J.J. Spaun did not get a captain’s pick despite his impressive resume. The 36-year-old American ranks 10th in the U.S. Presidents Cup standings with 5,023 points, is the reigning U.S. Open champion, and is a member of last year’s Ryder Cup team. Yet, Snedeker picked debutants Jacob Bridgeman and Jackson Koivun over him for this week’s Presidents Cup.
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What began as a straightforward selection decision soon grew into a broader debate. Spaun said the abrupt exclusion surprised, confused, and frustrated him. In response to Spaun’s frustration, Snedeker explained that he had told all the excluded players to try and make him “look like an idiot” as quickly as possible by playing strongly.
But amid the debate, Golf Channel analyst Mark Rolfing suggested that the responsibility may not rest solely with Snedeker, arguing that Scottie Scheffler and the other automatic qualifiers also share some responsibility.
“I think there’s always more pressure on the captain’s picks. But keep in mind, even though they’re called captain’s picks, the other players, the automatic qualifiers, play a big part in making those decisions.
“If you think about Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world back at Whistling Straits, he was not on that team, but it was the rest of the team that wanted him on that team, and they all wanted to play with him. And he had the sort of support from everybody on that team, and I don’t feel quite like JJ Spaun had that support, and I think that’s probably what did him in.”
Scheffler was one of Steve Stricker’s six captain’s picks for the U.S. team for the 2021 Ryder Cup. He was not yet the World No. 1 he would become. So many fans doubted his pick, and it became one of the most debated selections of the biennial event.
It came down to Scheffler, Sam Burns, and Patrick Reed. But the captain eventually went with Scheffler, who himself admitted that his peers’ support played a role in that decision.
“I think probably having the vote of my peers was definitely a huge kind of confidence boost for me. I think there was a few guys that really wanted me on the team, and I was able to perform well under that immense pressure,” Scheffler had said about the 2021 Ryder Cup.
The pairing worked. Scheffler went 2-0-1 at Whistling Straits, earned 2.5 points, and defeated Jon Rahm in Sunday singles.
There’s no public record of who supported Scheffler and who didn’t, though. There’s also no record of automatic qualifiers denying support for Spaun this year. However, Rolfing still feels that support for Spaun isn’t the same as it was for a young Scheffler back then at the 2021 Ryder Cup.
Regardless of whether he has that support, Spaun has said the snub has left him deeply disappointed.
“I think it was disappointing to be left off,” he said after Day 2 of the BMW PGA Championship. “I wasn’t expecting it, to be honest.”
He later revealed the call’s duration: 45 seconds. Snedeker said he wasn’t on the team. In reply, Spaun said that he was the “odd man out” and wished the American captain luck for the Presidents Cup.
Snedeker also said that he was waiting for Spaun to prove him wrong and earn his place in the 2027 Ryder Cup. The American professional has already embarked on that path by winning the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour.
Snedeker defended his selection process and said he was confident in his picks. He had a strong gut feeling, and based on the advice he got from other captains, he said you should always follow your gut.
Given his recent form, it is understandable why the American captain opted not to select him and why automatic qualifiers such as Scheffler have offered limited public support for Spaun. While Spaun ranked 10th, most of his points came from 2025, when he won the U.S. Open, finished runner-up at the St. Jude Championship, and posted a solo sixth at the Procore Championship.
Spaun won the Valero Texas Open this year, but he also missed the cut in seven events in 23 starts. He also withdrew from the Tour Championship because of a right shoulder and neck injury.
Spaun’s Presidents Cup omission highlights how captain’s picks involve more than rankings and past achievements. While Snedeker stands by his decision, Rolfing’s comments raise questions about the influence of team support and player relationships.