The following International members on points are: 9. Jason Day (120.57); 10. Jazz Janewattananond (113.86); 11. Sung-Jae Im (112.04); 12. Justin Harding (109.67); 13. Corey Conners (102.34); 14. Shugo Imahira (100.47); 15. Byeong-Hun An (97.26); 16. Si Woo Kim (94.85); 17. Sung Kang (94.05); 18. Adam Hadwin (89.72); 19. Emiliano Grillo (88.34); 20. Kiradech Aphibarnrat (81.21); 21. Erik Van Rooyen (78.94); 22. Rikuya Hoshino (76.62); 23. Branden Grace (73.68); 24. Dylan Frittelli (67.95); 25. Xin-Jun Zhang (61.70).
I listed the top 25 here because I think there are a lot more reasonable options for these four captain’s picks. Since the tournament began in 1994, the International Team has only won once. This occurred in 1998 at Royal Melbourne (where the tournament is being held this year) with captain Peter Thompson leading the Internationals to a 20.5 – 11.5 win over Jack Nicklaus’ team USA. In 2003, the Internationals were able to pull off a tie against USA (17-17) at the Fancourt Hotel and Country Club in South Africa, but otherwise team USA carries 10 wins against the Internationals. The American domination makes this tournament slightly less fun – there’s not a lot of drama to be created when everyone just knows that the USA is going to crush. Even now looking at the talent difference between the pool of captain’s picks for Tiger versus Ernie shows the utter contrast and explains the U.S. dominance in this event. This is all to say that I think there is slightly more that goes into these captains picks than just the points on the list. At the end of the day this is a television show and I think they will try to choose already established names versus relative unknowns. It would explain why Els might choose someone like Si Woo Kim instead of Shugo Imahira despite Imahira having more points, given that Kim has already played in a President’s Cup and is more well-known since win at The Players two years ago.
I do not think I need to go through the whole song and dance in trying to figure out the first pick. It will 100% be Jason Day. A Major winner, Presidents Cup mainstay and household name. Despite a lackluster 2019, Jason Day is a lock for pick number one.
That leaves us with three other Captain’s picks. Els has said publicly that he isn’t afraid to pick rookies – he wants to see some passion from the players whether from a rookie like Sung-jae Im or a veteran like Branden Grace. Given that Els has emphasized recent performance, let’s dive into the top contenders’ recent performances and not necessarily analyze the whole last two years.
*World Rankings as of 11/4/2019
Jazz Janewattananond (Thailand)
2019 Performance: 2 wins – SMBC Singapore Open & Kolon the 62nd Korean Open. 10 top 10s. Currently 57th in World Rankings.
Commentary: Jazz plays mostly on the Asian Tour and has had an extremely successful 2019. He is apparently attempting to show Els the drive he requested – he’s played in all three PGA Tour events held in Asia in October finishing T65 at The CJ Cup and T57 at the Zozo Championship, and most recently, he finished T14 at the WGC-HSBC Championship. He’s been getting a lot of press recently – this could be to help people recognize his name if he is chosen as a Captain’s pick. Despite being first in line in points after Day, I do not think Jazz will be chosen due to his lack of experience on major tours and his mediocre performances at the CJ Cup and Zozo Championship.
Sung-Jae Im (Korea)
2019 Performance: 1 win – Genesis Championship. 9 top 10s. Currently 34th in the World Rankings.
Commentary: Im’s win at the Genesis occurred recently in early October on the Korean tour; however, he mostly plays on the PGA Tour. I’d say his T3 finish at the Zozo Championship, T11 at the WGC-HSBC Championship last week and his T15 finish at the Tour Championship in August – the only rookie to make it to the last round of the playoffs – will make a huge impression on Els – as will his pedigree as rookie of the year last season. Due to his impressive success on the PGA Tour, I think Im will be chosen as the second Captain’s Pick.
Justin Harding (South Africa)
2019 Performance: 1 win – Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. 7 top 10s. Currently 65th in the World Rankings.
Commentary: Harding plays in a solid mix of the Asian, Euro and PGA / Korn Ferry Tours, with the most events on the Euro tour. His most recent success came at the Mutuactivos Open de Espana where he finished T7. Harding had a solidly average 2019, but with nothing noteworthy on his recent resume, I do not think Harding will be chosen.
Corey Conners (Canda)
2019 Performance: 1 win – Valero Texas Open. 4 top 10s. Currently 55th in World Rankings.
Commentary: Conners had a breakout year in 2019, with his first Tour win at the Valero Texas Open in April, accomplishing the rare feat of going from Monday qualifying to the trophy. He made it to the Tour Championship finishing T23, with his best playoff finish at the BMW Championship where he carded a T7 finish. Most recently, he made the effort to hit the PGA Tour events in Asia and finished T12 at the CJ Cup, T6 at the Zozo Championship and T20 at the WGC-HSBC Championship; an impressive end of 2019 for Conners. With a win under his belt and excellent recent performance, I think Connors will be the third Captain’s pick.
