Jason Day, Tiger Woods miss automatic spots in Presidents Cup teams
As Justin Thomas closed out on a dominant victory at the BMW Championship, the final automatic eight spots on each Presidents Cup teams were locked in place and a few big names have missed out.
While Brooke Koepka. Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott and Marc Leishman are all certainties to be playing at Royal Melbourne in December, Jason Day and Tiger Woods will be relying on captain’s picks.
Jason Day finished as the ninth-ranked golfer for the International Team, just outside automatic qualification and will be hoping he is one of Ernie El’s four captain’s picks to make up the 12-man team.
Tiger Woods missed out on an automatic berth in a formidable US Team but in his case, earning a captain’s pick may be a little easier, albeit more awkward.
FINAL INTERNATIONAL TEAM STANDINGS
1 Marc Leishman – Australia
2 Hideki Matsuyama – Japan
3 Louis Oosthuizen – South Africa
4 Adam Scott – Australia
5 Abraham Ancer – Mexico
6 Haotong Li – China
7 C.T. Pan – Chinese Taipei
8 Cameron Smith – Australia
9 Jason Day – Australia
10 Jazz Janewattananond – Thailand
11 Sungjae Im – South Korea
12 Justin Harding – South Africa
1 Brooks Koepka
2 Justin Thomas
3 Dustin Johnson
4 Patrick Cantlay
5 Xander Schauffele
6 Webb Simpson
7 Matt Kuchar
8 Bryson DeChambeau
9 Tony Finau
10 Gary Woodland
11 Rickie Fowler
12 Patrick Reed
13 Tiger Woods
Woods is the US Team captain for the 2019 Presidents Cup in Melbourne and it would not surprise anyone to see the Masters champion name himself as a playing member of the team.
Although we’re guessing Woods would be kicking himself for not finishing one place higher on the rankings. At 13th place if he’s going to play himself in the team Woods is going to have to leave out one of the four guys who finished above him.
From the media release:
The International Team will be led by Marc Leishman, Louis Oosthuizen, Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama, who have a combined 17 Presidents Cup appearances and are flanked by four newcomers to the event, Abraham Ancer, Haotong Li, Cameron Smith and C.T. Pan.
Captain Els said: “This is as good as I could have asked for. I’ve got guys who have played in the Presidents Cup many times previously and I’ve got guys who are rookies. The guys who are pillars of our team have really stepped up to take their places in this team. I’m really impressed with how they’ve conducted themselves and played into the team.”
Li, Ancer and Pan are the first players from mainland China, Mexico and Chinese Taipei, respectively, to qualify for the International Team. Adam Scott has the most experience of any qualified player for both the International and U.S. Teams having played in the Presidents Cup on eight previous occasions. Scott is the only player on the International Team who played in the event in 2011 when it was held at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
The United States Team will be led by the No. 1-ranked player in the world, Brooks Koepka, veterans Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Matt Kuchar & Webb Simpson along with three players making their Presidents Cup debut, Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Cantlay.
“This is the core of the team. These guys have earned it. They’ve proven that they belong on the team,” said U.S. Team Captain Tiger Woods. “You’ve got some veterans, whether it’s Webby, Kuch or Dustin, who have been part of the teams for a very long time, and we have some newcomers. We have a nice mix.”
Making his fifth U.S. Team appearance, Kuchar is the most experienced player in the top eight and played on the 2011 U.S. Team along with Johnson and Simpson when they captured the Cup at Royal Melbourne. Thomas moved to number two in the standings on the heels of his victory in the second FedExCup playoff event.
