Second-guessing Presidents Cup picks: Snubs, shocks, mistakes, no JT?!
Brian Harman, Justin Thomas and Max Homa (pictured here at last year's Ryder Cup) were among the players on the U.S. Presidents Cup bubble.
Getty Images
The picks are in. The Presidents Cup rosters are set. The U.S. vs. International competition is just three weeks away. So three of our writers — Dylan Dethier, Sean Zak and James Colgan — convened to break down what we learned.
Dylan Dethier, senior writer (@dylan_dethier): Okay, fellas. The rosters are final. Let’s get to it.
I. LAST MEN IN
Dethier: We’ll get to some snubs and second-guessing, but let’s start with the guys who should be grateful to be headed to Montreal. Who was the last man in for the International Team?
Sean Zak, senior writer (@sean_zak): I think it was Taylor Pendrith, who really didn’t show much form until about six weeks ago. He didn’t even play the Open Championship because he was on the outside looking in. That’s not exactly a great indication of top-level ability or form. But hey, he’s gonna be there in Montreal.
James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): It’s probably one of the Canadians — Pendrith or Mack Hughes. Neither had a crazy good resume that necessitated being on the team, but I don’t necessarily fault the decision-making. Fellow Canucks are likely to play well with the crowd.
Zak: James is going to call me a Mack Hughes truther — and he may be fair to do so — but I think Mack made the team months ago, when he showed just how hot his putter can get. You guys were there at Quail Hollow in 2022 — the Internationals needed just a couple hot putters and they would have made it interesting.
Colgan: I’m going to call you that because you are a Mack Hughes truther.
Dethier: If we get too deep on Mackenzie Hughes’ putting stats we’re going to lose every single reader before we even get to the U.S. side, so let’s head there in a second. I do think Hughes was the last man in, for the record. I’ll just add that, from what I heard, these picks were decided pre-Tour Championship, which is good news for Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who finished tied for last at East Lake — though honestly he has the resume to merit a selection regardless.
Anyway, who was the last man in for the Americans?
Zak: Considering Jim Furyk’s six captain’s picks were the players ranked 7th through 12th on the Presidents Cup points list, I think technically Max Homa was the last man in. And considering how poorly he has played lately, that checks out. I think even Homa himself probably wasn’t planning on receiving a pick.
Colgan: Maybe on paper, Zak, but in practice there’s no way Homa was the last American in. He practically carried the stars and stripes alone in both of his team play starts (PC in ‘22, RC in ‘23), and he’s shown us he can tap into — to borrow his parlance — that dawg in these events.
I think the last guy, at least by roster fit, is Russell Henley. Henley had a really good season, and he’s a rock-solid player, but I don’t quite get U.S. team stalwart from him.
Dethier: Lousy takes by both of you. Henley might be a top-five player on this team, for one thing. And Homa’s 7.5 points in 2022 and 2023 are a full two more than any other American. If I’m Brian Harman I’m especially grateful to get the invite to Royal Montreal; he’s been solid but unspectacular, has just one top-20 finish since April and the last time we saw him he was making double bogey on the 72nd hole at the BMW to miss out on a trip to East Lake. And while you literally will not find a bigger Keegan Bradley fan than me, he was probably on the edge despite winning the BMW.
II. BIGGEST SNUBS
Dethier: To the juicy stuff, then. Who has the biggest gripe? Let’s start with the International Team — who should be most pissed to be left home?
Zak: Nick Taylor deserves to be the most pissed, but not necessarily at Mike Weir. More at himself. Love me some Nick Taylor, but he would be the first to tell you he hasn’t shown up at the biggest events. He’s missed the cut at each of the last eight majors he’s played. I know it’s eating at him, and this decision won’t make it feel any better.
Colgan: Nick Taylor is the Jerry West of Canadian Golf. He’s the freakin’ logo!!! (Of the Canadian Open, but I digress.) In a tournament built upon adrenaline and high-stakes shotmaking, I don’t see how you can leave out the only Canadian who’s done it on home soil. Yeah, I get the recent resume argument, but I don’t like it.
And speaking of disappointed Canadians, I probably would’ve had Adam Hadwin on the roster, too, for similar reasons.
Zak: The chaos agent in me wanted every single Canadian invited. Mike Weir would have earned legend status in Canadian Golf history, if he hadn’t reached it already, and golf legend status if that would lead to an upset victory.
Dethier: I love that mentality, Sean. Bring on Adam Svensson while we’re at it! Gimme Ben Silverman! An all-Canadian roster would be a bold strategy for a team that needs bold. Look, it’s clear the International side is leaning on the data and it’s tough to argue with that approach. But if things don’t go well we’ll wonder if they should have gone even more Canadian to get the fans (politely) creating as raucous an atmosphere as possible.
I actually like Weir’s picks, overall. I would have loved to find Taylor a spot. And I’m surprised Cam Davis didn’t have a better year, outside of his win. Still, no massive objections.