Shugo Imahira (Japan)
2019 Performance: 1 win – Bridgestone Open. 12 top 10s. Currently 50th in the World Rankings.
Commentary: Imahira plays primarily on the Asia tour, more specifically in Japan. His win at the Bridgestone Open was in Japan at the beginning of October. Imahira was able to qualify for all four Majors this year, which is impressive in itself, despite missing the cut at all four. He’s performed well on the Japanese tour, but has little experience on any other tours. He did play in the PGA Tour event in Japan and finished T59 at the Zozo Championship. Due to his lack of experience outside the Japanese tour, I do not think Imahira will be chosen.
Byeong Han An (Korea)
2019 Performance: No wins. 6 top 10s. Currently 41st in the World Rankings.
Commentary: An plays primarily on the PGA Tour and had a pretty average 2019, carding lots of middle of the pack finishes. He made it to the BMW Championship, finishing T28, but was not able to qualify for the Tour Championship. His performances at the PGA Tour events in Asia have been solid, finishing T6 at the CJ Cup, T8 at the Zozo Championship and T14 at WGC-HSBC Championship; a positive signal upward. These results could push An over the edge to becoming Els’ fourth pick.
While I believe those choices make the most sense for Els’ captain’s picks, I think it makes sense to review the other candidates as I’m less sure about An being the fourth pick. It’s worth introducing everyone to the other top options, so here they are:
Si Woo Kim (Korea)
2019 Performance: No wins. 4 top 10s. Currently 79th in the World Rankings.
Commentary: Kim did not have a great 2019, missing 12 cuts year and carding no wins. Kim plays primarily on the PGA Tour but his game feels very removed from his Players Championship win in 2017, which was the same year he made the President’s Cup team for the first time, ending with a 1-2-0 record. He made it to the BMW Championship, finishing T28 and not qualifying for the Tour Championship. His performance in the recent PGA Tour events in Asia has been just okay, finishing T26 at the CJ Cup and T37 at the Zozo Championship. Despite his past success, a disappointing 2019 gives me reason to think that Kim will not be chosen.
Sung Kang (Korea)
2019 Performance: 1 win – AT&T Byron Nelson. 5 top 10s. Currently 74th in the World Rankings.
Commentary: Kang acquired his first PGA Tour win this year at the AT&T Byron Nelson in May. He also impressively finished 7th at the PGA Championship – he was clearly hot in May. Kang plays the majority of the time in the U.S. with some additional appearances on the Asian Tour. The rest of his 2019 performance has left something to be desired, having missed 6 cuts since his PGA finish. He made it to the BMW Championship despite missing the cut at the Northern Trust, finishing T63 and not qualifying for the Tour Championship. In the PGA Tour events in Asia, he finished T26 at the CJ Cup and T17 at the Zozo Championship; right in the middle of the pack, which will result in Kang not being chosen.
Adam Hadwin (Canada)
2019 Performance: No wins. 5 top 10s. Currently 44th in the World Rankings.
Commentary: Hadwin had a pretty average 2019, finishing middle of the pack in most of the events he entered. Hadwin made his first appearance on the 2017 Presidents Cup team, with a 0-2-1 record – not exactly great but not all his fault given that the Internationals just got destroyed. He made it to the BMW Championship but finished T43 and did not qualify for the Tour Championship. Some of his best performances of the year have come recently, with him finishing 2nd at the Safeway Open and T4 at the Shriners Hospital for Children Open. He finished T41 at the Zozo Championship and T46 at the WGC-HSBC Championship. Adam had an average 2019 and doesn’t have the best Presidents Cup history, so I do not think he will be chosen.
Emiliano Grillo (Argentina)
2019 Performance: No wins. 1 top 10. Currently 85th in the World Rankings.
Commentary: Grillo is one of my favorite non-USA golfers, but he did not have an impressive 2019, carding only 1 top 10. Grillo made it to the BMW Championship despite missing the cut at The Northern Trust and finished T31, not qualifying for the Tour Championship. Grillo made his first appearance on the 2017 Presidents Cup going 0-3-0; Grillo was a captain’s pick that year, despite also not having a stellar 2017 with only 2 top 10 finishes. It’s possible this choice was made as he was (and would be potentially again if dark-horse Joaquin Niemann isn’t picked) the only South American representative on the International team; remember that this is still a business and the Tour wants to pull in as many viewers as possible. Grillo finished T26 at the CJ Cup and T30 at the Zozo Championship this October. Although he would likely be the only South American, I do not think Grillo will be chosen.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thailand)
