With the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs reaching its climax, attention will soon switch to the Presidents Cup where the International team will attempt to beat the United States team for the first time since 1998 at Royal Melbourne. 

This year, the event will be played at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Each team will be comprised of six automatic qualifiers and six captain’s picks, which gives captains Jim Furyk of the United States and Canadian Mike Weir of the International team the ability to form the team as they see fit. 

In this piece, I’m going to share who I believe should make each Presidents Cup team. To be clear, this is not who I believe Furyk and Weir will choose.

Automatic Qualifiers: United States Team

The United States team uses FedEx Cup points to determine automatic qualifiers. The top six on the points list are now final as of the conclusion of the BMW Championship. 

1.) Scottie Scheffler– 13,671 points

2.) Xander Schauffele– 9,280 points

3.) Collin Morikawa– 6,001 points

4.) Wyndham Clark– 5,575 points

5.) Patrick Cantlay– 4,691 points

6.) Sahith Theegala– 4,544 points

Vincenzi’s Captain’s Picks: United States Team

7.) Keegan Bradley: With the win at Castle Pines, I believe Bradley is now a lock to play for the American side. The United States Ryder Cup captain showed his poise and mental toughness down the stretch, holding off Adam Scott and Ludvig Aberg on the way to victory. He’ll now get to audition (to himself) for a spot on the 2025 Ryder Cup team at Bethpage Black. 

8.) Sam Burns: Sam Burns didn’t have his best season on Tour, but finished strong to most likely lock up a spot on the President’s Cup team. Aside from his T2 at the BMW Championship, Burns brings match play experience as the winner of the 2023 Dell Technologies Match Play. He also has played some great golf in Canada, finishing in the top ten in two of his three starts at the RBC Canadian Open. Being Scottie Scheffler’s best buddy doesn’t hurt his cause either. 

9.) Tony Finau: Tony Finau was a member of the 2019 Presidents Cup team at Royal Melbourne where he went 0–1–3 and halved his Sunday singles match against Hideki Matsuyama. His experience in the Presidents Cup as a visitor will bring some experience to a team that needs to make a statement after the drubbing they took from the Europeans at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome. Expect Finau to play a few rounds with Wyndham Clark. The pair play together a bit in the Scottsdale area and should be a natural pairing. 

10.) Russell Henley: Russell Henley is the type of player who can be extremely useful on a layout where the fairways are tight and the rough ins penal. In 2024, Henley ranked 4th on the PGA Tour in Driving Accuracy and first in overall proximity to the hole on approach shots. Henley came on strong in the second half of the season, finishing in the top 7 in the final two majors of the season. 

11.) Akshay Bhatia: 2024 was a breakout season for Bhatia, who I’ve long believed is one of the most talented young prospects in the game of golf. He won the Valero Texas Open in a playoff against Denny McCarthy and showed some serious grit and resolve on the back nine. The 22-year-old had his best finish in a major at the U.S. Open (T16) and finished in the top 20 twelve times on the season. The sky is still the limit for the 22-year-old, and although he’s played in the Walker Cup, the 2024 Presidents Cup will be a good introduction to playing for the United States team at the professional level. 

12.) Billy Horschel: Billy Horschel was the exact type of player the United States team lacked in Rome at the 2023 Ryder Cup. The veteran is a grinder who excels in match play as he displayed when he beat Scottie Scheffler to win the 2021 Dell Technologies Match Play. Horschel has been one of the most consistent putters on Tour and ranked 3rd during the season in Strokes Gained: Putting, trailing only Denny McCarthy and Xander Schauffele. Horschel is also scorching hot at the moment, coming off finishes of T2 at The Open Championship, T7 at the Wyndham Championship and T10 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. 

Missed out: Justin Thomas, Nick Dunlap, Max Homa, Cameron Young, Brian Harman.

Comments: Believe it or not, the hardest player for me to leave off the team was Nick Dunlap, who won twice this season and accomplished a great deal on Tour at just 20 years old. The Bradley BMW Championship win knocked one of these players off and I don’t believe any of the players left off should have any major gripes considering how their seasons went overall. 

Automatic Qualifiers: International Team

The International team uses OWGR points to determine automatic qualifiers. The top six on the points list are now final as of the conclusion of the BMW Championship. 

