2024 Presidents Cup Team: Jim Furyk’s Pick of Max Homa Over Justin Thomas for the U.S. Team Is Indefensible

Here’s the truth: Justin Thomas shouldn’t be on the 2023 Ryder Cup team. Here’s another truth: Justin Thomas should be on the 2024 President’s Cup team.

While captain Zach Johnson’s decision to include Thomas in the U.S. Ryder Cup squad in Rome was defensible — I know, I defended it at the time — not picking him and picking someone like Keegan Bradley or Russell Henley would have been a reasonable decision given their level of play last fall.

However, captain Jim Furyk chose Max Homa and Brian Harman over Thomas. President’s Cup in Montreal — an event the U.S. team has won nine straight times — is practically indefensible.

Here’s the stroke-scoring ranking among qualified U.S. players from the PGA Tour (which hosts the Presidents Cup), according to Data Golf.

If you want to argue that Harman is a better golfer than Thomas, you have a point. The numbers have been pretty close in recent months, so you could go either way. However, if you want to argue that Homa is a better golfer than Thomas, there is nothing statistically to support that.

What’s the weird part? Furyk said he considered all of this.

“I got it [Thomas] “He’s a little chameleon,” Furyk said. “I think he’s a smart player. I think he can change. If the course asks us to hit the ball straight and get it on the fairway and get it in play, he can do that. If the course asks you to hit the ball hard and power is more important, I think he can do that.

“It has an impact and a weight. I think current form has an impact and a weight. I think your history has a weight. I think there are a lot of things that go into it. When I look at my team, when I look at the results, I know a lot of people are looking at this summer. I know a lot of people are looking at the last few weeks of the year. I take that into account. I take a workload into account. I take a look at the players who have played well this season, the players who have played well in the last 12 months. All of those things are important to me.

“You have to put it all together, you have a big puzzle and try to figure out the best answer.”

Somehow, Furyk saw Homa’s numbers and preferred that player over Thomas.

However, JT brings more to team events than birdies and bogeys. Many of his peers consider him the ultimate teammate for international events like this.

Furyk had this to say about choosing Homa over Thomas for Montreal: “I looked at Max’s qualities and how he’s played the last two years: the undefeated record in Charlotte, our best performance last year in Rome, and I think then you see a lot of intangibles. … I guess when I say ’emotional leader,’ I’m also looking at the glue, someone who can hold the team together.

“That doesn’t mean he’s the most popular guy. It just means that it’s very natural for Max, whether it’s his social media presence, the way he interacts with fans, the way he looks at things — it’s all golf-related. He has a way of drawing people into him. He’s like the glue that holds a team together, so that ultimately has an impact. I think there are parts of his game that are statistically very strong, even though he’s been through a little bit of a rough patch this summer, and I think we can take advantage of those things at Royal Montreal and find ways to make him very effective.”

An emotional leader.

Like glue.

A guy who has the ability to bring everyone in the group together.

Furyk isn’t just describing… Thomas?

“JT would be a great addition to this team, no doubt about it,” Furyk added. “He’s got a great track record. He’s an emotional guy, a strong guy, a leader. He’d be a great pick for sure.”

Essentially, in every aspect, Homa is now simply the Great Value version of JT.

This is not an accusation against Homa, who has been incredible in team events in the past and could be invaluable if he plays well. The problem? He doesn’t play well. His putting is terrible right now. He’s lost his tee in seven of his nine events since the PGA Championship.

And as Joseph LaMagna recently pointed outMany of the points Homa accumulated — which moved him up to 12th on the Presidents’ Cup list — were earned a year and a half ago.

If Thomas wasn’t available for selection, it wouldn’t be hard to defend Homa’s selection. He played worse golf than Thomas did last year, but then again, Thomas wasn’t picked for the Ryder Cup team because he plays great golf. He was picked to give the team a soul. That’s basically Furyk’s argument this time around, except, you know, Thomas brings all the same stuff to the table. and he plays golf much better!

It’s ironic that Thomas will miss the team’s first event since the 2016 Ryder Cup for the same reasons he’s almost always been included in these teams. He brings energy when no one else can. He’s the chest-thumper, the pot-stirrer, the catalyst of these American teams.

Homa could play a similar role for the U.S. team this year, but if the U.S. team loses the Presidents Cup for the first time since 1998, don’t forget that they had the chance to bring a key member of their squad to Montreal but instead decided to leave him at home.

Why? Who knows? Furyk largely evades the question.

But if the U.S. team loses the Presidents’ Cup for the first time this century, there will certainly be more questions.