The 2026 Presidents Cup teams were finalized Tuesday, with Jason Day’s omission standing out on the International side. Day, a five-time Presidents Cup player and former world No. 1, was left off captain Geoff Ogilvy’s roster after a back injury disrupted much of his season. The 38-year-old withdrew before the 3M Open and Rocket Classic and missed the FedEx Cup Playoffs for the first time in 18 years.
Ogilvy said he considered the risk that Day’s back might not hold up through four days of team competition at Medinah Country Club later this month. “It just didn’t feel [like a] 100 percent guarantee that he could make it through four days of the Presidents Cup,” Ogilvy told reporters. “It felt like the right decision. He needs to go and look after his back and get himself back to 100 percent.”
The captain also had last year’s Ryder Cup controversy in mind. Viktor Hovland’s neck injury at Bethpage Black prevented him from playing Sunday singles against Harris English. Under the little-used envelope rule, the match was halved because U.S. captain Keegan Bradley had designated English as the player who would sit if an opposing player was unable to compete. Bradley subsequently called for the rule to be changed, while Hovland described the situation as upsetting but said the provision reflected the event’s tradition and sportsmanship. The rule has been used only twice in Ryder Cup history and never in the Presidents Cup.
Ogilvy selected Corey Conners, Sungjae Im, Ryo Hisatsune, Nick Taylor, Nico Echavarria and Christiaan Bezuidenhout with his six captain’s picks. Bezuidenhout, ranked 96th in the world, was the surprise choice after making 18 of 21 cuts and posting two top-10 finishes; Ogilvy pointed to his 3-1-0 Presidents Cup record, strong putting and iron play. The Internationals will face an American team led by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who closed the season by winning the Tour Championship and $10 million after claiming the $23 million FedEx Cup bonus the previous week. The United States has won 13 of 15 Presidents Cups and remains unbeaten on home soil.