2019 Performance: No wins. 3 top 10s. Currently 81st in the World Rankings.
Commentary: Kiradech became one of my favorite golfers after I listened to his hilarious interview on the No Laying Up podcast, where he talks about how reckless he is with his money and how his wife always gets mad at him for it – plus, his constant vaping habit. Despite being one of the more entertaining players on tour, he didn’t have a great 2019. He made it to the BMW Championship, finishing T51 and not qualifying for the Tour Championship. If he really wants to make the Presidents Cup team for the first time, it makes sense that he showed up to play during the recent swing, finishing T8 at the CJ Cup. However, prior to the CJ Cup, his best performance occurred a while ago, as he finished T5 at the AT&T Byron Nelson in May, otherwise he ended up in the middle-to-bottom of the pack in the majority of the tournaments he entered this year. A lackluster 2019 will prevent Kiradech from being chosen.
Erik Van Rooyen (South Africa)
2019 Performance: 1 win – Scandanavian Invitational. 7 top 10s. Currently 59th in the World Rankings.
Commentary: Big Van Rooyen fan – I think he is an impressive up and comer. Van Rooyen plays a majority of his events on the European tour, however he played in three out of four majors, finishing T20 at The Open, T43 at the US Open and T8 at the PGA Championship. His best recent finish was a T10 at the Italian Open, and he only played in one leg of the PGA Tour events in Asia, finishing T38 at the WGC-HSBC Championship. Van Rooyen’s sporadic success has been impressive, but his lack of consistency will be the reason Van Rooyen is not chosen.
Rikuya Hoshino (Japan)
2019 Performance: 1 win – Dunlop SRIXON Fukushima Open. 8 top 10s. Currently 103rd in the World Rankings.
Commentary: I have never heard of Hoshino before writing this but I suspect that is because he is primarily an Asian tour player, playing mostly in Japan. He’s had a fairly successful year on the Japanese tour, and just played the Zozo Championship, finishing T51. His lack of experience outside the Japanese tour will prevent Hoshino from being chosen.
Branden Grace (South Africa)
2019 Performance: No wins. 2 top 10s. Currently 119th in the World Rankings.
Commentary: I included Grace on this list due to his prior experience with the Presidents Cup, appearing on the 2013, 2015 and 2017 teams, with a solidly impressive record of 6-6-2. In 2015, he famously went 5-0, a feat only six others have achieved. In 2019 however, Grace missed 10 cuts. His most recent top 10 came all the way back in March at the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play, which is a good indicator for the Presidents Cup format, but the fact that his last decent performance took place over 6 months ago does not bode well for him. He finished T46 at the CJ Cup. Similar to Phil, I do not think his experience should carry him to a Captain’s pick; his poor 2019 performance will result in Grace not being chosen.
Dylan Fritelli (South Africa)
2019 Performance: 1 win – John Deere Classic. 3 top 10s. Currently 100th in the World Rankings.
Commentary: Fritelli broke through in 2019 and finally won his first PGA Tour event at the John Deere Classic in July, gaining him entry to The Open where he finished T32. He made it to the BMW Championship, finishing T43 and not qualifying for the Tour Championship. He played primarily on the PGA Tour this year and finished solidly in the middle of the pack in most events. He played in both Asian PGA Tour events finishing T43 at the CJ Cup and T22 at the Zozo Championship. I think Fritelli could be a dark horse and hope he has a great 2020 but his average performances recently and lack of experience will result in him not being chosen.
Xin-Jun Zhang (China)
2019 Performance: 2 wins – Dormie Network Classic at Briggs Ranch & Lincoln Land Championship presented by LRS. 9 top 10s. Currently 122nd in the World Rankings.
Commentary: Zhang primarily played on the Korn Ferry Tour in the US, finishing first on that money list and earning a promotion onto the big Tour. He recently played in the PGA Tour event in Houston and finished T4, and he also recently finished T38 at the WGC-HSBC Championship. Due to his lack of experience on the big tour, I do not foresee him as a viable pick.
Honorable Mention: Joaquin Niemann
After all this, it’s worth mentioning a dark horse who I think could get picked over either An or Conners. Joaquin Niemann, the 20-year Chilean, recently gained his first PGA Tour victory at A Military Tribute at Greenbrier in September. Niemann is currently ranked 54th in the World. He had 5 top 10s in 2019 and made it to the BMW Championship where he finished T31 and did not qualify for the Tour Championship. He participated in both main field PGA Tour events in Asia finishing T12 at the CJ Cup and T33 at the Zozo Championship. Els has publicly stated that he is considering Niemann for a pick so it would not surprise me if he ended up choosing him; it’s worth noting that Niemann would be the only South American representative as well if Grillo isn’t picked.
Thanks for reading about both teams’ potential captain’s picks. Once the picks are made, look for more Presidents Cup content, culminating with reactions to the actual Presidents Cup at the beginning of December!
