Ben Griffin, Ryan Gerard, J.J. Spaun and Jason Day all had cases for the 2026 Presidents Cup, but each will be watching from outside the field at Medinah.
Every team golf competition produces difficult decisions and the 2026 Presidents Cup rosters were no exception. When Brandt Snedeker and Geoff Ogilvy announced their captain's picks, a handful of players with legitimate cases found themselves on the outside. Here are the standouts that are going to be watching from home
Ben Griffin, United States
Griffin has the strongest gripe on either side. He occupied an automatic qualifying position for most of the season before being bumped out during the final qualifying event, and he finished eighth in the U.S. standings. He also sits 23rd in the Official World Golf Ranking, ahead of multiple players who made the team.
The complicating factor was his second half. Griffin faded down the stretch, and a captain looking at recent form had reasonable justification for passing on him. That did not make the news any easier to take for a player who spent most of the year believing he had punched his ticket.
Ryan Gerard, United States
Gerard authored one of the better American seasons that ended without a Presidents Cup spot. He contended at The Open and finished solo third at the Tour Championship, closing the year in form at exactly the moment when captains were watching most closely.
He also ranks 22nd in the world, one spot ahead of Griffin. Gerard has the game and personality to become a genuine star, and his exclusion could age poorly if he continues trending upward.
J.J. Spaun, United States
The 2025 U.S. Open champion had a strong case on resume alone and he played on last year's Ryder Cup team at Bethpage Black. What likely ended his candidacy was his health. Spaun withdrew from the Tour Championship during Thursday's opening round with a sore right shoulder, and the possibility that he remains compromised made him a difficult choice.
Snedeker taking Jacob Bridgeman and 21-year-old Jackson Koivun over two Ryder Cup veterans generated real debate, particularly since both Spaun and Griffin outperformed some of the players who were picked for the team at Bethpage.
Jason Day, International
Ogilvy's most notable omission was also his most defensible. Day is a former world No. 1, the 2015 PGA champion and a five-time Presidents Cup participant on a team that lacks star power outside of Hideki Matsuyama and Adam Scott.
The problem was his 2026 season. Day battled a back injury for much of the year, had not recorded a top-35 finish since the Masters, missed the cut or withdrew from four of his past five starts and failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs. He still finished 11th in the International standings, but the form simply was not there.
His absence leaves Scott and Min Woo Lee as the only Australians on the roster, with Ogilvy serving as the third Australian in the captain's chair.
The players Ogilvy could not consider
The bigger story for the International side is who was never eligible in the first place. LIV Golf has stripped considerable depth from the team, and at least two players would have strengthened the roster. Joaquin Niemann and Lucas Herbert both remain unavailable, which continues to widen a competitive gap that was already substantial.
Beyond the ineligible names, Ogilvy was choosing from a shallow pool. Aldrich Potgieter might have been an entertaining gamble, but the reality is that the International captain had far fewer credible options than his American counterpart.
That imbalance is the backdrop to everything at Medinah from Sept. 24-27. The United States has won 10 consecutive Presidents Cups, and the debate over who was left off the American team is a luxury the International side would love to have.
