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Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler Headline USA's Presidents Cup Roster

Rob Goldberg

The United States will have a stacked roster at the 2022 Presidents Cup, led by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.

Six of the spots were already secured based on a points system, guaranteeing places for Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Sam Burns and Tony Finau. On Wednesday, captain Davis Love III announced his picks of Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, Billy Horschel, Cameron Young, Max Homa and Kevin Kisner, via ESPN's Mark Schlabach.

Will Zalatoris was the highest-ranked player not included, although he suffered a back injury that cost him the final two tournaments of the FedEx Cup.

The Presidents Cup is scheduled to begin on Sept. 22 from Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. The team competition pits the best from the United States against the top worldwide players outside of Europe.

The United States has won 11 times in 13 events, plus one tie. The only win for the World team came in 1998 in Australia.

It will be an uphill battle for the international team once again, with several top players ineligible for the squad after joining LIV Golf. Australia's Cameron Smith, currently No. 2 in the world, and Joaquin Niemann of Chile will be especially missed.

Japan's Hideki Matsuyama and South Korea's Sungjae Im are the only golfers on the roster currently inside the top 20 of the world rankings.

The United States team will also be without some experienced players who defected to LIV Golf, including Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau, but the overall depth keeps the Americans in a good place heading into the upcoming tournament.

There are 11 players inside the top 20 in the world rankings, with only Kevin Kisner just outside at No. 26.

Kisner also brings value with his match-play experience, winning the 2019 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play while finishing as a runner-up last year. He went 2-0-2 during his lone Presidents Cup appearance in 2017.

"We understand exactly the mountain that we have in front of us: Possibly the best American team ever assembled if you look at them on paper with their accomplishments and what their world rankings are," International team captain Trevor Immelman said Tuesday.

Scheffler, who won the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play tournament this year as well as the Masters and two other tournaments, will make his first appearance at the Presidents Cup along with fellow rookies Morikawa, Burns, Horschel, Young and Homa.

   

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