International captain Mike Weir is turning to some familiar faces to try and win back the Presidents Cup in his home country.
After no Canadians made the team automatically, Weir selected three of his fellow countrymen as captain’s picks for this month’s matches at Royal Montreal: Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith and Mackenzie Hughes.
Weir rounded out his squad with Min Woo Lee, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Si Woo Kim.
Conners was ranked seventh in the points standings and will be looking to avenge a disappointing Presidents Cup debut in 2022 when he went 0-4 in what was another International loss. That was the same record posted by Pendrith, who picked up his first career PGA Tour victory earlier this year at the Byron Nelson and advanced for the first time to the Tour Championship.
Hughes will be making his Presidents Cup debut, and Weir cited Hughes’ putting prowess (No. 4 on Tour) in adding him to the team.
“Canadian golf fans have followed Mackenzie’s career for nearly two decades,” Weir said, “and it’s incredible to know he’s going to make his Presidents Cup debut in his home country.”
Lee was a two-time runner-up this season on Tour and, at 26, should inject some energy and enthusiasm into the International team room. Kim, who will be making his third Presidents Cup appearance, is one of the top ball-strikers on Tour, while Bezuidenhout is coming off his best season to date.
Weir undoubtedly made some difficult calls over the past few days, passing over Cam Davis, who was No. 8 in the points standings and won this summer on Tour, as well as Canadians Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin.
The six picks announced Tuesday will join a squad that already includes Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im, Adam Scott, Tom Kim, Jason Day and Ben An.
The Internationals already got an early look at Royal Montreal, playing the course Monday for the first time as a full team. They will be looking to win the Presidents Cup for the first time since 1998.
