2024 preview: Predicting the 2024 U.S. Presidents Cup Team

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.

Trevor Immelman, the International captain in the previous Presidents Cup, believes a win is coming soon for his side. Australia’s Adam Scott is ready for a “helluva fight.” The Presidents Cup returns to the PGA TOUR schedule this season, scheduled for late September at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Quebec, Canada.

In addition to an inspired International Team, the 2024 U.S. Presidents Cup Team will face the added pressure of playing away from home and on the heels of a Ryder Cup road loss. The U.S. side seemed shaken by its loss in Rome this fall. Now the U.S. must hit the road once again, facing an International Team that will likely include veterans such as Scott and Hideki Matsuyama and young stars like Tom Kim and Min Woo Lee who are eager to inject energy into the International Team.

For the United States, Presidents Cup success can feel like a given. But the visiting team is always vulnerable. The Internationals’ only victory came at Australia’s Royal Melbourne in 1998, and the two sides tied in South Africa five years later. In the previous Presidents Cup held outside the United States, the International Team took the lead into Sunday Singles before succumbing to a U.S. comeback.

To prepare you for the 2024 edition, here is an early look at the predicted U.S. roster that will travel to Canada next fall. New names will surely arise in the intervening months – Kim was not on the International Team’s radar at this time two years ago, and few would have predicted Ludvig Aberg would star for Europe so shortly after turning pro – but it’s a worthwhile exercise to assess the current landscape and predict what may happen in the future

The U.S. will rely on familiar selection criteria to pick its 2024 team. Six automatic qualifying spots will be given to the top six PGA TOUR members who have earned the most FedExCup Points from Jan. 1, 2023, through the 2024 BMW Championship. The points are weighted to prioritize recent form and performance in the biggest events (THE PLAYERS Championship, Major Championships and Signature Events). For a full breakdown of the points structure,click here.

Here is a look at the current top 12:

My predicted list (in alphabetical order) includes seven of the current top 12, with a few outliers and surprises thrown in. Take a look:

Patrick Cantlay

Cantlay is an obvious pick to return to the team. He provided the spark for a spirited Sunday charge at the Ryder Cup and has consistently performed well in team events. Thanks to his consistency, the former FedExCup champion has been inside the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking since June 2021.

Presidents Cup appearances: 2 (2019, 2022)
Presidents Cup record: 6-3-0

Wyndham Clark

Clark’s meteoric rise in 2023 shouldn’t be mistaken for a flash in the pan. He ranked 13th in Strokes Gained: Total last season and was already trending toward becoming a top-20 player before winning the Wells Fargo Championship in May and the U.S. Open a month later. His elite distance off the tee makes him a viable partner in any format. Clark is currently third in points and has the inside track to another automatic qualifying spot.

Presidents Cup appearances: None
Presidents Cup record: N/A

Max Homa

Homa was 31 when he represented the United States for the first time as a professional at the 2022 Presidents Cup. He was a star at Quail Hollow, site of his first PGA TOUR win. He went 4-0- and was a rare bright spot for the 2023 U.S. Ryder Cup Team, as well.

He’s gone 7-1-1 in national team competitions as a pro, and though past performance isn’t an indicator of future performance, Homa embodies the exact player who consistently thrives in these formats. His ball-striking and putting skills make him a malleable partner, too.

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

Collin Morikawa

A big 2024 could be on tap for Morikawa. He finally snapped his winless streak with a convincing victory at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP last fall. That coincided with a coaching change, swapping out Rick Sessinghaus, with whom Morikawa had worked since he was 8, to Mark Blackburn, who also works with Homa and Justin Rose. Morikawa and Blackburn found immediate success and have made several swing tweaks to relieve some of Morikawa’s back issues. As arguably the PGA TOUR’s top iron player, he’s another player who would be hard to leave off the team barring some unforeseen loss of form.

