U.S. Presidents Cup Captain Brandt Snedeker looked at his options for his six captain’s picks to round out his 12-man team and saw an embarrassment of riches.
“One of the hardest things I think I've had to do is look at how deep our team is. There was 15, 16, 17 guys that had a legit chance of doing this,” he said.
Snedeker knows what it is like to be snubbed from a team. He was passed over for the 2003 U.S. Walker Cup team and he never forgot it.
“There's a ton of pressure on these guys this last month of the season. There's a ton of pressure not only dealing with the FedEx Cup playoffs, but trying to make a team. Some guys handle it better than others. Some guys can figure it out. You always pay attention to that, looking for that. I think that's
something you take into account as a captain,” he said.
So, how did he make the tough decisions in narrowing the candidates down to the six who got the call to join the team? Snedeker said he spent time with numerous past captains – from Jack Nicklaus to Paul Azinger and Davis Love III – and picked their brains.
“I've probably talked to them all trying to get down to the nuts and bolts of what really at the end of the day can move the needle for you one way or the other when it comes to this kind of stuff,” he said. “Everyone to a T said you've got to trust your gut. You've got to trust your gut. You have good instincts. You didn't get to where you are in life without having good instincts. You've got to trust them.”
And that was the ultimate reason that one of those six picks went to 21-year-old Jackson Koivun, the first player since Jordan Spieth in 2013 to be 21 years old or younger to be competing for Team USA in the Presidents Cup.
“I don't know why I can't put my finger on it, I just have a gut feeling about this kid,” Snedeker said.
Here’s a closer look at Snedeker’s 12-man squad.
For the United States!#PresidentsCup | #USTeam pic.twitter.com/dqTfC1JQWA
— Presidents Cup (@PresidentsCup) September 1, 2026
Scottie Scheffler
Age: 30
World ranking: 1
Appearances: 3 (2022, 2024, 2026)
Presidents Cup record: 3-5-1
Scheffler, who is making his third straight appearance in the Presidents Cup, earned nearly double the points of the next closest finisher in the standings. Scheffler is the world No. 1 for a reason. He’s won twice this season, most recently at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. But his record at the Presidents Cup has been spotty. He has a career mark of 3-5-1. He’s also coming off going 1-4 at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage last year and has plenty to prove in Chicago. While the dominant force in the men's professional game, he's been surprisingly beatable in team play.
Cameron Young
Age: 29
World ranking: 3
Appearances: 2 (2022, 2026)
Presidents Cup record: 1-2-1
Young was a rookie at Quail Hollow four year ago at the Presidents Cup. He arguably was the lone bright spot at the Ryder Cup last year, notching a 3-1 record. He picked up where he left off, winning the Players Championship and Cadillac Championship this season. He also finished third at the Masters and second at the British Open. This has been the season that Young has finally lived up to his potential after recording seven runner-up finishes before he got his first win and a lot will be expected of him at Medinah.
Wyndham Clark
Age: 32
World ranking: No. 8
Appearances: 2 – 2024, 2026
Presidents Cup record: 1-2-1
Clark vaulted into the top six with impressive play since winning the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in May. Then he won the U.S. Open for the second time and tacked on the BMW Championship to make PGA Tour Player of the Year a conversation. He’s playing the best golf of his career, an impressive comeback from a difficult season in which he failed to advance to the BMW Championship and didn’t garner serious consideration for the U.S. Ryder Cup team given his form.
Sam Burns
Age: 30
World ranking: 7
Appearances: 3 (2022, 2024, 2026)
Presidents Cup record: 3-3-3
Burns is winless since 2023 but has been a regular on international teams. This time he didn’t need a captain’s pick.
Burns has been playing some of his best golf of late. He recorded six straight top 20 finishes heading into the BMW, including four T-4s or better. That includes a second at the U.S. Open and third at the British Open.
Russell Henley
Age: 37
World ranking: 6
Appearances: 2 (2024, 2026)
Presidents Cup record: 3-1-0
Henley won the Charles Schwab Challenge in May and finished T-3 at the Masters and T-9 at the British Open.
He teamed well with Scottie Scheffler and went 3-1 as a Presidents Cup rookie in 2024. But Henley was a Ryder Cup disappointment last year, struggling to a mark of 0-2-1.
Collin Morikawa
Age: 29
World ranking: No. 11
Appearances: 3 – 2022, 2024, 2026
Presidents Cup record: 6-2-0
Morikawa has been a stalwart for the last three Presidents Cup teams. But he’s coming off a rough Ryder Cup in which he went 0-2-1. Morikawa won the AT&T Pebble Beach Invitational in February but battled a back injury for much of the remainder of the year. A strong finish at the BMW secured his spot on the team
Brandt Snedeker wasn’t afraid to think outside the box.
