Why not J.J. Spaun?
U.S. Presidents Cup captain Brandt Snedeker said it came down to one bit of advice he got from previous captains about going past the top 12 in points for one of the six wild-card picks.
"You've got to trust your gut," Snedeker said on Sept. 22 at the Medinah Golf Club in Chicago. "My gut was telling me one thing. You've got to make those decisions. It's tough. I feel awful for J.J. and I always will. He's a great dude and I love the guy to death."
Except Spaun, the 2025 U.S. Open champion, was pointed with his remarks after winning last week's BMW Championship at Wentworth in England, a tournament considered on a level with The Players Championship on the DP World Tour.
"I played with a huge chip on my shoulder," he said, "I definitely
had something to prove this week, but everything happens for a reason."
Also on Spaun's body of work was a 2-1 record as a Ryder Cup rookie at Bethpage last year, including a victory over Sepp Straka in singles. At 10th on the points list (the top six earn automatic berths), Spaun was passed over by Snedeker for No. 13 Patrick Cantlay and PGA Tour rookieJackson Koivun, who has played only seven professional events.
Snedeker can make several points in favor of Cantlay and Koivun. Cantlay is 10-4 in four Presidents Cups and he has been in good form in recent events, tying for eighth in the Rocket Classic, tying for 12th in the FedEx St. Jude Championship and finishing solo second in the BMW Championship.
In Koivun's favor is a victory at the 3M Open, his third PGA Tour start, in which he held off Scottie Scheffler down the stretch, and a 13-4-1 match play record for Auburn in SEC and NCAA Tournaments.
At the time Snedeker had to make his captain's picks, Spaun was coming off five finishes of a tie for 22nd or lower, and withdrew from the Tour Championship because of an injury.
But Spaun looked healthy enough when he won the BMW. So did Jacob Bridgeman, who was 12th in points on the U.S. team and won the Biltmore Championship last week.
"We had 15 guys, 16 guys that we were really looking at," Snedeker said. "You're going to have to make these tough decisions. I told the guys who didn't make the team, your job is to go make me look like an idiot as quick as possible."
Adam Scott said closing matters most
Adam Scott is playing in his 13th Presidents Cup and will break a tie with Phil Mickelson for the most matches when he hits his first tee shot at Medinah.
He'd obviously like to play for a winning International team before his career is over and said the key is to follow the European Ryder Cup team's formula for success against the U.S.
"From where I sit, often I feel like the U.S. team wins the last couple of holes in matches when they're close," he said. "When I watch Europe play the Ryder Cup, I feel like the 17th and 18th holes go in Europe's favor. So I feel like the matches, even on some of the big differences in score, are closer than they really are. And I don't think we're far off, but those final holes and closing out the match is so important in this.”
Korn Ferry playoffs resume in Oklahoma
The top 100 players on the Korn Ferry Tour points list will compete Oct. 1-4 at the Compliance Solutions Championship, at the Patriot Golf Club in Owasso, Okla.
From there, the top 60 will advance to the Korn Ferry Tour Championship Oct. 8-11 at the Federal Club in Glen Allen, Va.
Area players still among the top 100 are Doc Redman (3), Ben Kohles (17), Nick Gabrelcik (35), Travis Trace (45), Rick Lamb (71), Julian Suri (76), Carl Yuan (81) and Lanto Griffin (89).
Among the players who didn't make the field in Oklahoma are Will Gordon, Russell Knox, Tyson Alexander, Sebastian Cappelen, Samuel Anderson, Philip Knowles, David Lingmerth, Luke Guthrie and Robbie Higgins. They have earned conditional Korn Ferry Tour status for 2027 but have the option of going to PGA Tour Q-School Dec. 10-13 in Ponte Vedra to compete for five PGA Tour cards.
PGA Tour
Event: Presidents Cup, Sept. 24-27, Medinah Country Club, Chicago.
Purse: No purse.
Defending champion: United States.
TV: Golf Channel (Sept. 24, 12:30-7 p.m.; Sept. 25, 2-7 p.m.; Sept. 26, 8-9 a.m.); NBC (Sept 26, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sept. 27, 12-6 p.m.).
Area players: None.
LPGA
Event: Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, Sept. 25-27, Pinnacle Golf Club, Rogers, Ark.
Purse: $3 million ($450,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: Jasmine Suwannapura.
Area players: Chella Choi, Austin Kim, Jessica Porvasnik.
TV: Golf Channel (Sept. 25, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; Sept. 26, 4-7 p.m.; Sept. 27, 2-5 p.m.).
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Brandt Snedeker explains why J.J. Spaun missed Presidents Cup team
