It’s a Presidents Cup year in 2024.
In nine months, U.S. captain Jim Furyk will lead his squad, winners of 12 of 14 cups, up to Royal Montreal Golf Club, where International captain Mike Weir and his bunch will host the Sept. 26-29 matches in Quebec, Canada.
Who will be on those 12-man teams? World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler figures to lead the Americans while 21-year-old Tom Kim of South Korea also should be a lock for a second straight stint with the Internationals. Americans Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, and Aussies Min Woo Lee and Jason Day are some other potential qualifiers.
Two years ago, the U.S. returned just four players for Quail Hollow who competed in 2019 at Royal Melbourne. The Internationals had just three returners, and all but four team members were rookies. That was, of course, largely due to the LIV Golf defections that took place earlier in 2022. This year’s matches figure to see less turnover – and as of now there is no path to LIV players competing, though that could change and thus change these predictions.
As of qualification, the Americans take the top six players off their points standings, which starting in the new year will award two points for every FedExCup point earned in majors and 1.5 points for every FEC point earned in other Tour events. The Internationals go with its top six players in the Official World Golf Ranking. Both auto races end after the BMW Championship. Each side gets six captain’s picks.
Here is a guess at who will be competing this September in Montreal:
U.S. TEAM
Scottie Scheffler: No-brainer. He’ll win more this coming year, too.
Xander Schauffele: Once more a popular pick to win his first major. Even if he doesn’t, he’s on this team and will pair with this next guy…
Patrick Cantlay: The good news for Captain Furyk is that Cantlay did wear a hat in his last Presidents Cup appearance. Cantlay-Schauffele will head north of the border.
Sam Burns: Of all the top Americans, he’s most likely to make the biggest jump in 2024. We’re talking about multiple wins and maybe even a major.
Justin Thomas: For a difficult as his recent slump was, JT still made the Ryder Cup, and he closed 2023 strong – T-12, fifth, fourth, third. This year, he leaves nothing to chance and easily makes Furyk’s team.
Max Homa: Currently second in U.S. points, and though there is a lot of golf left, Homa is coming a third straight year of two worldwide wins. He’ll finally pop in a major and qualify on points – or be one of the least-questioned picks.
Collin Morikawa: Similar to JT, Morikawa is too good to experience another lengthy run of poor play. He should pad his points this West Coast Swing after getting a fall win at the Zozo.
Sahith Theegala: This is where things get tough. Theegala begins the year No. 12 in U.S. points. If history has taught us anything, he will build his resumé in the first few months of the year and then hang on. He may do more than that; watch out for him at Augusta National.
Will Zalatoris: The fact that he’s coming off back surgery is concerning, but assuming he’s healthy, there’s no way that iron game is denied all year.
Tony Finau: His five top-10s this year were his worst output since 2016. Finau is too good to not be due a bounce-back.
Cameron Young: He struggled everywhere but off the tee last season and still was in the Ryder Cup hunt. With his sophomore slump behind him, Young should be motivated to come out and at the very least putt it better. He sneaks onto a second straight Presidents Cup team.
Jordan Spieth: Perhaps Spieth plays the role of this year’s JT next year? He made it to East Lake this year, but he didn’t win and he was wildly inconsistent, especially the latter half of the year.
First three out: Wyndham Clark, Rickie Fowler, Eric Cole
Dark horse: Pierceson Coody. If he can stay healthy, the Texas product is a good bet to be one of the world’s best off the tee and flirt with a PGA Tour win. He’ll have some bad stretches, but his great stretches could earn him a look.
INTERNATIONAL TEAM
Tom Kim: Three-time PGA Tour winner already at age 21. He’ll be this team’s superstar.
Min Woo Lee: Superstar 1B. Book it.
Jason Day: Coming off resurgent year, he’ll play his first Cup since 2017.
Sungjae Im: Pro golf’s ironman was winless on the PGA Tour last season, but he still made it to East Lake and had a pair of top-10s in the playoffs. He’s not going anywhere.
Hideki Matsuyama: He’s 31 and slipped to No. 46 in the world, but he’ll make this team unless he’s hurt.
Ryan Fox: Snubbed two years ago, the Kiwi has since won twice on the DP World Tour, including the flagship BMW PGA.
Corey Conners: The flusher has been hanging around the top 25-40 in the world for three years now, so there’s little doubt he won’t be playing a home Cup.
Adam Scott: The 43-year-old veteran has played 10 straight Presidents Cups, and an 11th in a row is a good bet, too. He finished the year with five top-7s in his final eight worldwide starts.
Nick Taylor: There are several Canadian hopefuls for Weir’s team. The Logo will be the only one to join Conners in Montreal.
Ryo Hisatsune: At just 21 years old, Hisatsune is already a top-100 player in the world as he preps for his rookie PGA Tour season.
Keita Nakajima: That’s right, Japan gets three representatives as another rising talent in Nakajima, ranked No. 88 in the world, is poised to either take advantage of the exemptions he gets on the big tours or dominate the Korn Ferry Tour.
Alejandro Tosti: Perhaps a controversial pick to some, there could be no denying Tosti’s talent and resumé when we reach late summer.
First three out: Si Woo Kim, Emiliano Grillo, Adam Hadwin
Dark horse: Casey Jarvis. The 20-year-old South African is already a Sunshine Tour rookie of the year, Challenge Tour winner and member of the 59 club. He’s about to make some noise on the DP World Tour.