1.) Hideki Matsuyama (Japan)- 5.5393

2.) Tom Kim (Republic of Korea)- 3.3465

3.) Sungjae Im (Republic of Korea)- 3.2821

4.) Jason Day (Australia)- 3.0594

5.) Adam Scott (Australia)- 2.8814

6.) Byeong Hun An (Republic of Korea)- 2.7930

Vincenzi’s Captain’s Picks: International Team

7.) Corey Conners (Canada): With the Presidents Cup being held in Canada, it’s a no brainer to have the country’s best player on the International team. Conners had a solid but unspectacular year once again, posting four top ten finishes including a 6th place finish at the RBC Canadian Open. He will look to build upon a pretty dismal Presidents Cup debut in 2020, where he lost all four matches he played. 

8.) Min Woo Lee (Australia): Min Woo Lee brings some swagger to a team that’s looking to make history against a relatively vulnerable United States team. The Australian absolutely pounds the ball and ranked 5th in 2024 in Driving Distance on the PGA Tour. Expectations were high for Min Woo coming into the year, and I’d argue he underachieved relative to his talent considering he didn’t make it to the top 50 in the FedEx Cup playoffs. However, he is simply too talented and showed too many flashes of brilliance to leave off an International team that needs high-end performances to pull of an upset. 

9.) Cameron Davis (Australia): Cameron Davis is a player who gets extremely hot and cold but showed with his win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic this year that his highs make him one of the most important players on the Internattional side. In match play, the ability to make birdies is crucial, and few in the competition make as many of them as Davis. He ranked 3rd in 2024 on the PGA Tour in Birdies or Better from the fairway. If he can keep his driver on the planet, the Aussie will be a weapon for the International side. 

10.) Taylor Pendrith (Canada): The inclusion of Taylor Pendrith gives the International team a second Canadian for the home fans to get behind on home soil. The 33-year-old has had a fantastic season. He won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson back in May and has finished in the top 20 on the leaderboard in 10 of his past 12 starts. Pendrith has kept up the solid play throughout the FedEx Cup playoffs. He finished T22 at the FedEx St. Jude and T13 at the BMW Championship against the best the PGA Tour has to offer. Pendrith is another player with a lot to prove having lost all four of his matches in the 2022 Presidents Cup. 

11.) Si Woo Kim (Republic of Korea): Si Woo Kim brings an extremely high ceiling with him to the International side. The South Korean has proven that he can compete with the best players on the PGA Tour when he brings his “A” game and has won four times on the PGA Tour. Kim was one of the best players in the 2022 Presidents Cup where he won three of the four matches he played in. He played alongside Cameron Davis in the opening foursome, earning the Internationals their only point of the session taking down Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns. He also teamed up with Tom Kim in fourballs to beat the United States leading team of Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay. He finished the week by beating Justin Thomas in singles. I’d expect a heavy dose of the successful Si Woo and Tom Kim duo at Royal Montreal. 

12.) Jhonnatan Vegas (Venezuela): In what may be a controversial decision, my final pick goes to Jhonnatan Vegas of Venezuela. In 2017, Vegas became the first Venezuelan to represent his country in the Presidents Cup, going 1-4 on the week but defeating Jordan Spieth in Sunday singles. Vegas played well alongside Adam Scott and lost twice 1 down to some of the United States’ most formidable teams. Vegas brings veteran leadership to the International side and also brings an incredible amount success in Canada. He won the RBC Canadian Open both in 2016 and 2017. He also is riding some hot form heading into the fall. Vegas won the 3M Open in July and has been striking the ball brilliantly, gaining strokes on the field with his ball striking in five consecutive events. 

Missed out: Adam Hadwin, Mackenzie Hughes, Nick Taylor, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Erik Van Rooyen, Emiliano Grillo, Ryan Fox.

Comments: Among the players left out, South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout is probably the one who should have the biggest gripe. C-Bez has been incredibly consistent this season on the PGA Tour but is yet to show the ability to truly contend. Considering the fact that he lacked a win and didn’t force my hand by performing well in majors, I went with Vegas over him. Canadians Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin and Mackenzie Hughes will be disappointed to miss out, but both players have had a sharp decrease in form over the past two to three months.