![\"Brand](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0_GettyImages-2174475707.jpg\")
<\/p>\nBrandt Snedeker says his decision to snub players from his Presidents Cup team was unfair, but he decided not to offer clarity on why they were not picked for the match at Medinah<\/p>\n
05:29 ET, 04 Sep 2026Updated 10:56 ET, 04 Sep 2026<\/p>\n
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Brandt Snedeker made some bold picks for his Presidents Cup team(Image: Vaughn Ridley\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Brandt Snedeker admitted it was “not fair” to snub the likes of J.J. Spaun and Ben Griffin from his Presidents Cup team, but he declined to explain why they missed out.<\/p>\n
Snedeker’s six captain’s picks for the match against the International team were announced on Tuesday, with Jackson Koivun<\/a> and Jacob Bridgeman<\/a> the surprise selections as big names missed out. The event begins at Medinah Country Club outside Chicago on Sep. 24.<\/p>\n Three-time PGA Tour winner Griffin finished eighth in the qualification rankings, narrowly missing out on the top six and automatic qualification, while 2025 U.S. Open champion Spaun finished 10th. Both ranked ahead of Koivun and Bridgeman, but Snedeker went in a different direction. It comes after Scottie Scheffler shocked his wife with his very first action immediately after winning the Tour Championship<\/a>.<\/p>\n Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns, Russell Henley, and Collin Morikawa qualified for the team automatically. Snedker’s captain’s picks went to Patrick Cantlay, Chris Gotterup, Xander Schauffele, and Justin Thomas, in addition to 21-year-old phenom Koivun and rising star Bridgeman.<\/p>\n Snedeker’s heart went out to the players who missed the cut. He said: “There are a lot of guys who were in that conversation. One of the hardest things I think I’ve had to do is look at how deep our team is. There were 15, 16, 17 guys who had a legit chance of doing this<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n Spaun and Griffin will consider themselves hard done by(Image: Michael Miller\/ISI Photos\/ISI Photos via Getty Images)<\/p>\n “There are a lot of factors that go into these decisions. It’s tough. It’s not fair to a lot of these guys. That’s the way it comes. At the end of the day, the best advice I’ve gotten from every captain I’ve talked to is to trust your gut.<\/p>\n “So that’s kind of what I did. I trusted my gut and went with Jackson and Jacob, as kind of the last two weeks is the way it turned out. Excited for those guys. Excited for those young guys to be out there and go compete.”<\/p>\n Snedeker seems to have struck an appropriate balance of selecting a very strong team while also integrating young talent with a view to boosting Team USA’s chances of winning future Ryder Cups.<\/p>\n Koivun made a sensational start to his professional career after turning pro in June, winning his third start at the 3M Open. After a dominant collegiate career, he has been tipped for excellence, and while his selection may be a tad premature, he is likely to be a fixture of U.S. teams for years to come.<\/p>\n Bridgeman, meanwhile, enjoyed a breakout season this year. The 26-year-old held off Rory McIlroy to win the Genesis Invitational in February, and he finished 13th in the FedEx Cup standings before the BMW Championship cutoff.<\/p>\n As for the players who missed out, Snedeker added: “I’m not going to give specifics on the players that didn’t make our team. I feel like this process is about the 12 players we did select. There are plenty of guys who, unfortunately, didn’t make the team. That sucks for them. They put two years of their life into this. They deserve to be on the team.<\/p>\n “But I’m not going to get into specifics why X player or Y player didn’t make it. I don’t think it’s fair to them or fair to the guys who did make it. Our process is talking about the 12 guys that are on this team and going forward from there.”<\/p>\n![\"JJ](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0_GettyImages-2288458555.jpg\")
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