U.S. captain Jim Furyk (left) and International captain Mike Weir name their Presidents Cups teams for September in Montreal.
Ben Jared, PGA Tour via Getty Images
The inevitability of rounding out rosters for the Presidents Cup teams (and the same goes for Ryder Cup squads) is the focus that falls on players who were not chosen, sometimes threatening to overshadow those who were chosen. This Presidents Cup, which will be played September 26-29 at Royal Montreal Golf Club, is no different.
When International team captain Mike Weir announced Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith, Mackenzie Hughes, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Min Woo Lee and Si Woo Kim as his six captain’s picks on Tuesday, there were immediately questions about why two popular Canadians – Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin – had been left off.
In a similar sense, perhaps the most notable thing about U.S. captain Jim Furyk’s six picks – Sam Burns, Keegan Bradley, Tony Finau, Brian Harman, Russell Henley and Max Homa – was that Justin Thomas was left off an American team for the first time since the 2016 Ryder Cup.
For Weir, trying to end a run of nine consecutive losses by the International team, finding the right mix of players while also factoring in the potential impact of having multiple Canadian players on the team was a balancing act. Weir added three Canadians – Conners, Hughes and Pendrith – but stopped short of adding Taylor and Hadwin.
Neither of the 36-year-olds showed strong form in the months leading up to Weir’s selections. Hadwin had just two finishes inside the top 25 in his last 17 starts. Taylor, who won the WM Phoenix Open in February, did not have a top-10 finish after his victory – a span of 16 tournaments – and missed the cut in all four major championships.
“I can’t tell you how tough those calls were,” Weir said. “I respect those guys. I love those guys. They’re brothers. They’re Canadian.”
In Conners, Pendrith and Hughes, Weir filled one quarter of his roster with Canadians. Though Conners and Pendrith are excellent ball-strikers, they combined to go 0-8 at the 2022 Presidents Cup.
“It doesn’t mean anything two years later,” said Weir, whose team includes automatic qualifiers Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Sungjae Im, Tom Kim and Byeong Hun An.
Weir famously beat Tiger Woods in the Sunday singles at Royal Montreal in 2007, though the Americans won the Presidents Cup. How much the Canadian crowd will influence the outcome this time is one of the questions swirling as the Presidents Cup approaches. Adding Hughes plays to the notion that good putters and short-game specialists are especially valuable in team events.
“He’s an elite short-game guy, and we know these things come down to a lot of short game,” Weir said. “I believe he has what it takes inside. My gut feeling was high on Mac.”
Weir calls the Presidents Cup “all business.”
Mike Mulholland, Getty Images
Weir famously beat Tiger Woods in the Sunday singles at Royal Montreal in 2007, though the Americans won the Presidents Cup. How much the Canadian crowd will influence the outcome this time is one of the questions swirling as the Presidents Cup approaches.
“I felt that playing in 2007. There’s a little extra pressure. Once you get under competition and get going out there – at least for me out there – it was all business. I was motivated by the crowd,” said Weir, who had 11 of the team members at Royal Montreal after the Tour Championship.
“Playing in this competition – and we have such great camaraderie – I think they’re really looking forward to playing in front of home fans. When you get at home and get motivated and get in front of home fans, I was able to elevate my game that week. It certainly was a factor, and I was thinking about that.”
On the American side, Furyk – who had Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay and Sahith Theegala as qualifiers – wound up adding the players who finished seventh through 12 on the points list.
“(Max Homa is) kind of the glue. He’s an emotional leader on and off the course.” – Jim Furyk
Furyk picked Henley for his first Presidents Cup after he capped a strong season by shooting 62 in the final round at the Tour Championship. Burns moved from outside the top 12 in points to seventh over the three playoff events, Furyk said, and Bradley will be relieved of his vice-captain duties to focus on being a player instead.
“He had his back against the wall,” Furyk said. “He was 50th after Memphis, goes to the BMW and gets the win and leads wire to wire. Getting it done when you have to is a big thing.”
Many questioned whether Homa would be a pick considering he had fallen to 12th in points and struggled during the second half of the season, particularly off the tee. Furyk said the fact that Homa is 7-1-1 in the most recent Ryder and Presidents cups – the best record of any American player – was a critical factor.
“He’s kind of the glue,” Furyk said. “He’s an emotional leader on and off the course.”
As for the decision to leave Thomas off this roster, Furyk had to make the tough call.
“At the end of the day, I love JT,” Furyk said. “He has a great record. He’s a feisty, emotional leader. We’re just trying to put the puzzle together and find the right 12 guys to take to Montreal. There are tough omissions, but I had to take the 12 guys that I saw fit.”