Colgan: If you’ve never seen how raucous Canadian sports fans can be, I recommend journeying to a Leafs game in March.
Dethier: Fair enough. How ’bout the biggest snub on the U.S. Team?
Zak: It’s Justin Thomas, without question. Everyone reading this article will agree. Thomas has as much good experience as anyone in this event, dominating with Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods at his side. He injects life into the event, into his teammates, into fans watching at home. That’s the kind of thing you can’t really put specific value on, but you know it can be very valuable.
Colgan: I’ll continue to ride for putting legend Denny McCarthy to earn a spot on a U.S. team, but it’s obviously JT.
Maybe he asked not to be on the team without most of his Ryder Cup pals; maybe he didn’t want to experience life in a fourball pairing away from his pal Jordan; maybe he really was left off the roster. I suppose we’ll find out soon why he won’t be there, but as it stands, it’s the most flagrant development in an ugly 18-month slide.
Dethier: I’m as confused as you guys when it comes to JT. So far all we have is a wholly unsatisfactory answer from Jim Furyk, but I don’t get Thomas’ snub at all. Look, you can argue Thomas shouldn’t have made last year’s Ryder Cup team. But this year? He’s the perfect example of why you have captain’s picks to begin with — so you can select a guy in good form with good pedigree and solid intangibles. He even played well at East Lake, piling up birdies en route to a seventh-place finish on the shadow leaderboard.
I’d also be upset if I was Billy Horschel, who has been playing excellent golf for more than a month now. He was the best of a handful who could have made a really strong case with a top finish at East Lake, but neither Horschel (23rd in raw scores out of 30), Akshay Bhatia (T24), Chris Kirk (T24) nor Tom Hoge (T29) did enough to move the needle.
And others in the conversation like Denny McCarthy or even Davis Thompson, Mav McNealy or Nick Dunlap weren’t there to make their cases.
2024 U.S. Presidents Cup captain’s picks announced (with surprise omission)
III. SECOND-GUESSING STRATEGY
Dethier: One note that Captain Weir slipped in there is that the Internationals have decided they’re starting with fourball. (This means best ball, while they’ll save alternate shot for Friday.) Does this matter?
Zak: Normally, I’d say no, but I think given the specifics of this competition it actually does? The Americans are notoriously unsuccessful in foursomes in the Ryder Cup, and the Europeans know it. They led with that in Rome and swept that first session, leading to a 3-day romp. How do you make the Americans nervous? You force them to think about using different golf balls and playing off Sahith Theegala’s errant tee shots. This feels like a mistake. (Of the tiniest magnitude, for the record.)
Colgan: Agreed. It feels like a mistake, or maybe just a defensive decision. If you’re Mike Weir, riding foursomes early raises the risk you fall in a big hole early (not good) but it also raises your chances of juicing the crowd with some early momentum. No pressure, no diamonds!
Dethier: Yeah, I don’t get this either. Seems like they’re leaning on data that supports the idea they’re a better fourball team rather than the visual evidence from Rome (and Paris) that the U.S. guys are terrified of playing each other’s golf shots.
Dethier: The U.S. wins this thing every year — 12-1-1 all-time. Does the home team have a chance this time around?
Zak: Absolutely. Outside of the 2017 Cup, in which the result was almost guaranteed on Saturday night, this event has been extremely close, even if the Americans win each time. And this is the most eclectic roster that Team USA has put together in a team event, right? We know Scheffler and Burns will play together and Cantlay and Schauffele will, too. But I’m not sure there’s much for obvious pairings through the rest of the team. That kind of uncertainty can kick around a captain’s brain at night when the Cup is tied through three sessions.
Colgan: What’s that saying? Innocent until proven guilty? Well, your honor, I’m going to need to see some International wins before I start hedging any differently.
Dethier: I’m with Sean — I’m not convinced the U.S. team will dominate — but I need more from Weir. Didn’t exactly feel the intensity on Tuesday.
Finally: What am I missing? What’s something new you learned from Tuesday’s announcements?
Zak: That Jim Furyk is going to make a name for himself. He has some regrets from the 2018 Ryder Cup captaincy in France and wants to make good on that failure. What that looks like, I’m not sure. But it feels like keeping Thomas off the team is the start of some bold decision-making, and I’m here for it.
Colgan: I learned Jim Furyk has grown a greater appetite for upsetting the U.S. team golf establishment than in 2018. We’ll see if it trickles down to the way the team plays!
Dethier: I learned that, from the outside, the U.S. side still seems to be old-school in its selection process compared to its opposition. The Americans went all chalk, taking guys 7-12 from the Presidents Cup points list. The International side, on the other hand, took its six top-ranked options according to DataGolf’s list, which takes a more analytical approach. It’s possible that’s a coincidence, but if I’m an American golf fan I’m concerned that the International side won Tuesday.
Luckily they won’t start counting points for a few weeks.
Latest In News
