For every player you pick, you leave out one. Who is more deserving? How do you explain your call? There can be debate around it. But Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup captains have the job of informing someone that they haven’t made it. Mike Weir, the current International team captain, fully understands the pain.

The first Canadian male major champion made his choice of six picks for the Presidents Cup at home: Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith, Mackenzie Hughes (Canada), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (South Africa), Si Woo Kim (South Korea), and Min Woo Lee (Australia).

Weir had to snub two compatriots: Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin. It wasn’t an easy decision to take. “I can’t tell you how tough those calls were… They’re like brothers, they are Canadians. The toughest part of being  a captain was these calls.”

Speaking in the press conference, the former major winner further added that his respect for Taylor and Hadwin shot upward after the call. Weir was positively surprised with how graciously they handled it. But what do fans think of this decision? Do they stand behind their captain? Turns out, most do.

Canadian fans stand in support of Mike Weir

The Nick Taylor decision was always going to be the toughest. He became the first Canadian to win the RBC Canadian Open last year. In fact, Golf Canada decided to add his silhouette as the logo of the men’s national major. The 36-year-old has also won the WM Phoenix Open this year. But since then he has struggled to maintain consistency. 

So, fans understood Weir’s decision to exclude Taylor in favor of others. “In Weirsy we trust!” wrote one user. Explaining his selection process, Weir later added, “It was a super tough decision for me but one that was well thought through, and through a number of different analytical things.” While some still wanted to see Taylor over Min Woo Lee, others understood the rationale. 

“Emotional telling his brothers they weren’t on the team. Tough,” one of them commented. Some users also pointed out that none of the Canadians played well enough to automatically qualify. And, Weir did pick three Canadians. Had he picked Taylor & Hadwin too, it might have raised some questions. 

“Canadian players should have done more to auto qualify. None in the top 6, he was hardly going to pick 5 🇨🇦s from 6 picks,” one fan opined. Another wrote, “Good on Weir for picking players on merit instead of being buddies.” 

Some also compared this to Zach Johnson’s decision at the last year’s Ryder Cup. Johnson picking Justin Thomas ahead of Keegan Bradley, despite the latter having a better 2023, didn’t sit well with most. The fact is some are yet to forget it. “He was able to do what Zach Johnson(worst Ryder Cup Captain of all time) couldn’t,” one of them commented. 

The Presidents Cup tees off on September 26. There were a few surprises on the American side as well. Jim Furyk picked Keegan Bradley, already his assistant captain, for the team. However, Justin Thomas won’t be around this time. Brian Harman, Sam Burns, Tony Finau, Russell Henley, and Max Homa round off the six captain’s picks.