Presidents Cup teams get 6 automatic qualifiers with half the teams still to be picked
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (AP) — Adam Scott is playing in the Presidents Cup for the 11th straight time, the most of any player from the International team. That wasn’t much of a surprise.
Neither were the six players for the American team.
The BMW Championship was the final tournament for six automatic qualifiers for the U.S. and International teams who will compete Sept. 27-30 at Royal Montreal.
The leading six players remained unchanged.
Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay and newcomer Sahith Theegala qualified for the Americans. Sam Burns could have grabbed the sixth spot only if he had won. He finished one shot behind Keegan Bradley.
The six qualifiers for the International team were Hideki Matsuyama, Tom Kim, Sungjae Im, Jason Day, Scott and Byeong Hun An.
Corey Conners of Canada had a chance with a big finish at Castle Pines, but he closed with a 73 and tied for 22nd. The International team is based on the world ranking.
Jim Furyk and Mike Weir of Canada will announce their six captain’s picks after the Tour Championship, and that’s where the intrigue lies.
“I hope I didn’t throw a huge wrench in everybody’s plans,” Bradley said, whose victory moved him to No. 10 in the U.S. standings.
Bradley, 38, already is the youngest Ryder Cup captain since Arnold Palmer (34) was a playing captain in 1963. He also has PGA Tour titles in each of the last three years, and his win at the BMW Championship moved him to No. 11 in the world ranking.
Burns moved to No. 7, followed by Tony Finau, Russell Henley, Bradley, Brian Harman and Max Homa. Henley has never played in the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup team.
Harman and Homa have not been in good form for most of the summer. And then there is Justin Thomas, who has played for every U.S. team since 2017. He is at No. 19, following a year in which he was the lowest-ranked player in the Ryder Cup standings when he was picked. Thomas at least made it to the Tour Championship — the 30th and final spot — giving him a week to perform.
“I feel like I played well in some big tournaments this year. I just did it earlier in the season,” Thomas said. “I know I’m playing well enough, but that’s up to Jim and the rest of the captains and the guys on the team. My hope is that I get to Atlanta and I prove that I belong.”
Weir would like to have Canadians on his side for the home crowd. None qualified. Conners was at No. 7, followed by Cam Davis and Min Woo Lee of Australia, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, and three Canadians — Taylor Pendrith, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin.
Pendrith played in the last Presidents Cup. He held it together on the back nine to assure a spot at the Tour Championship next week.
“I want to be at East Lake. I want to be on the Presidents Cup badly. But I’ve had a great season, and if I didn’t play great these last two weeks, I’d be OK with it,” he said. “It would sting a little bit for sure, but to come out here and do it and perform under the pressure, it feels incredible. I can’t wait to keep going.”
Scott has played on every Presidents Cup team since 2003 — one year after Tom Kim was born — but has never been on a winning team. The 2003 matches ended in a tie in South Africa, and the Americans have won nine in a row.
Phil Mickelson played in 12 Presidents Cup, the most of any player.
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