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Road to Montreal: How many Canadians will make the International team?
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The 2024 Presidents Cup begins Sept. 24 at Royal Montreal Golf Club, so it’s almost time for the captains to make their selections.
Similar to the Ryder Cup, the Presidents Cup has a point system that allows six of the 12 golfers on each team to automatically qualify.
Once the six are set, the team captains select the other half of their roster.
This year, Canadian golf fans should pay extra close attention to the picks as team captain Mike Weir has the tall task of deciding how many Canadians he will select.
Let’s look at the five most likely players to be selected and their odds to be picked next Tuesday afternoon.
Stick around at the end for my bet on how many Canadians I think Weir will take.
CANADIANS TO CONSIDER
Corey Conners -1150
Starting with a layup for captain Weir, we have Corey Conners.
Conners narrowly missed out on an automatic spot for the team by finishing seventh in the points system.
This would be his second Presidents Cup after he represented the team at Quail Hallow, but the 32-year-old will be looking to put a point up for Team International for the first time after he went 0-4 in 2022.
Nick Taylor -390
You can’t think of Canadian golf without Nick Taylor coming to mind.
The native of Winnipeg became an icon in the country when he won the 2023 Canadian Open thanks to a historic 72-foot putt in a playoff against Tommy Fleetwood to end a 69-year drought of Canadians not winning their open championship.
Taylor became a three-time PGA Tour winner in February when he took down Charlie Hoffman in a playoff at the Waste Management Open.
After that win, his spot on his roster felt like a virtual lock. Unfortunately for Taylor, the six months of golf he’s played since that win have been less than his best. After it looked like he might make the team on points, Taylor ended the season sitting 12th in points and he failed to advance passed the first round of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Taylor Pendrith -250
After battling injury in 2023, it’s been a great bounce-back year for Taylor Pendrith.
The 33-year-old won on the PGA Tour for the first time this year, capturing the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, and has reached the Tour Championship for the first time in his career.
Pendrith had a strong finish to the qualifying process with two top 10s and four straight finishes inside the top 25 to move into 11th in the points and give himself a strong chance to make the team.
Like Conners, Pendrith was a member of the losing Team International in 2022 and will look to even the score this year in Montreal if selected.
Mackenzie Hughes +135
Coming in at 15th on the points list, Mackenzie Hughes was hoping a strong postseason would boost him into consideration.
Unfortunately, Hughes’ playoff run fell short in the first round, finishing 52nd on the FedEx Cup and missing the BMW Championship by just two spots.
I can help but wonder “what if” after watching Keegan Bradley make the event as the last man in and win the championship.
There’s a timeline where that was Hughes. But sadly, this isn’t that timeline.
Adam Svensson +440
He was 22nd in qualifying points and failed to make the playoffs.
Maybe in four years, Adam.
Adam Hadwin N/A
Speaking of Adam, why not Adam Hadwin?
I was surprised to see he had no odds of making the team as he currently sits 13th in points and has played in two Presidents Cups.
Hadwin would’ve benefited from a strong BMW Championship to vault him into the Tour Championship, but that attempt fell short with a tie for 41st.
Still, he has experience and is right up there in points. I wouldn’t sleep on him getting consideration .
An Opinion You Didn’t Ask For
Did someone ask for my thoughts? No? Cool, here they are.
I have very little doubt that Conners and Pendrith will make the team.
Right now, you can get two-plus Canadians to be selected at -670 on FanDuel, but I like the price for three or more at +144.
With Taylor sitting 12th and Hadwin at 13th in points, I’m having a hard time seeing Weir look past both of them to fill out the roster.
With Conners, Pendrith, Min Woo Lee, and Cameron Davis likely to be the first four selected, that leaves, in my mind, four guys for two spots: Hadwin, Taylor, Si Woo Kim and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
Bezuidenhout is 10th on points and is -150 to make the team, and Kim finished in 14th in points and is +260.
My guess is Bezuidenhout draws the short stick and is replaced in the top 12 by Kim, leaving Bezuidenhout and the two Canadians for the final spot.
Once it’s down to those three, I’m confident Weir will take a third Canadian.
So, with that in mind, I have played +144 for three Canadians to make the team.
Who are your picks to make the Presidents Cup team? Let us know on X @TSN_Edge