‘Where the hell is he?’ Shock over Pres Cup gamble as Aussie ‘wild’ victim of selection squeeze

Posted by Admin September 3, 2024 Golf

Three Australians – Adam Scott, Jason Day and Min Woo Lee – will be a part of the International team to face the United States in this month’s Presidents Cup in Montreal, while Cameron Davis was a shock omission from the selection squeeze.

Both the International and United States teams finalised their 12-man rosters ahead of the biannual event beginning on September 24.

Day and Scott were among the six automatic qualifiers while Lee was selected as one of six wildcards by International Team captain Mike Weir.

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Day, Scott, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and the South Korean trio of Sungjae Im, Tom Kim and Byeong Hun An all gained automatic selection given they are the top six International players on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).

In addition to Lee, South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout, South Korea’s Si Woo Kim and Canadians Taylor Pendrith, Corey Connors and Mackenzie Hughes won wildcards.

“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 good in front of the fans,” Lee said via a International team statement.

Aussie Davis was the most glaring omission, overlooked despite his Internationals ranking of eighth, higher than Lee (ninth), Hughes (15th), Pendrith (11th), Bezuidenhout (10th) and Si Woo Kim (14th).

Meanwhile, US captain Jim Furyk also revealed his six wildcard picks, with his selections a clear move away from the ‘boys club’ drama that engulfed the team at last year’s Ryder Cup.

Furyk played a straight bat by picking on rank, not going beyond the top-12 in the standings.

It meant that Furyk left out Justin Thomas, who hadn’t missed a Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup team since 2016.

His selection in the 2023 Ryder Cup team was controversial given his poor form that season, leading to concerns over a US “boys club”.

Furyk followed the form book with his final wildcard selections for the Presidents Cup on Tuesday, rounding out his team based solely on team rankings.

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That meant a place on the team for Sam Burns, Tony Finau, Russell Henley, Keegan Bradley, Brian Harman and Max Homa, who had been ranked from 7th to 12th on the points table the US use to determine automatic selection.

Bradley, who will captain the USA at the Ryder Cup next year, had already been due to take part in the September 26-29 showdown against the Internationals in Montreal as an assistant captain.

But Bradley’s barnstorming finish to the season — he won the BMW Championship in Colorado last month before completing a 21st-place finish at the Tour Championship on Sunday — cemented his Presidents Cup berth.

“When I named Keegan as a captain’s assistant for the Presidents Cup, I knew there was a chance he would play his way onto the US team, and I can say without a doubt he did just that,” said Furyk, adding that Bradley’s recent form demonstrated “the competitive nature he has”.

“I know he will bring that same fire to Royal Montreal in a few weeks,” Furyk said.

Meanwhile, Furyk said he had little hesitation in selecting 12th-ranked Homa for his line-up despite a dip in form which has seen him make just one top-10 finish this season since the Masters in April.

Furyk said Homa had impressed during the 2022 Presidents Cup and 2023 Ryder Cup. “Max plays his best on the biggest stages,” Furyk said.

The International team will be out to end a 26-year Presidents Cup drought, with their sole win coming in Melbourne in 1998.

In 14 editions of the Presidents Cup since its inception in 1996, the US have won the event 12 times, the International team just once with one draw.

PRESIDENTS CUP TEAMS (World Golf Ranking)

INTERNATIONAL

AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS

Hideki Matsuyama (7)

Adam Scott (18)

Sungjae Im (20)

Tom Kim (23)

Jason Day (33)

Byeong Hun An (34)