Not only does Davis Love III have the homefield advantage at the Presidents Cup later this month, but the captain of Team USA has a distinct edge in the talent department, as well.
The first six players for the American side qualified Aug. 21 via the Presidents Cup points standings – Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Sam Burns, Justin Thomas, Tony Finau – leaving Love six captains picks for the biennial event comprised of a 12-person U.S. Team and a 12-person International Team (LIV Golf and European players, aside) to be held Sept. 22-25 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Americans lead the all-timeseries 11-1-1.
Meet the six players Love selected to fill out his lineup for Quail Hollow.
More: Meet the automatic qualifiers for Team USA
International Team: Automatic qualifiers | Captains picks
Jordan Spieth
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Age: 29
Presidents Cup appearances: 3 (2013, 2015, 2017)
Presidents Cup record: 8-6-0
Jordan Spieth enters the 2022 Presidents Cup as the most experienced golfer in international competition on the active U.S. roster. He was a stalwart on the 2013, 2015 and 2017 teams, the latter two coming during the best seasons of his career. He missed the 2019 Presidents Cup when he was in the middle of his slump, but Spieth, who was on the 2021 Ryder Cup team, is out of it and back to one of the best golfers in the world.
In the 2017 Presidents Cup at Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey, Spieth went 3-1-1, his only loss coming in singles. He was responsible for 1.5 points for the U.S. Ryder Cup team last year.
This past season, Spieth topped Patrick Cantlay in a one-hole playoff to win the RBC Heritage, the 13th PGA Tour victory of his career. A week before, the three-time major champion missed the cut at the Masters for the first time in his career. He finished eighth in the final Presidents Cup points standings with 7,214 points and was a captain’s pick for the second time in his career, the first in 2013.
Collin Morikawa
Hometown: La Canada, California
Age: 25
Presidents Cup appearances: First
The last time the Presidents Cup was held, Collin Morikawa was still in college at California. Now, he’s a two-time major champion (2020 PGA Championship and 2021 Open Championship) and one of the best players on the PGA Tour.
He made his international competition debut last year in the Ryder Cup, where he went 3-0-1, his tie coming against Viktor Hovland in singles. This time around, Morikawa makes his debut at the Presidents Cup, where he’s hoping to recoup some of the momentum he had at the beginning of the season. Morikawa didn’t win during the 2021-22 season, but he finished second twice, a solo second at the CJ Cup and a T-2 at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera. He finished fifth at the Masters and tied for fifth at the U.S. Open but missed cuts in three of his four events leading up to the FedEx Cup Playoffs. However, he started strong with a T-5 in the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and he seems to be finding his form at the right time. He has five career PGA Tour victories and has made nearly $20 million thus far in his short career.
Max Homa
Hometown: Valencia, California
Age: 31
Presidents Cup appearances: First
Another golfer who played at California, Homa is another one of the international competition rookies making their debut at the Quail Hollow Club. And as a captain’s pick, it’s a well-deserved honor for Homa, who has a great 2021-22 season on the PGA Tour. Homa won twice last year, the first victory coming in the opening tournament of the season, the Fortinet Championship. Homa shot consecutive 65s on the weekend to finish at 19 under and capture the title.
Then later in the season, he won the Wells Fargo Championship, which is normally hosted at Quail Hollow Club. This year, it was at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm right outside of Washington D.C. It was an interesting victory for Homa, who beat the field on a soaked course that isn’t a normal part of the Tour rotation. Nevertheless, the two victories gave him four for his career and vaulted him up the Presidents Cup standings. He finished 10th in the qualification standings with 6,539 points. Homa also was spectacular at playing the weekend, making the cut in 21 of his 24 events.
Billy Horschel
Hometown: Ponta Vedra Beach, Florida
Age: 35
Presidents Cup appearances: First
Billy Horschel hasn’t been shy about his intentions in wanting to represent the United States in International Competition. Now, he’ll get his chance. Horschel, who won the 2014 FedEx Cup, will make his debut for the U.S. at the Presidents Cup and looks to contribute plenty coming off a great season. Horschel won Jack’s event, the Memorial Tournament, in May and also had multiple second-place finishes: The QBE Shootout, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. His victory at Muirfield Village came after a 7-under round of 65 on Saturday vaulted him to the top of the leaderboard, then he held on for victory with an even-par 72 on Sunday.
Horschel does have winning match-play experience, though. He won the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play last year in Austin. When he won the FedEx Cup in 2014, he won the BMW Championship and Tour Championship to capture the title. Horschel did play on the 2007 and 2008 Arnold Palmer Cup teams and the 2008 Walker Cup squad, but this experience will be quite a bit different from those.
Cameron Young
Hometown: Scarborough, New York
Age: 25
Presidents Cup appearances: First
In an era when PGA Tour rookies step into the biggest arenas in golf and aren’t afraid of anything, Cameron Young fits the mold perfectly and shown he’s going to be a force for a long time to come. Young hasn’t won yet, but he has been close many times. He was one of only two rookies to qualify for the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta, and it’s because of how many times he found himself near the top of the leaderboard all season. In his second event this year at the Sanderson Farms Championship, he finished tied for second, and that was only the beginning. Young then tied for second at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club and then had a stretch of three straight starts where he finished no worse than T-3: RBC Heritage (T-3), Wells Fargo Championship (T-2) and the PGA Championship (T-3). He then proceeded to finish solo second at the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews, making eagle on the 72nd hole. Now, Young will represent the U.S. in international competition for the first time and will look to continue his stellar play.
Kevin Kisner
Hometown: Aiken, South Carolina
Age: 38
Presidents Cup appearances: 1 (2017)
Presidents Cup record: 2-0-2
Kevin Kisner has never lost in international competitions, which could be a good omen for the U.S. team at Quail Hollow Club. Kisner will make his second Presidents Cup appearance, though he has never been on a Ryder Cup team, narrowly missing captain’s picks multiple times. That isn’t the case this year. The winner of four career PGA Tour events, Kisner plays incredibly well in match play. Look no further than his record at the 2017 Presidents Cup and at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. At the 2017 Presidents Cup, he went 2-0-2 and halved his singles match. He won the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club in 2019, and he has finished second twice, once earlier this year to Scottie Scheffler and the other time coming in 2018. Kisner is one of the veterans representing the United States, and his experience in match play could be pivotal in tight situations. Although Kisner doesn’t have a win this year, he had five top 10s, including a T-3 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. He also finished fourth at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.
