2024 preview: Predicting the International Team for 2024 Presidents Cup

Editor’s note: The PGA TOUR is celebrating the start of a new year with Opening Drive, a two-week kickoff to the 2024 season. Players are refreshed and ready to shine, and they’ll need to bring their best from the start because of the season’s condensed time frame. PGATOUR.COM’s preview content will prepare you for the start of the 2024 season by telling you the players and storylines you need to know before the first shot is hit.

Golf fans don’t reach a level of raucousness seen in other sports, but there’s still something about playing on the road that makes the visitors’ job tougher than when they are on familiar ground.

That’s one thing that will work in the International Team’s favor for the 2024 Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Canada. It’s been more than a quarter-century since the Internationals’ lone Presidents Cup victory, but there are a couple things working in their favor for the next biennial clash between the United States and the best players from outside the U.S. and Europe.

Home-course advantage is one, as is the state of their opponent. After experiencing a recent renaissance in these team events, the U.S. is coming off a dispiriting loss in the Ryder Cup in Rome and now has the pressure of trying to avoid back-to-back road losses. The Americans’ confidence likely took a hit last year.

The Internationals also will be led by Canada’s favorite son, Mike Weir, the first Canadian man to win a major championship. He’ll have his pick of several countrymen to complement his lineup, only adding to the home advantage. Stalwarts like Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama will likely be on the roster again, and Jason Day is looking to make his return to the Presidents Cup after seven-year absence. Then there are the young up-and-comers like Tom Kim and Min Woo Lee who will almost certainly make the team and would add energy to the lineup.

The International Team will utilize the Official World Golf Ranking to determine its six automatic qualifiers. All OWGR points awarded through the 2024 BMW Championship will apply towards determining those six players. Weir will then fill out his lineup with six captain’s picks. Here’s a current look at the standings followed by my predictions for which 12 players will be at Royal Montreal on Sept. 24-29 (listed in alphabetical order).

Corey Conners

Perennially one of the TOUR’s best ballstrikers, Conners is not only seeking to play in his home country but also to make amends for a difficult Presidents Cup debut. Conners went 0-4 at Quail Hollow, and a struggling Xander Schauffele earned the United States’ clinching point against him after the Canadian couldn’t capitalize on several Schauffele miscues on the back nine. Conners has ranked in the top 25 in both Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and Approach-the-Green in each of the past five seasons.

Presidents Cup appearances: 1 (2022)
Presidents Cup record: 0-4-0

Cameron Davis

The 6-foot-4 Australian provides the International Team with another strong driver. Added strength and stability in his golf swing helped him rank a career-best 17th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee in 2023; that improved play off the tee helped him end the season on a high note. After posting top-10s at both the PGA Championship (T4) and THE PLAYERS Championship (T6), showing he’s ready for a big stage, he strung together three consecutive top-10s to crack the top 50 in the FedExCup – guaranteeing him starts in all of 2024’s Signature Events. All told, he ended the 2023 season with six top-12 finishes in his final seven starts.

Presidents Cup appearances: 1 (2022)
Presidents Cup record: 2-3-0

Jason Day

It’s hard to believe Day hasn’t played the Presidents Cup since 2017, but he’s basically a lock to be back on the International Team after a career resurgence under the tutelage of instructor Chris Como. The biggest benefit of the swing changes? They’ve allowed Day to remain healthy, leading to his best season in years. His ended a five-year winless drought at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson and qualified for the TOUR Championship after finishing outside the top 100 in the FedExCup in each of the previous two years. He also was runner-up at The Open Championship in 2023, his best finish in a major since 2016, and returned to the top 20 of the world ranking for the first time in four years. The International Team is better with Jason Day on it, and his presence will be a boon to their chances in Montreal.

Presidents Cup appearances: 4 (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)
Presidents Cup record: 5-11-4

Ryan Fox

Fox put together a strong case for the 2022 competition but was one of the first players left off the team. How did he respond? By winning the following week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St. Andrews. Fox will be a PGA TOUR member for the first time in 2024 after another successful DP World Tour season, including a victory at the prestigious BMW PGA Championship. That is the DP World Tour’s biggest event and featured a strong field that included every member of the European Ryder Cup team. The son of a former New Zealand rugby star, Fox is an imposing figure.

