U.S. captain Jim Furyk goes straight down the list with Presidents Cup picks
U.S. captain Jim Furyk didn’t look far to make his wildcard selections for the Presidents Cup – he went Nos. 7-12 on the points standings.
With six captain’s picks at his disposal, Furyk rounded out his American squad with the highest remaining points-earners from the two-year window: Sam Burns, Tony Finau, Russell Henley, Keegan Bradley, Brian Harman and Max Homa.
Bradley, the 2025 Ryder Cup captain, was already scheduled to serve as an assistant captain for this month’s matches at Royal Montreal. Now, he’ll also bring his clubs.
“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 U.S. team, and I can say without a doubt he did just that,” Furyk said in a release. “The grit he showed in the final round in Memphis, followed by the win in Denver, exemplified the competitive nature he has always played with, and I know he will bring that same fire to Royal Montreal in a few weeks.”
The playing-assistant role represents the latest change in a whirlwind few weeks for Bradley, who was the last man into the field at the BMW Championship after Tom Kim collapsed over the final few holes in the FedExCup playoff opener. That allowed Bradley to hold on to the 50th and final qualifying spot, and he won the following week at Castle Pines for his seventh victory on Tour, vaulting him from 18th in the points standings inside the top 10.
Burns and Finau once again put together solid seasons, while the 35-year-old Henley will make his debut in U.S. team competition after a seven-top-10 season in which he also finished a career-best fourth in the FedExCup.
Harman, the 2023 Open champion, has just one top-10 since the Players Championship in March and failed to qualify for the Tour Championship. Homa, meanwhile, has gone 7-1-2 in the last two U.S. team competitions but posted just one top-10 since the Masters and didn’t crack the field at East Lake, either.
“Max plays his best on the biggest stages, and that was on full display at the 2022 Presidents Cup and 2023 Ryder Cup,” Furyk said. “He was an emotional leader for both teams and someone who rallied the 11 players around him time and again, and I can’t wait to have him represent the U.S. again in Montreal.”
Missing out for the Americans will be Justin Thomas, who was 19th in points but earned more top-10s this season (five) than Bradley, Harman and Homa. Akshay Bhatia, 21, will also have to wait at least another year despite winning the Valero Texas Open and sitting inside the top 12 in points for much of the season.
International captain Mike Weir is turning to some familiar faces to try and win back the Presidents Cup in his home country.
The Americans have lost the Presidents Cup just once in the event’s history, back in 1998. There are seven returning starters from the team that beat the International side by five points in 2022.
Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay and Sahith Theegala automatically qualified for the U.S. team via points.