CASTLE ROCK, Colorado (AP) — Adam Scott is playing in the Presidents Cup for the 11th consecutive year, more than any other player on the international team. That was no big surprise.
The same applied to the six players of the American team.
The BMW Championship was the final tournament for six automatic qualifiers from the U.S. and international teams who will compete at Royal Montreal from September 27-30.
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 would have secured sixth place only if he had won. He finished the tournament one stroke behind Keegan Bradley.
The six qualifiers for the international team were Hideki Matsuyama, Tom Kim, Sungjae Im, Jason Day, Scott and Byeong Hun An.
Canadian Corey Conners had a chance for a top finish in Castle Pines, but finished with 73 points and 22nd place. The international team will be determined based on the world rankings.
Jim Furyk and Mike Weir of Canada will announce their six captain’s picks after the Tour Championship, and that’s where the excitement lies.
“I hope I haven’t spoiled everyone’s plans,” said Bradley, who moved up to 10th place in the US rankings with his victory.
Bradley, 38, is already the youngest Ryder Cup captain since Arnold Palmer (34) took the helm as playing captain in 1963. In addition, he has won the PGA Tour title every year for the past three years and moved up to 11th place in the world rankings with his victory at the BMW Championship.
Burns moved up to No. 7, followed by Tony Finau, Russell Henley, Bradley, Brian Harman and Max Homa. Henley has never played on the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup team.
Harman and Homa have been out of form for most of the summer. And then there’s Justin Thomas, who has played for every U.S. team since 2017. He’s ranked 19th after being the lowest-ranked player in the Ryder Cup one year when he was selected. Thomas did make it to the Tour Championship – 30th and last – so he has a week to perform.
“I feel like I’ve played well in some big tournaments this year. I didn’t do that until the beginning of the season,” Thomas said. “I know I’m playing well enough, but that’s because of Jim and the other captains and the guys on the team. I hope I can make it to Atlanta and prove that I belong.”
Weir would like to have Canadians on his side for the home crowd. None qualified. Conners was in seventh place, 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 recent Presidents Cup and played well on the back nine to secure a spot in next week’s Tour Championship.
“I want to be in East Lake. I really want to be in the Presidents Cup. But I’ve had a great season and if I don’t play great the last two weeks, I’d be OK with that,” he said. “It would obviously hurt a little bit, but to come out here and do it and perform under the pressure is an incredible feeling. I can’t wait to keep going.”
Scott has played on every Presidents Cup team since 2003 – the year after Tom Kim was born – but has never been on a winning team. The 2003 games ended in a tie in South Africa, and the Americans have won nine games in a row.
Phil Mickelson has participated in the Presidents Cup twelve times, more than any other player.
AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
