The Five: Did Presidents Cup captains get their picks right?

Did Brandt Snedeker and Geoff Ogilvy get it right?

We now know the full rosters for the U.S. and International Presidents Cup teams, with the final six players of each team revealed by the respective captains on Tuesday night during a live selection show.

Many of the picks were expected, though both teams deviated from popular opinion at the back end of the rosters, which will surely inspire debate in the lead-up to the event.

Let’s break down those surprise picks and other lingering questions we have now that the 24 golfers are finalized. The Presidents Cup will be held from Sept. 22-27 at Medinah Country Club, Course No. 3.

Is this the right time to pick Jackson Koivun?

The surprise of the selections was the U.S. Team picking Koivun, the 21-year-old phenom just months removed from turning pro.

Why is it a shock? It breaks patterns. With an incredibly deep pool of talent, the Americans have typically relied heavily on their points list and veterans to fill out their roster, working with the mantra to give it to whoever they deem the most deserving based on their play over the last two years, rather than thinking for the future or weighing potential. And it has worked. The U.S. Team hasn’t lost the Presidents Cup since 1998 and has dominated the Internationals.

Often, rookies come through automatic qualifiers, like J.J. Spaun at last year's Ryder Cup. If they are captains’ picks, it’s because they are overwhelmingly one of the top 12 Americans, like Cameron Young a year ago.

That’s not necessarily the case for Koivun. There’s an argument to be made that he’s already one of the top 12 Americans, yet even if he isn’t, his inclusion makes loads of sense. At minimum, he should provide a strong level of play close to the other alternatives (Ryan Gerard, Spaun, etc.), and it also sets future U.S. teams up for success.

Getting Koivun reps at a home Presidents Cup early in his development will pay dividends when the U.S. heads on the road the next two years for away Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups. Think of it like how the European Ryder Cup team selected Ludvig Åberg for the 2023 Ryder Cup just months after his pro debut.

Now the question becomes: How much will Koivun play and in what formats?

Only one U.S. player in the history of the Presidents Cup has played fewer than three matches (Bryson DeChambeau, 2019), so expect Koivun to play at least three times. Four-ball would make the most sense, allowing the youngster to play his own ball and get comfortable. That’s the format to make birdies, and Koivun showed the ability to do that in his brief stint on Tour this season, making four per round (ranked 35th on Tour).

Who got snubbed?

Some years, the captain’s picks are a mirror image of the top 12 on the points list. That was not the case this year, as several players inside the top 12 of both teams were left off.

Ben Griffin finished eighth in the points list but was not chosen. He earned most of his points during a breakthrough 2025 season, winning three times, and had struggled in recent months, leading to his omission.

J.J. Spaun was 10th on the points list, though his availability became uncertain after withdrawing during the first round of the TOUR Championship. Similar concerns arose about Jason Day on the International side. His year ended unceremoniously with multiple missed cuts and withdrawals due to injury.

The only other top-12 finisher who didn’t get selected was South African Casey Jarvis, who played well on the DP World Tour this season. His omission wasn’t a surprise given his lack of Tour starts. Aldrich Potgieter seemed likely to be part of this team after winning Rookie of the Year last fall, but his form had also fallen off in recent months.

On the U.S. side, Ryan Gerard looked to be in consideration for a pick. Gerard even said on Sunday of the TOUR Championship that he was going to play in Europe because he wanted to be in form in case he was selected. Gerard was ultimately left off. He was 16th on the points list. Others who will be disappointed that they weren’t picked include Akshay Bhatia (14th on the points list) and Maverick McNealy (15th).

Was Christiaan Bezuidenhout right bet for Ogilvy?

Nearly as surprising as Koivun on the American side, Ogilvy delivered a shocker with his selection of Bezuidenhout to round out the International roster.

Bezuidenhout has a proven track record in this event, compiling a 3-1-1 record in two appearances, but he was well outside the top 12 on the team’s points list and is having a down season.

Whereas he compiled strong seasons in 2024 and 2022, finishing 29th and 51st in the FedExCup, respectively, Bezuidenhout is currently 97th and will spend the fall just trying to maintain Tour status. He ranked 18th on the Internationals’ points list, a spot below Taylor Pendrith, who was chosen as a captain’s assistant.

Ogilvy is clearly relying on Bezuidenhout’s resume in this event, leaning on experienced players who know what to expect. That’s a sound strategy as the Internationals head into a hostile environment in Chicago. It won’t be his first time playing an away Presidents Cup. He went 1-0-1 at Quail Hollow in 2022.

There are some underlying metrics to support Bezuidenhout’s case as well. He ranks 25th on Tour in Strokes Gained: Total and has great years putting (14th on Tour) and with his approach play (26th on Tour). That said, those numbers didn’t yield top results. Bezuidenhout had two top-10 finishes in 21 starts, and both came at Additional Events.

Will Tom Kim, Si Woo Kim continue their partnership?

The two developed into a dynamic pairing over the last two Presidents Cups, 2-1-0 together, and delivered the highlight moment of the Internationals' ultimately unsuccessful push at Royal Montreal Golf Club. They are also two of the International Team’s building blocks. It seems natural that they would play together again.

But should they?

It’s conceivable that the International Team's top two players by Medinah are Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim. Is it smart to pair them or separate them?

It’s a question often pondered at team events, and the International Team has employed the mega-star strategy before. No two players have played more matches together for the International side than Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama. For many of those years, they were the two best players, and the captains chose to pair them, hoping to create a vaunted duo. Instead, the two went 2-4-1. Ernie Els and Vijay Singh were frequent partners. They went 2-4-0 together.

As the Internationals face an uphill climb on away turf against a more proven U.S. side, is it best to try and shore up one match? Or hope to spread their best players throughout the lineup card to grab as many points as possible?

Could Ryo Hisatsune unlock Hideki Matsuyama?

Hideki Matsuyama has played six Presidents Cups. He has never had a Japanese teammate.

That changes this year. Ryo Hisatsune was part of Ogilvy’s captain's picks. Is it too reductive to expect them to play together?

The Internationals have frequently paired countrymen together. There’s typically at least one South Korean duo in every session, and the team has recently sent out numerous All-Australian and All-Canadian groups.

Could we finally get an all-Japanese group? Hideki Matsuyama has been a mainstay on the International side, and while he performs well in Singles (3-1-2 in his career), his combined record in Four-ball and Foursomes is 6-12-3. He holds winning records with only C.T. Pan and Sangmoon Bae.

How to unlock Matsuyama has become a frequent topic of discussion, but this is a lever that the Internationals have never pulled before. So it stands to reason that Ogilvy will pair Hisatsune and Matsuyama at some point to see if it can work.

Hisatsune is a strong ball-striker, ranking above average off the tee and in approach. He struggles mightily around the greens, which Matsuyama’s short-game prowess could offset. Putting is a shared weakness, though. Both are below average on the greens.