Brandt Snedeker says he hopes JJ Spaun will “make me look like an idiot” after the captain opted to leave the former US Open champion off his Presidents Cup roster.
Spaun became only the third Championship, joining the ranks of Arnold Palmer and Billy Horschel, and became the first player to win the event on his debut since Byeong-hun An in 2015.
The 36-year-old was controversially excluded by Snedeker from the squad tasked with facing the International Team in the biennial match-play tournament. The event, which features the top American golfers against the best international players, takes place at Medinah Country Club and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports starting Thursday.
“Being a captain, you have to make tough decisions, unfortunately, and we had 15 or 16 guys that we were really looking at,” explained Snedeker, who noted that Ryan Gerard, Akshay Bhatia, and US team vice-captain Gary Woodland were also among those considered during his selection process.
“You’re going to have to make these tough decisions and the best advice I got from all the guys I talked to, even coaches, is you got to trust your gut,” Snedeker added. “My gut was telling me one thing.”
Was Spaun ignored for selection?
The 12-man US roster features 21-year-old PGA Tour rookie Jackson Koivun and Ryder Cup veteran Patrick Cantlay, despite both players finishing outside the top 12 in the Presidents Cup points standings. Spaun, the 36-year-old who won last year’s US Open, was left off the team despite a 10th-place finish in the standings.
The American also secured a victory on the PGA Tour earlier this season at the Valero Texas Open, <a s Ryder Cup.
Spaun noted that he had maintained positive communication with Snedeker throughout the qualification period and felt confident he would be heading to Medinah, only to receive the disappointing news during a brief phone call following the season-ending Tour Championship.
“It was like a 45-second phone call,” Spaun revealed in his press conference. “Just said I wasn’t on the team and said I was the odd man out. I wished him luck and that was it.”
“It [past conversations] led me to believe that I would make the team.”
Spaun added: “I was pretty determined this week to kind of prove something. My whole career, I’ve kind of had to do that. I wasn’t given scholarships. I had to earn my PGA Tour card the hard way. I was never given sponsor invite opportunities – I just had to do everything the hard way.”
“Being left off was obviously for a reason. I don’t know what that reason was, but I’m here now and there was a reason why we’re here. My caddie kept telling me that and it’s crazy how this has happened.”
