[PHOTO: Tracy Wilcox]
In a reversal of the great American captain’s pick drama ahead of last year’s Ryder Cup, 2024 Presidents Cup captain Jim Furyk overnight made the bold choice to include Keegan Bradley among his six picks while leaving off Justin Thomas. Bradley, of course, was recently named the 2025 US Ryder Cup captain, while Thomas is a team-golf stalwart who has put up an astounding 10-3-2 record in his Presidents Cup career.
Along with Bradley, Furyk picked Presidents Cup rookies Brian Harman and Russell Henley as well as veterans Sam Burns, Max Homa and Tony Finau. They join the six automatic picks, including world No.1 Scottie Scheffler, two-time major winner Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, and Sahith Theegala.
The Presidents Cup will be staged at Royal Montreal Golf Club later this month, so perhaps it should be no surprise that International team captain Mike Weir went to the Canadian well, picking three of his countrymen with his six captain’s picks.
Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith and rookie Mackenzie Hughes will all be playing for Weir against the Americans, along with his three other selections: Si Woo Kim, Australia’s Min Woo Lee and Christiaan Bezuidenhout. They’ll be joining the six automatic picks previously announced: Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im, Adam Scott, Tom Kim, Jason Day, and Byeong Hun An.
On choosing Lee, Weir said: “As one of the most popular players on the PGA Tour, Min Woo is going to be an incredible addition to the International team and our passionate fans in Montreal. He is one of the best drivers of the golf ball, and I can’t wait to ‘let him cook’ at the Presidents Cup in a few weeks.”
Lee, who finished ninth on the International team rankings when qualifying concluded two weeks ago, is fired up for Royal Montreal. “What I can bring to the International team is flair and hopefully some good golf. I’ve been playing pretty solid this year. Being on the International team is very special and obviously being the home side, it’ll be massive to play well in front of the fans.”
Among the tough exclusions for Weir was another Canadian, Nick Taylor, who won last year’s RBC Canadian Open in dramatic fashion, becoming the first golfer to win his home country’s event in 69 years. Taylor followed that up with a victory in Phoenix this year, but his recent form has dipped.
“Really difficult,” Weir said of his choice. “He was looking very good to make the team, and as it happens in golf, sometimes you go through a little spell that’s not your greatest. It was a super tough decision for me but one that was well thought through, and through a number of different analytical things and gut feelings and all kinds of things, it came to that conclusion.”
The International team will be looking to break a streak of nine straight losses against the Americans, including the most recent blowout at Quail Hollow. The good news for them is that the past two home Cups for the Internationals have been incredibly close: a 16-14 loss at Royal Melbourne in 2019, and a 15½-14½ loss in South Korea in 2015.
But if the greater pressure falls on Weir, it was Furyk’s picks that were most surprising. Max Homa, in particular, was an eyebrow raiser; despite his success at the 2022 Presidents Cup, where he went 4-0, and a 3-1-1 record in his only Ryder Cup in 2023, Homa’s recent form has been rough, with no finish better than a T-33 at the limited-field BMW Championship in his past six starts. Compare that to Thomas, who has a longer history and an equally strong record, but who made the Tour Championship and played well at East Lake.
With Bradley making the roster as a player, Furyk was asked on Golf Channel if he knew who might take the now open spot as assistant captain, and whether he cared to make news by announcing it.
“I do have a good idea of who that will be, but I don’t care to make news today,” he said with a laugh.
Below are the Presidents Cup records of each of the captain’s picks chosen overnight (Australian time).
International team
Player (past Presidents Cup record)
Christiaan Bezuidenhout, 1-0-1
Corey Conners: 0-4-0
Mackenzie Hughes, Rookie
Si Woo Kim, 4-3-0
Min Woo Lee, Rookie
Taylor Pendrith, 0-4-0
US team
Keegan Bradley, 2-2-1
Sam Burns, 0-3-2
Tony Finau, 3-2-3
Brian Harman, Rookie
Russell Henley, Rookie
Max Homa, 4-0-0
