A dramatic finish to the BMW Championship, with Keegan Bradley holding on by the skin of his teeth, did not alter the top six of the U.S. Presidents Cup standings as the qualification period for the six automatic spots came to a close Sunday.
Coming into the week, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay and Sahith Theegala occupied those coveted positions, and they remained there by week’s end. All six will make captain Jim Furyk’s U.S. team, but while players like Bradley and Sam Burns may not have cracked the top six, their recent form won’t be wasted—Furyk will choose his six captain’s picks on Sept. 3 and recent form will undoubtedly be one of his top criteria. The complete team of 12 will then travel to Royal Montreal for the 15th Presidents Cup on Sept. 26-29.
The first six who will represent the U.S. Team at Royal Montreal.
Les six premiers joueurs qui représenteront l’Équipe des États-Unis au Royal Montréal.#PresidentsCup pic.twitter.com/Vn9EDxLz1U
— Presidents Cup (@PresidentsCup) August 25, 2024
On the international side, home captain Mike Weir also has his first six players lined up as their automatic qualifying period ended Sunday. Hideki Matsuyama, the top-ranked player by an overwhelming margin, will be joined by Tom Kim, Sungjae Im, Jason Day, Adam Scott and Byeong Hung An. Like Furyk, Weir will also announce his six captain’s picks on Sept. 3, following the Tour Championship. His picks will be shown live on Golf Channel at 1 p.m. ET, with the American picks following an hour later.
Two of the U.S. automatic picks, Wyndham Clark and Sahith Theegala, are Presidents Cup rookies, while Scheffler (0-3-1) and Morikawa (2-1-0) are making their second appearance. Schauffele (6-3-0) and Cantlay (6-3-0) are good friends and partners making their third appearance.
On the International side, the word veteran doesn’t begin to do justice to the Presidents Cup resume of Adam Scott (18-25-6), who will be making his 11th appearance. He’s just one shy of the record of 12 appearances held by Phil Mickelson. His countryman Jason Day (5-11-4) has been selected for five teams but has only played four times as he withdrew from the 2019 event. Matsuyama (7-10-5) will be playing in his sixth Presidents Cup, An (1-2-2) is making just his second appearance, Tom Kim (2-3) is also making a second appearance after making a splash in 2022 at Quail Hollow, while Sungjae Im (5-3-2) will be making his third appearance.
The first six who will represent the @IntlTeam at Royal Montreal.
Les six premiers joueurs qui représenteront l’Équipe internationale au Royal Montréal.#PresidentsCup pic.twitter.com/WXSDrcdxOA
— Presidents Cup (@PresidentsCup) August 25, 2024
A handful of big names on both teams will be jockeying for captain’s picks between now and next week, including Bradley, Burns, Tony Finau, and others, while Weir will be looking at several prominent names, including Canadians Corey Conners and Nick Taylor, who finished seventh and 11th in the standings, respectively, and Australia’s Min Woo Lee, who finished eighth.
Main Image: Tracy Wilcox