Justin Thomas could now be the centre of another contentious decision made by a US captain, with the two-time major champion missing out on qualifying for the Presidents Cup automatically.
Justin Thomas just crept inside the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings at the BMW Championship to make The Tour Championship at East Lake. Thomas admitted after his round that he did not plan to hang around to find out if he would be on the right side of the line, but it would prove to be good news for the 31-year-old.
However, there is a much larger question mark over whether he will be involved at The Royal Montreal Golf Club in the Presidents Cup next month. Thomas is one of those now relying on a captain’s pick from Jim Furyk after finishing 19th in qualification.
Justin Thomas asked if he has done enough to make Presidents Cup team
Thomas is in a familiar position, having been 15th in the standings ahead of the 2023 Ryder Cup before he received the call-up from Zach Johnson. Thomas admitted that he is not entirely sure he deserved a pick ahead of the likes of Keegan Bradley. Unfortunately, he was not able to vindicate Johnson’s decision in Rome.
Following his final round at the BMW Championship, Thomas was asked whether he thinks he has done enough to force his way into the team this time around.
“I don’t know. I would say you have arguments both ways. At least I feel like I played well in some big tournaments this year. I just did it earlier in the season, I would say more so than later. I would say a lot of that has to do with a little bit of recency bias versus the entire season. I know I’m playing well enough, but that’s up to Jim and the rest of the captains and the guys on the team,” he said.
“But like I said, my hope is that I get to Atlanta and I prove that I belong.”
A tough position for Captain Furyk
As Thomas notes, the decision is likely to divide fans whatever Furyk chooses to do. Ultimately, he has the kind of experience that many of those ahead of him on the list do not have. He has played three Presidents Cups and three Ryder Cups.
But the American team is already looking incredibly strong, with Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa amongst those qualifying automatically. It may therefore be a good opportunity to reward the likes of Russell Henley and Akshay Bhatia and prepare them for potential future opportunities.
However, Furyk is not the next Ryder Cup captain, so his focus will be on picking the best team possible for Montreal. Thomas is, right now, not the same player he was a few years ago, but he has been such an important part of the American teams for the past seven years.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