Presidents Cup appearances: 0
Presidents Cup record: N/A

Adam Hadwin

Poor putting was the downfall of the International Team at the 2022 Presidents Cup. Hadwin would help the Internationals on the greens and be another Canadian for the hometown fans to root for. Hadwin and countryman Nick Taylor were runners-up in the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, finishing ahead of such teams as Wyndham Clark/Beau Hossler and the successful U.S. pairing of Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay, who won the 2022 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Hadwin was 21st in Strokes Gained: Putting in 2023, the second time in the past three years that he’s finished in the top 25 of that stat.

Presidents Cup appearances: 2 (2017, ’19)
Presidents Cup record: 1-3-2

Sungjae Im

His steady ballstriking, especially off the tee, and reputation as a birdie machine are both invaluable in team play. That’s why Im has a winning record (5-3-2) despite being on the losing side in his two Presidents Cup appearances. He’s a combined 3-0-1 in Four-balls, as well.

Presidents Cup appearances: 2 (2019, ’22)
Presidents Cup record: 5-3-2

Tom Kim

Kim rocketed up the world ranking in 2022 with wins at the Wyndham Championship and Shriners Children’s Open, becoming the first player since Tiger Woods to win twice on TOUR before turning 21. Kim’s Presidents Cup debut was sandwiched between those victories, and he was the International Team’s sparkplug. After a couple tough months in the middle of 2023, Kim hired a new coach, Chris Como, and the results quickly followed. Kim was runner-up at The Open and successfully defended his Shriners title. He concluded 2023 with nine consecutive top-25 finishes; it looks like his energy and iron play will elevate the Internationals for years to come.

Presidents Cup appearances: 1 (2022)
Presidents Cup record: 2-3-0

Min Woo Lee

Lee, 25, is poised to become one of the breakout players of 2024. The former U.S. Junior champ who won twice on the DP World Tour before turning 23, including against a strong field at the Genesis Scottish Open, is on the ascent. In 2023, he had his first top-10 in a major (T5, U.S. Open) and played in the final group at THE PLAYERS before finishing T6. He closed the year by finishing in the top 15 in seven of his final eight starts, including two victories, and has reached a career-high in the world ranking (33rd). He’s known for his stingers but has much more to contribute to the International side.

Presidents Cup appearances: 0
Presidents Cup record: N/A

Hideki Matsuyama

Matsuyama, Day and Scott are the International Team’s veteran trio as the only players among this dozen who have played in more than two Presidents Cups. The International Team will need Matsuyama to get healthy after neck and back injuries forced him to withdraw from multiple events. His 50th-place finish in the FedExCup was the worst of his career, ending a nine-year streak of TOUR Championship appearances. He still ranked among the TOUR’s top iron players but recorded only two top-10s in 2023 and none since March.

Presidents Cup appearances: 5 (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022)
Presidents Cup record: 7-10-5

Adam Scott

A rookie on the 2003 International Team that tied the U.S. in South Africa, Scott has experienced two decades of losing since. Still, the former Masters and PLAYERS champion is the leader of the International Team. His teammates hunger to see him taste Presidents Cup victory.

Presidents Cup appearances: 10 (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022)
Presidents Cup record: 18-25-6

Nick Taylor

He’s a hero in the Presidents Cup’s home country after the dramatic way he won the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, draining a 70-foot eagle putt to become the first Canadian in seven decades to win their national open. That alone is reason enough to include him on the team. The former world No. 1 amateur is coming off the best year of his pro career, qualifying for his first TOUR Championship at age 35. He also had two runners-up, including one at the TOUR’s only team event, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he teamed with Hadwin. He was solid throughout the bag in 2023, ranking in the top quarter of the TOUR in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green (36th), Around-the-Green (48th) and Putting (52nd).

Presidents Cup appearances: 0
Presidents Cup record: N/A

Erik van Rooyen

Van Rooyen’s recent victory at the World Wide Technology was arguably the most emotional on TOUR this year. Playing for his job when he arrived in Mexico for one of the final events of the year, he shot 8-under 28 on the final nine holes to win his second PGA TOUR title. Van Rooyen broke down in tears on the 18th green after playing with a heavy heart. A close friend and former college teammate, Jon Trasamar, was in the final days of his battle with cancer and would pass away days later. For van Rooyen, the victory was the culmination of his work with noted instructor Sean Foley that turned his season around. He went through a stretch where he missed nine cuts in 11 starts, but turned it around and didn’t finish worse than 30th in four starts in the FedExCup Fall.

Presidents Cup appearances: 0
Presidents Cup record: N/A

Five names to consider

• Byeong Hun An
• Ryo Hisatsune
• Mackenzie Hughes
• Emiliano Grillo
• Keita Nakajima