The rosters are set. The hour-long TV special is over. And the Presidents Cup has taken shape.
U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker had six automatic picks and six to make on his own for September’s meeting at Medinah. A few of those seemed obvious — but the bottom of the roster seemed like a massive question mark. Here are three surprises about the way Snedeker chose to fill it.
1. The Bridge Man cometh
At the beginning of the 2026 season, Jacob Bridgeman seemed like a no-brainer pick for the U.S. side. His first eight starts of the year yielded seven top 20s, three top-fives and a statement win at the Genesis Invitational.
But after that? Bridgeman’s golf remained remarkably consistent, but it dropped a tick. His T13s became T33s. He logged just one top-20 finish in his next 13 starts. Granted, Bridgeman missed just one cut in that stretch, but by the time the playoffs rolled around, he was at the edge of the conversation.
It’ll be interesting to hear just how much Bridgeman’s case changed with his playoff performance, then. His ninth-place finish at the BMW Championship and his T4 at the Tour Championship provided an impressive bookend to his breakout year.
It also doesn’t hurt that he’s statistically the best putter on the PGA Tour.
2. An American in Europe
After his solo third-place finish at the Tour Championship, Ryan Gerard got on a red-eye flight to Europe for this week’s Omega European Masters, where he’s the betting favorite. Why play there? In part, he said, to prep for a potential Presidents Cup pick.
“Full transparency, if I get a Presidents Cup spot, I’d love to kind of roll into there being a little bit more prepared,” Gerard said. “I like to play a lot of golf. And if I don’t, I’ll probably just stay over there and play Wentworth and the France Open after that.”
On Tuesday, Gerard earned the unfortunate (and unofficial) honor of first man out when Snedeker left his name unsaid. Gerard was among the hottest players on the U.S. side, entering with five top-10s in his last 11 starts — but it wasn’t enough to leapfrog veteran presences like Justin Thomas or Patrick Cantlay.
Based on his comments from Sunday, it sounds like Gerard will extend his fall Eurotrip; that’ll mean a few more chances to show the U.S. side what they’re missing out on.
3. The Rookie
Jackson Koivun has made just six starts as a pro. The third of those starts was a statement win at the 3M Open, where he fended off World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and validated the hype that had followed him throughout his time as Auburn’s superstar.
Koivun snuck into the FedEx Cup Playoffs, too — a particularly impressive accomplishment given his limited starts.
But a solid, if unremarkable finish to his PGA Tour season — T31 in Detroit, T29 in Greensboro, T24 in Memphis — left his Presidents Cup future up in the air. Would a U.S. team-golf outfit known for playing it safe really roll the dice on an unproven 21-year-old?
Yes.
Snedeker seemed slightly gleeful to announce Koivun with the final pick of the session, knowing he’d saved the biggest, boldest move for last. The move echoed the European Ryder Cup selection of Ludvig Aberg in 2023, when he was a recent college grad.
Koivun will be the youngest player at Medinah, by far. He’ll also be among the most talented.
Game on.