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

Xander Schauffele

Sliding Schauffele back into his role alongside Cantlay makes too much sense. The former Zurich Classic of New Orleans champions went 4-0-0 as a team at Quail Hollow in 2022 and will be similarly relied upon in Montreal. A disappointing Ryder Cup performance shouldn’t quell the optimism.

Presidents Cup appearances: 2 (2019, 2022)
Presidents Cup record: 6-3-0

Scottie Scheffler

The No. 1 player in the world looking to avenge a poor Presidents Cup debut? Not much else needs to be said. Coming off a record-setting ballstriking season, Scheffler maintains the consistency to stay in any match, regardless of how well the opponent is playing and possesses the talent to run away with any match if it’s him who gets hot. He will be the best player on either team.

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

Jordan Spieth

There’s merit to leaving Spieth off this team, as he’s coming off a winless season and struggled at the Ryder Cup in Rome. He’s won twice in the previous six PGA TOUR seasons. Still, his experience is valuable to a team that is largely young and inexperienced. Spieth has been part of four Presidents Cup teams and five Ryder Cups and maintains a strong record. The traditional pairing of Spieth and Justin Thomas showed that it’s not immune to struggles at the Ryder Cup, but it will take more than one event to convince me to move off.

Presidents Cup appearances: 4 (2013, 2015, 2017, 2022)
Presidents Cup record: 13-5-1

Sahith Theegala

Theegala is one of three newcomers on this projected team who have never played in the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup. Turnover is inevitable year-to-year in these competitions, and Theegala is primed to scoop up one of those spots. He earned his first TOUR win at the Fortinet Championship this fall and is 12th in the current points list. He will need to show he can be consistent for a full season to earn a spot, but his short game would be a valuable variable for a U.S. Team that could use a feel player to pair with one of their many bombers.

Presidents Cup appearances: None
Presidents Cup record: N/A

Justin Thomas

Thomas’ selection as a Ryder Cup captain’s pick was controversial to some. It won’t be for the Presidents Cup. There are already signs Thomas is improving on what was a career-worst year. He finished third at the Hero World Challenge, his fourth consecutive top-12 finish and third top-five in a row.

Talented players like Thomas rarely stay in a rut for long, and it appears he is primed to have a resurgent 2024.

Presidents Cup appearances: 3 (2017, 2019, 2022)
Presidents Cup record: 10-3-2

Cameron Young

Considered a snub from last year’s Ryder Cup team, Young will remedy that this year. It was an up-and-down 2023 for the reigning Rookie of the Year, who changed caddies and golf balls. With some consistency around him, Young is in position to take the leap many expected from him last season.

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

Will Zalatoris

A back injury kept him off the 2022 Presidents Cup team and sidelined him for the majority of 2023. His health will again be a question this year, but for now, he’s healthy and playing on the PGA TOUR. That’s enough to put him on the radar again. If he can return to the form he had before his injury troubles, this will be an easy decision come September.

Presidents Cup appearances: None
Presidents Cup record: N/A

Gordon Sargent

OK, we had to leave one surprise for the end. Is this likely to happen? No. But neither was Ludvig Aberg’s rapid rise onto the European Ryder Cup Team. Sargent, the No. 1 amateur in the world, represents that level of talent and is ahead of where Aberg was at this point last year. Sargent has already guaranteed himself a PGA TOUR card through the PGA TOUR University Accelerated Program. It’s waiting for him once he finishes his 2024 season at Vanderbilt in May. That will leave him the same timeline Aberg had, about three months to earn a spot. His talent and driving prowess have already earned rave reviews from Rory McIlroy. That’s all we need to take a leap of faith to round out this team.

And if it isn’t Sargent, this spot represents a wild card that is bound to pop up. Neither Clark nor Brian Harman were expected to make the Ryder Cup a year ago. So, why not Sargent? Let’s have some fun.

Presidents Cup appearances: None
Presidents Cup record: N/A

Other names worth watching

• Sam Burns
• Keegan Bradley
• Tony Finau
• Russell Henley
• Tiger Woods