U.S. team captain Jim Furyk has selected the captains for this year's Presidents Cup, which will be played Sept. 26-29 at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Canada.
Under a similar structure to last year's Ryder Cup selection process, Furyk had to choose six players, but six of them – Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay and Sahith Teegala – had already qualified for the U.S. team.
The big question surrounding this year's captaincy selection was Keegan Bradley, who will lead the U.S. Ryder Cup team in Bethpage next year. Should Bradley play or serve as vice-captain in Montreal? After all, Bradley could be big on Long Island in 2025 if he thrives as Furyk's right-hand man.
That said, Bradley has been playing some great golf lately. After finishing last at Castle Pines, Bradley went from last to first to win the BMW Championship in Colorado two weeks ago. He's also ranked 13th in the Official World Golf Rankings, competing in the Tour Championship and proving he's one of the best players in golf, despite being older than some of the top stars.
So Furyk decided to use Bradley based on his recent performance.
Team USA automatic qualifiers:
1. Scottie Scheffler
2. Xander Schauffele
3. Collin Morikawa
4. Wyndham Clark
5. Patrick Cantlay
6. Sahith Teegala
USA Team Captain's Pick:
1. Sam Burns
2. Tony Finau
3. Russell Henley
4. Keegan Bradley
5. Brian Harman
6. Max Homa
Furyk went straight for the captaincy picks, selecting players ranked seventh through 12th in the final standings for the U.S. team to play in Montreal.
Bradley's addition means Furyk has left several other players out of his squad.
Justin Thomas, who was selected to last year's Ryder Cup team after a lackluster 2023 season, will not represent the Stars and Stripes in this year's Presidents Cup. Thomas made the trip to Atlanta for the Tour Championship and showed he is in better form than he was a year ago. But he remains 19th in the Team USA Presidents Cup rankings, giving Furyk a reason to overtake him.
Another player Furyk could have chosen is Akshay Bhatia, who won the Valero Texas Open earlier this year and is coming off a strong 2024 season. Bhatia was playing in his first Tour Championship but finished 14th in the Presidents Cup standings. That said, the 22-year-old will likely be picked by many national teams in the future as he has plenty of potential.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