The U.S. Presidents Cup captain selected former college phenom Jackson Koivun, who won the PGA Tour’s 3M Open in just his third start as a professional. Koivun will be joined by a trio of U.S. team stalwarts in Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, as well as Chris Gotterup, who was narrowly on the wrong side of the cutoff for the six automatic selections. Gotterup is one of three rookies added to the team Tuesday, along with Koivun and Jacob Bridgeman.
The 16th edition of the Presidents Cup will be played Sept. 24-27 at Medinah Country Club in Chicago. Here’s a closer look at the six U.S. captain’s picks.
Chris Gotterup
- Age: 27
- World ranking: No. 9
- Appearances: None
- Presidents Cup record: Rookie
Gotterup was the odd-man out at No. 7 for the final automatic qualifying spot. But he helped his chances by being in the trophy hunt at the BMW and Tour Championship with a pair of T-4s. He likely would have been a pick anyway after three wins during the regular season, tied for the most on Tour this season. He made a late run for the U.S. Ryder Cup team at Bethpage last year but didn't get the call. Gotterup will be a rookie on the team and making his first appearance in international competition. He could team well with close friend and fellow captain's pick Jacob Bridgeman.
Xander Schauffele
- Age: 32
- World ranking: 10
- Appearances: 2019, 2022, 2024
- Presidents Cup record: 10-4-0
Not the best year by his high standard ― no wins and only three top 5s ― but Schauffele has been showing signs of returning to his 2024 form, which included two majors, after being sidelined with an injury for a chunk of last season. He’s also part of a deadly tandem with Cantlay at this event since 2019. Schauffele clinched the winning point for the U.S. team at the 2022 Presidents Cup.
Justin Thomas
- Age: 33
- World ranking: 21
- Appearances: 2017, 2019, 2022
- Presidents Cup record: 10-3-2
The words of 2023 U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson still hold true: “You just don’t leave JT at home.”
Thomas is built for match play, with a combined Presidents and Ryder Cups record of 19-9-4. He gets up for these international affairs like few others. He also shot 25 under and won the BMW Championship in 2019 at Medinah No. 3., site of the Presidents Cup. He torched the place so much so that the club ponied up for a renovation that was conducted by OCM, the design firm of which International Team captain Geoff Ogilvy is the ‘O.’
Thomas had a winless campaign after off-season back surgery. He made it to the BMW Championship but failed to get back to East Lake. He recorded just two top-10 finishes, with a T-4 at the PGA Championship his best result.
Patrick Cantlay
- Age: 33
- World ranking: 27
- Appearances: 2019, 2022, 2024
- Presidents Cup record: 10-4-0
Cantlay’s winless drought stretches four years and he needed a runner up at the BMW Championship to make it to East Lake. But he’s been an absolute beast in match play ― America's Ian Poulter ― and should be wearing a hat!
Jacob Bridgeman
- Age: 26
- World ranking: 28
- Appearances: None
- Presidents Cup record: Rookie
Bridgeman won the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in February as part of a breakout season in 2026. He also claimed the Biltmore Championship Asheville on Sunday. A year ago, he made it all the way to the Tour Championship without a win. This time, he made 22 of 23 cuts, recorded 11 top-25s and capped off the FedEx Cup season with six straight top-30 finishes, including a solo ninth and a T-4 in the last two weeks. That's the type of hot hand Snedeker was looking for, not to mention he led the entire PGA Tour this season in Strokes Gained: Putting.
Jackson Koivun
- Age: 22
- World ranking: 66
- Appearances: None
- Presidents Cup record: Rookie
Koivun set all sorts of records at Auburn and proceeded to validate the hype around him by winning the 3M Open in just his third start as a professional. He also made it into the FedEx Cup Playoffs in just five starts, tying Tiger Woods' mark for the fewest. Every indication is he’s the real deal. At last year’s Walker Cup, he had a record of 3-1, including 2-0 in singles at Cypress Point. If Snedeker was seeking good putters out of his captain’s picks, he’s found one of the best strokes in the game.
When and where is the Presidents Cup?
The 2026 Presidents Cup will be played at Medinah Country Club in Chicago, Sept. 22-27.
Adam Schupak is a senior writer for Golfweek, covering the PGA Tour.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: This is the 12-man team for the U.S. at the 2026 Presidents Cup
