The wildcard picks are out! Yes, both Jim Furyk and Mike Weir recently announced their captain’s picks for the upcoming President’s Cup. Adding to the U.S. team’s automatic qualifications were none other than Keegan Bradley, Sam Burns, Tony Finau, Brian Harman, Russell Henley, and Max Homa. But as is the case every time, the exclusion of certain golfers didn’t sit well with some fans. Enter Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, and Rickie Fowler!

A tweet was shared by Flushing It on their X handle mentioning the same. It reposted the PGA Tour’s tweet showcasing the U.S. team’s captain’s picks but with a caption. “No Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, or Rickie Fowler on the US Presidents Cup team,” wrote the handle, “Didn’t think I’d say that for a few more years, at least!”

Out of the three, only JT is currently available to play the sport and he was a bit hopeful of making the team as well. The other two, meanwhile, are taking a break from the game with Spieth requiring rest and rehabilitation owing to his surgery, and Fowler reportedly doing the same to spend time with his family following his second daughter Nellie’s birth. Regardless of the reasons, the recent post did go ahead and cause a bit of fervor in the community.

The exclusion of Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, and Rickie Fowler causes unrest

While Furyk chose the six golfers as his picks while excluding the trio, Mike Weir had also dished out his six athletes. He chose the likes of Corey Conners, Min Woo Lee, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Taylor Pendrith, So Woo Kim, and Mackenzie Hughes. Couple the two facts together and it failed to calm down the fans as they responded with concern; “This team feels not good,” and “The U.S. will get beat again.”

Justin Thomas, in 2024, has garnered a total of 5 top-10 finishes with his best coming off a T3 at the American Express. Max Homa, however, only boasts 3 top-10 placements, a T8 at the Wells Fargo Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and a T3 at the Masters. A follower on X pointed out the same as they wrote, “Spieth’s just had surgery on his wrist so it’s fair, Fowler had a purple patch last year and is back to being bad, little bit surprised that JT didn’t make it over either Homa or Harman, but Furyk has made multiple poor calls here.” Another user agreed with the comment as they reacted, “JT deserved a pick imo, he’s been decent this year.”

Bryson DeChambeau proved himself over and over again during the majors as well as the Saudi-backed league. He emerged victorious at the 2024 U.S. Open while finishing T2 at the PGA Championship. Moreover, the ‘Scientist’ also clinched a T6 at the Masters Tournament in Augusta while carding six top-10 finishes in the LIV Golf league.

Consequently, a fan couldn’t help but express frustration at the athlete not being picked, owing to the ‘No LIV golfer’ rule as they commented, “All deserving. But better than Bryson? Not a LIV fan at all, but the guy showed up when it counted” while another responded, “They are cowards for not taking Dechambeau or Koepka.” Interestingly, Zach Johnson had, back in the 2023 Ryder Cup, picked Brooks Koepka as a wildcard entry. Back then, he was able to win the singles, while losing the foursomes and tying the fourballs.

The picks surely did surprise a lot of people in the community as Jim Furyk included a certain bunch of professionals over the other. Has he made the right decision? That, curiously, can only be answered as the President’s Cup tees off on September 24!