Signature Scroll: Presidents Cup drama brewing at Bellerive

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A really fun first 36. There’s A LOT to discuss …

Leave no doubt

ST. LOUIS – In the delirious aftermath of last year’s U.S. Open, just moments after J.J. Spaun holed one of the most improbable winning putts in golf history, I found myself standing right next to one of his coaches, Adam Schreiber.

Schreiber was, understandably, in a euphoric frenzy that couldn’t be quelled. A group of us journalists was trying to rein him in, if for no more than a question or two, to better understand what we just saw. Before we could lob the prompt ourselves, Schreiber blurted out one of our many wonders.

“We ought to get that Ryder Cup now,” Schreiber said, eyes darting every which way. “They said they won’t pick us. They said you got to get in the top six.”

Who “they” were was never fully answered. Schreiber dashed off before any follow-ups, but the natural conclusion didn’t require much straining or overanalysis.

Spaun believed he needed to auto-qualify to make the Ryder Cup team (which he eventually did). Maybe he was even told that directly. Anything less was a half-hearted guarantee – a slippery slope that they didn’t want to find themselves on.

I thought back to that moment today because Spaun, along with another half-dozen or so players this week, is trying to leave no doubt once again.

The U.S. Team’s six automatic qualifiers for next month’s Presidents Cup lock on Sunday night. There are some, right around that bubble, who likely believe they will be part of that American team either way. Yet nobody would prefer to find out, left to the whims of statistical models, personal biases and last-second changes of heart.

Wyndham Clark, the 36-hole leader, admitted it’s on his mind. “I don't want to leave it up to chance,” he said. Clark is seventh on the points list but would vault to third if he holds on and wins.

Spaun is thinking about it, too. He began the week No. 10 on the points list. He believes he needs to show something over the next two weeks to prove he is in form. As he spoke, he inadvertently started pitching himself before pulling back, “My game's in a good spot and it's kind of been an inconsistent year but maybe my experience with the Ryder Cup and winning a major last year will kind of help me in that sense of getting picked. But I'm totally not going to rely on that.”

As things stand now, Spaun finishing in solo third would move him to seventh, just outside auto-qualification. You’d think that would be good enough, right?

“I would love to just earn my way and not have to be on the chopping block,” Spaun said.

Then there’s Patrick Cantlay (T6, 8 under) and Justin Thomas (T12, 6 under). They are two key cogs in the U.S. Team’s operations and have been for a decade. Yet they are both precariously on the bubble. Thomas ranks 11th in points, and Cantlay is 17th. Their chance to auto-qualify has come and gone, but they can at least try to show solid form. They are preaching a different strategy. They say (you can decide whether you believe them) that they aren’t thinking about it all. They are just trying to jump into the top 30 and make it to next week. They don’t have the luxury of thinking a month down the line.

“What is in my control is to play as well as I can this week,” Cantlay said.

U.S. Captain Brandt Snedeker has his hands full. Will he rely on experience – like Thomas and Cantlay – or give a nod to youth? Both Michael Thorbjornsen and Michael Brennan are playing well again.

If Ben Griffin drops out of the top six, will he still be picked? It’s assumed he would be at Medinah given his spot in the standings, but right now he would be knocked out of an auto-qualifying spot and has had shaky form.

The good news for Snedeker is that he still has a week to decide. He will announce his captain’s picks sometime after the TOUR Championship. A lot will change before then. Buckle up.

Here’s the projected Presidents Cup U.S. Team standings given where the leaderboard sits after 36 holes. It will change, but this gives us an idea of what’s possible.

• 1. Scottie Scheffler
• 2. Cameron Young
• 3. Wyndham Clark (⬆️4)
• 4. Sam Burns (⬇️1)
• 5. Russell Henley (⬇️1)
• 6. Chris Gotterup (⬆️2)

--

• 7. J.J. Spaun (⬆️3)
• 8. Collin Morikawa (⬇️2)
• 9. Ben Griffin (⬇️4)
• 10. Xander Schauffele (⬇️1)
• 11. Justin Thomas
• 12. Jacob Bridgeman

Playing through

• 📺 Catch up on Round 2 highlights ...
• 🔩 For the golf nuts, we filmed Rory McIlroy's entire Thursday range session and posted it in full. Watch here …
• 😯 More on McIlroy and the unique training aid, new rehearsal that’s powering him into contention ...

Bubble watch

Let’s get into the daily FedExCup bubble update. As a reminder, only the top 30 move on after this week. A spot at the TOUR Championship comes with the possibility of winning the FedExCup, along with exemptions into the 2027 major championships.

IN

• Gary Woodland (31st ➡️17th)
• Sungjae Im (40th ➡️28th)
• Michael Thorbjornsen (41st ➡️30th)

OUT

• Kurt Kitayama (28th ➡️32nd)
• Rickie Fowler (30th ➡️33rd)
• Bud Cauley (29th ➡️34th)

In this scenario, Woodland makes his first TOUR Championship since 2019, Im makes his eighth straight appearance at East Lake and Thorbjornsen plays his first. It would also hurt for Kitayama, who would miss out on a spot at the Masters.

Parting shots

• 🤒 Part of the reason why Scheffler may have struggled in the first round: He was under the weather. “I wasn't feeling a hundred percent yesterday,” he said. “I'm still not feeling a hundred percent today.” He didn’t elaborate beyond that.
• 🌊 Sungjae Im has turned his game around incredibly well since The Open. Caddie Willy Wilcox can take some responsibility. He told me that he gave Im some thoughts on his swing, and his play has flipped since. He’s tied for fourth.
• ⚾ Wyndham Clark missed the cut badly at the Rocket Classic. Why? He chalked some of it up to throwing the first pitch at the Detroit Tigers game on Wednesday, which left him with a very sore right arm. At least he threw a strike. “I'm very proud of that pitch,” he said.
• 🪨 Gary Woodland was in contention at the Bellerive PGA Championship in 2018. That is, until he tripled the 10th hole on Saturday. The good news for Woodland? There are no triples yet at the 10th this week.
• 🥇 One more on Woodland. He leads the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and SG: Approach. That’s a winning formula.