature event. He went 1-3-2 in two previous Presidents Cup in 2017 and 2019.
Si Woo Kim (49th)
Kim was the top points earner for the International team with three points at Quail Hollow. He shushed the crowd on the 15th hole while defeating Thomas 1 up in a Sunday singles match. After a rough stretch, Kim tied for fifth at the BMW Championship and nearly cracked the top 30 in FedEx Cup points-he finished 32nd.
Mackenzie Hughes (65th)
Yep, you guessed it: another Canadian golfer on the bubble. Hughes hasn’t had a top-10 finish since he tied for seventh at the Canadian Open on June 2 (he did tie for 16th at The Open). He’s regarded as one of the best putters on tour — he’s fourth in strokes gained: putting (.665) this season. It would be his first Presidents Cup selection.