Justin Thomas is on the brink of another U.S. selection process.
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ATLANTA, Ga. — The United States Presidents Cup team has completed the semi.
But how about the other part?
Last week, the BMW Championship entered the qualifiers for American and international teams out of six. After the Tour Championship this week they will qualify for six more. We're used to team selection being a challenging process with no absolute answers — there was a Netflix episode about the topic last year — but given everything else going on in the world of golf, this year's Presidents Cup selection has flown a little under the radar.
So let's talk about the locks and the big time players missed on the list of American captain Jim Furyk. Then we'll get rid of everyone in the middle.
WHO IS COMING IN?
US Presidents Cup automatic qualifiers (6)
It is an undeniable advantage that the American team has two of the best players in the world Scottie Scheffler again Xander Schauffele. It doesn't hurt that they have it Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay again Sahith Theegala combining their degrees, or. Theegala is the only first-time US player on the team, while Clark has played in the Ryder Cup but never in the Presidents Cup; four others have been part of US teams for at least the past three years.
WHO IS OUT?
The highest number of LIVs
This is old news at this point but bears repeating: Because the Presidents Cup falls under the PGA Tour umbrella, there will be no LIV golfers competing. Although this hurts the international side more than the US – imagine Joaquin Niemann, Cameron Smith, Louis Oosthuizen – it's still surprising the US team won't have it Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson or Patrick Reed.
Some great players
I am surprised that we will play this President Cup without him Jordan Spiethhas missed just one US team in the past decade and will miss this one, too, as he faces surgery this offseason. There is also Rickie Fowlerthe likes of Spieth made last year's Ryder Cup team but finished well out of consideration this year. Cameron Youngwho seemed to be a big part of Team USA's future plans when he joined the team in 2022, was overlooked in Rome and will not even be seriously considered for this side. And while Will Zalatoris had consecutive top-15s to finish his season, missed the previous four cuts before that and may not have had a consistent enough season to qualify for a spot.
WHO IS COMING IN?
The almost-locks
When the dust settled following last week's BMW Championship, Sam Burns was left in seventh place in the US Presidents Cup competitions. He has top fives in his last two games and 15 in seven of his last 10. He will be on this team, as he should be.
Tony Finau finished number 8 in those positions; he has also been trending in the right direction. While you may remember his T3 at the US Open he has actually finished in the top 20 in eight of his last nine tournaments. He will be in.
Opportunities
Russell Henley he is number 14 in the world; DataGolf has it even higher at No. 10 – the fifth best American. He has never missed an ax this season. There's a reason he made it to East Lake and it's probably the same reason he made this team: He hits it straight, hits his irons close, has a solid short game and is one of golf's most consistent, reliable players. in the world.
Keegan Bradley He could soon become a player captain of some sort; he would have been on the upswing before winning the BMW but now he's jumped to number 10. You can't leave last year's villain and next year's Ryder Cup captain out looking again. Right?!?
Chalk is selective
If my math is correct that leaves the last two spots for a few entries. First there are two boys at home:
No. 11 Brian Harman (3,887 points) double-bogeyed the final hole at BMW to finish one spot outside the top 30 headed to East Lake. He now sits in a precarious 11th place, with no holes to make his case despite a strong season that included top-25s in his first half and two missed cuts.
No. 12 Max Homa (3,857) posted on Instagram that, despite missing out on the Tour Championship, he's still hoping for a Presidents Cup nod. If you look at his last two team appearances, that seems like a no-brainer: he went 4-0 at Quail Hollow in 2022 and 3-1-1 against Marco Simone; His 7.5 points are two points behind anyone else. But his recent form may give him pause: He's had just one top-20 finish since his T3 at the Masters.
Regarding number 15 Eric Cole (3,263) and No. 16 Denny McCarthy (3,182), no one is in East Lake and no one has previous team experience, leaving them with an uphill battle in the team. McCarthy's hot putter makes him a compelling player and he plays well but he's unlikely to concede either. Which leaves us with…
Five experts have something left to prove
These five guys made it to the Tour Championship, which means one final audition.
No. 13 Chris Kirk (3,635), who won this year's Sentry and has had a strong but underwhelming season since – his top ten finish for BMW was his first since April. He is high on the points list but may need to do something special at East Lake to convince the captain that he deserves a place.
No. 14 Akshay Bhatia (3,619) had a breakout year highlighted by wins at the Valero Texas Open and back-to-back top-five finishes at the Travelers and Rocket Mortgage; he is 22 years old and could be part of the future of the American Ryder Cup team, making him a promising candidate.
No. 17 Billy Horschel (3,159) received heat at the right time; His T2-T7-T10-T22 finishes in the last four weeks have him trending higher. According to the DataGolf rankings, he is the eighth best qualifier in America. If you look at the Official World Golf Ranking, he is 13th-best. We will see how the leadership of the team looks at his season.
No. 18 Tom Hoge (3,086) had the ability to finish high in the high competitions this season; amassed five top-20 finishes at Signature events. But because he's not on anyone's radar it might take a statement from East Lake to get him over the line.
No. 19 Justin Thomas (3,081) has us confused, again, about his place in this group. He was the No. 15 seed in the Ryder Cup last season when he had a controversial pick, but he's also arguably one of the emotional leaders of the American team. It is not clear that he has done enough to earn another round of applause; he didn't drive it particularly well and struggled with a balky putter. But as the last man on the field at East Lake he still has one chance to prove he deserves that spot.
So who's in? If I had to pick two names from the final seven I would go for Homa and Bhatia, looking at Homa's team quality and Bhatia's potential for the future. Still, I can bet Thomas bursts into contention this week. What is clear is that nothing is clear, so the leadership of the party is left with a difficult task without having the right answers.
In a week we will know where they have arrived.
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