Ogilvy Finalizes 12-Man Presidents Cup Team With 6 Captain’s Picks

Q: What hidden match-play metrics made Christiaan Bezuidenhout a surprise captain's pick over highly ranked veterans for the 2026 squad?

The hidden case for Christiaan Bezuidenhout was his match-play profile, not his world ranking. Geoff Ogilvy leaned on a set of indicators that translate well to Presidents Cup formats: Bezuidenhout’s previous event record of 3-1-1, including 3.5 points from five matches and a 2-0 singles mark, plus a statistical profile built on scoring efficiency and mistake avoidance. That profile is stronger than his ranking suggested. In 2026 he ranked about 24th-28th on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Total, ahead of several teammates and many players who were more fashionable picks. More importantly for four-ball and singles, he was 26th-29th in Strokes Gained: Approach and 17th-25th in Strokes Gained: Putting, while also sitting around 38th in total birdies. Those are premium match-play traits because they create chances and convert them. Ogilvy also appears to have valued Bezuidenhout’s control under pressure. He ranked among the Tour’s best in bogey avoidance, as high as third to fifth in available 2026 data, and had made 18 cuts in 21 starts. That combination suggests a player less likely to lose holes with errors while still capable of stealing holes with birdies. So the “surprise” was only on the surface. Bezuidenhout was picked over higher-ranked veterans because the deeper evidence showed a calm, efficient match-play scorer with proven Presidents Cup returns.

3 articles · Updated · PGA TOUR · Sep 1

Six captain’s picks — Corey Conners, Nico Echavarria, Sungjae Im, Ryo Hisatsune, Nick Taylor and Christiaan Bezuidenhout — completed Geoff Ogilvy’s 12-man International roster for the 2026 Presidents Cup at Medinah.
The selections blend experience and rookies: Im, Conners and Bezuidenhout bring prior Presidents Cup appearances, while Echavarria, Taylor and Hisatsune are among four team debutants.
Bezuidenhout was the biggest surprise after a weak season left him 97th in the standings, but Ogilvy leaned on his 3-1-1 Presidents Cup record and two Singles wins.
The picks join automatic qualifiers Si Woo Kim, Hideki Matsuyama, Ryan Fox, Tom Kim, Min Woo Lee and Adam Scott, who is set for a 12th Presidents Cup and could break Phil Mickelson’s 55-match record.
The International side is chasing its first Presidents Cup victory since 1998, with Ogilvy trying to end that drought on a Medinah course he helped redesign.