Presidents Cup 2024: Sahith Theegala close to securing a spot on the US squad for the match in Montreal next month
Sahith Theegala shot 70 on Sunday at 3M Open to finish four strokes behind eventual winner Jhonattan Vegas. It was a disappointing result for Theegala, who was looking for his first win of 2024 but only his second in the last 12 months (he won the 2023 Fortinet Championship last September).
His T6 finish, however, speaks volumes about the larger goals for Theegala, who is on the verge of making his first U.S. team appearance when the 2024 Presidents Cup takes place at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal from Sept. 24-29.
“It’s interesting for me because last year I definitely let some of the Ryder Cup get to me,” Theegala admitted at 3M at the weekend. “I had a really good start to the year and the summer didn’t go as planned. Maybe I let it get to my head a little bit.
“This year I’m really trying to stay calm and keep playing well. Every little experience I get along the way will help me. This will be my first big team event. Yeah, hopefully. I still have to play my game. I’ve just learned that you can’t take anything for granted. I learned the hard way with my first win, you can’t do that. You just have to stay calm.
“I know I look good enough to make the team, but I just want to get my head down and try to play as well as I can for that event. Yeah, it means a lot to represent your country. It was great to talk to some of the guys about the team atmosphere and all that, but the most important thing is to prepare as well as I can for my game.”
In fact, Theegala “looks pretty good” to make the team, and if he does make it (OK, When (if he does), he will be very excited.
U.S. players will earn qualifying points based on FedEx Cup points accumulated between January 1, 2023 and August 24, 2024. The top six points on the list after the 2024 BMW Championship will automatically qualify while captain Jim Furyk will select the remaining six participants.
Here is the top 25 as of the end of the 3M Open.
Team USA
| first | Scottie Scheffler | 13,184 |
| 2 | Xander Schauffele | 8,717 |
| 3 | Collin Morikawa | 5,893 |
| 4 | Wyndham Clark | 5,219 |
| 5 | Sahith Theegala | 4,522 |
| 6 | Patrick Cantlay | 4,481 |
| 7 | Tony Finau | 3,863 |
| 8 | Russell Henley | 3,835 |
| 9 | Max Homa | 3,808 |
| ten | Brian Harman | 3,743 |
| 11 | Akshay Bhatia | 3,384 |
| twelfth | Chris Kirk | 3,337 |
| 13 | Sam Burns | 3,301 |
| 14 | Justin Thomas | 2,982 |
| 15 | Eric Cole | 2,966 |
| 16 | Tom Hoge | 2,889 |
| 17 | Keegan Bradley | 2,884 |
| 18 | JT Dang | 2,882 |
| 19 | Cameron Young | 2,851 |
| 20 | Denny McCarthy | 2,749 |
| 21 | Davis Thompson | 2,674 |
| 22 | Billy Horschel | 2,657 |
| 23 | Taylor Moore | 2,538 |
| 24 | Harris English | 2,438 |
| 25 | Jordan Spieth | 2,421 |
Theegala, perhaps to the surprise of some, is currently in the top six and would almost certainly be in the team even if he wasn’t an automatic qualifier. He has nine top-12s this year, including the Players Championship and PGA Championship, and has reached No. 11 in the Official World Golf Rankings, behind only Jon Rahm and ahead of Hideki Matsuyama.
Other notable names on the US side include 22-year-old Akshay Bhatia and Chris Kirk, who made the top 12 despite only having one top 10 finish since winning The Sentry in January.
What Furyk does with Sam Burns (13th), Justin Thomas (14th) and Jordan Spieth (25th) — all of whom were on last year’s Ryder Cup team — will certainly be the subject of much interest and discussion. Not to mention Cameron Young (19th), who was cut from the team. Those four have three more events — the Wyndham Championship and the first two playoff events — to advance.
On the International side, OWGR points are used, with Hideki Matsuyama currently leading. Similarly, the International team will determine its top six based on OWGR points earned through the BMW Championship. Captain Mike Weir will then select the six captains’ picks.
Here are the current International Team top 25.
International Team
| first | Hideki Matsuyama | 3.86 |
| 2 | Sungjae Im | 3.37 |
| 3 | Kim Tam | 3.34 |
| 4 | Jason Day | 2.97 |
| 5 | Ben An | 2.84 |
| 6 | Adam Scott | 2.78 |
| 7 | Minh Woo Lee | 2.64 |
| 8 | Corey Conners | 2.57 |
| 9 | Cam Davis | 2.44 |
| ten | Nick Taylor | 2.40 |
| 11 | Adam Hadwin | 2.30 |
| twelfth | Christiaan Bezuidenhout | 2.28 |
| 13 | Taylor Pendrith | 2.25 |
| 14 | Si Woo Kim | 2.20 |
| 15 | Mackenzie Hughes | 1.93 |
| 16 | Ryan Fox | 1.90 |
| 17 | Emiliano Grillo | 1.90 |
| 18 | Erik van Rooyen | 1.82 |
| 19 | Thriston Lawrence | 1.66 |
| 20 | Jonathan Vegas | 1.41 |
| 21 | Keita Nakajima | 1.30 |
| 22 | CT pan | 1.22 |
| 23 | Ryo Hisatsune | 1.21 |
| 24 | Adam Svensson | 1.21 |
| 25 | Hoshino Rikuya | 1.10 |
What’s most interesting here is how many Canadians are around the No. 12 spot. With a Canadian captain and the event being held in Canada for the first time since 2007, there will be some pressure on Corey Conners (No. 8), Nick Taylor (No. 10), Adam Hadwin (No. 11), Taylor Pendrith (No. 11) and Mackenzie Hughes (No. 15) to make the team. Weir will have some tough (and intriguing) decisions to make.
Regardless, this should be a good Presidents’ Cup. The U.S. team is a little (maybe a lot) thinner at the bottom of the table than it has been in the past. Part of that is due to LIV Golf — LIV golfers are not eligible to play on any team — which also affects the International Team. But part of it is because players like Thomas, Spieth, Max Homa and Wyndham Clark aren’t playing the quality of golf we expect from the U.S. team. The decisions of both captains next month will carry weight and will likely be controversial.
The United States has not lost the Presidents Cup since 1998 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
