After Thursday’s opening-round 5-0 U.S. team sweep, it was easy to get straight to second-guessing.
Why didn’t Mike Weir put one of his sparkplugs, like Tom Kim or Min Woo Lee or even a favorite local Canadian, in the first group out?
Why weren’t the fans more involved? Is Montreal the right venue for this event?!
And then, perhaps most commonly: Would this be closer if LIV players were on the International roster?
It’s a fair thing to wonder. In the weeks and months before the last Presidents Cup, in 2022, the Internationals were decimated by LIV defectors and had to scramble for replacements. And while it’s not a surprise that LIV pros have been banned from the Presidents Cup, a competition owned and run by the PGA Tour, it’s worth exploring what things would look like if they were still eligible, at least for captain’s pick selection.
So let’s do it.
TEAM USA
The LIV lock: The U.S. Open champ (and YouTube star) Bryson DeChambeau. While he’s only been so-so (by his standards) in LIV competitions this season, DeChambeau has been at his best when the lights have been brightest. T6 at the Masters, second at the PGA Championship and a win at Pinehurst is very obviously enough to get him on a squad of top-12 Americans. No-brainer here.
The maybes: The strongest case belongs to Brooks Koepka. The guy has won five major championships, after all. He’s also won twice on LIV this summer. And even though he didn’t crack the top 25 in any major he at least made the cut at all four. This would be a pedigree play, though.
After Koepka, the guys you might expect to be on this team just haven’t been playing that well. Patrick Reed is a famous match-play warrior but I don’t see team leadership going to bat for him on the team. Dustin Johnson is one of the best of his generation but he has just one LIV top 10 since February and his major results (MC-T43-MC-T31) don’t inspire. The next man up would probably be Talor Gooch, who finished 10th in LIV’s season standings but appeared in just one major this year — a T60 at the PGA Championship. And Phil Mickelson‘s team playing days seem to be behind him, though his captaincy is a more interesting conversation.
The final roster: I’m swapping in DeChambeau for Brian Harman. I’d keep Max Homa on the squad because he’s been the best American at the last two team events — he’s earned his role at the emotional center of the team. And I guess I’d swap Koepka in for [winces] Keegan Bradley? This one’s a coin-toss for me, but Bradley could stick with his original role as captain’s assistant and prep in earnest for Bethpage.
So here’s my final roster, with two LIV pros swapped in:
Scottie Scheffler
Xander Schuaffele
Collin Morikawa
Wyndham Clark
Patrick Cantlay
Sahith Theegala
Sam Burns (captain’s pick)
Tony Finau (captain’s pick)
Russell Henley (captain’s pick)
BRYSON DECHAMBEAU (captain’s pick)
BROOKS KOEPKA (captain’s pick)
Max Homa (captain’s pick)
INTERNATIONAL TEAM
The locks: There are a couple: Joaquin Niemann is the clear No. 1 and Cameron Smith isn’t far behind him.
The maybes: Louis Oosthuizen is playing better golf than you’d think. Abraham Ancer. Marc Leishman. Carlos Ortiz. Sebastian Munoz. Dean Burmester. Lucas Herbert. Anirban Lahiri. You wouldn’t pick all these guys, but you’d include them in the conversation. There’s no question the talent pool got significantly shallower when they left for LIV.
The final roster: Our two “locks” tap in for the last two guys in: Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Mackenzie Hughes. Hughes is an especially tough cut — you’re gonna take out a top Canadian who’s also a top putter?! But it’s a harsh world.
I’d gladly hear arguments for Oosthuizen over Min Woo Lee. But I think I’m keeping Lee because he feels like a sparkplug and the future of the team.
So here’s my final roster, with two LIV additions:
Hideki Matsuyama
Sungjae Im
Adam Scott
Tom Kim
Jason Day
Byeong Hun An
Corey Conners (captain’s pick)
Taylor Pendrith (captain’s pick)
JOAQUIN NIEMANN (captain’s pick)
CAMERON SMITH (captain’s pick)
Min Woo Lee (captain’s pick)
Si Woo Kim (captain’s pick)
CONCLUSION
So what gives? The U.S. team gets one or two more players, while the Internationals get two or three (or more for you Ancer fans). I’d give the slight advantage to the Internationals if you’d add LIV guys because their talent pool would get significantly deeper, especially looking ahead to future Cups. But still — the difference isn’t as stark as I would have expected.
[Editor’s note: As I got ready to send this to my editor, the International team mounted a massive Day 2 charge. Perhaps these teams aren’t so far apart after all. And perhaps this event doesn’t need such urgent fixing…]
