Did the U.S. select the next ‘Captain America’?

Golf Digest

Jackson Koivun being named one of Brandt Snedeker’s six Presidents Cup captain’s picks on Tuesday evening was a pleasant surprise for many golf fans. The 21-year-old Auburn product has the potential to be one of the best players on the planet—and a serious pain in the side of teams from around the planet—for decades to come.

But as Shane Ryan points out, the choice to have Koivun join Team USA at Medinah later this month isn’t just about the future. In his short time on the PGA Tour, Koivun has already proven he can beat the best, topping Scottie Scheffler by three shots at the 3M Open in only his third start as a pro in July. And in his longer time as an amateur, Koivun has proven to be a match-play master, going 6-1 in the NCAAs while helping Auburn win two national titles and posting a 3-1 mark at the 2025 Walker Cup.

Team USA has historically dominated the Presidents Cup, but has been looking for a spark to turn the tide against Europe in the Ryder Cup, an event that seems to make even all-time great players like Scottie Scheffler and Tiger Woods look mortal. Once upon a time, Patrick Reed, who earned the nickname “Captain America,” seemed destined to be that go-to guy, but perhaps the title will pass down to Jackson. And with this year’s Presidents Cup being a home game, he won’t be looking to shush the crowd. Here’s more on Snedeker’s smart choice, the rest of the captain’s picks and Tiger’s latest legal developments.

The Jackson Koivun selection is a great sign for the U.S. team’s future

Past American captains would have found a reason not to pick someone so new to the pro game.

By Shane Ryan

What You Need to Know

Jay Coffin

Presidents Cup teams have been finalized, with both captains unveiling their final six picks Tuesday on Golf Channel. A reminder that Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns, Russell Henley and Collin Morikawa were the six automatic qualifiers for the U.S. Captain Brandt Snedeker made the biggest news with his sixth and final pick when he added Jackson Koivun to his team. There had been much discussion about whether the 3M Open winner and all-world stud from Auburn should be on the team. That discussion is now over. Chris Gotterup, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay and Jacob Bridgeman are the other five joining him.

For Captain Geoff Ogilvy and the International team, Si Woo Kim, Hideki Matsuyama, Ryan Fox, Tom Kim, Min Woo Lee and Adam Scott were the automatic qualifiers from after the Tour Championship. Scott will make his 12th start, a record for the International team, which ties Phil Mickelson for most in the history of the event. Ogilvy then added Corey Conners, Nico Echavarria, Nick Taylor, Sungjae Im, Ryo Hisatsune and Christiaan Bezuidenhout. The matches are Sept. 24-27 at Medinah Country Club in Chicago. The Americans lead the series 13-1-1.

Alex Myers

Chris Gotterup had the best reaction to making the U.S. Presidents Cup team. Let's just say the 27-year-old was both ready to join Brandt Snedeker's squad and prepared for the captain's announcement. Within minutes of being selected to represent his country for the first time in his pro career, Gotterup fired off this patriotic montage to mark the occasion. Looks like Team USA has a new Vibes Guy.

Alex Myers

Tiger Woods' PGA Tour earnings, when adjusted to today's purses, will blow your mind. Scottie Scheffler's $10 million Tour Championship victory on Sunday also moved him past Woods to No. 1 on the PGA Tour career money list, a spot Tiger had held since 2000. But while everyone acknowledges Scheffler has had the benefit of playing for a lot more money, you probably don't realize just how different things would be if Woods was winning his 82 tournaments now. But thanks to Arccos' Lou Stagner, now we do. The statistician adjusted Woods' $121 million for both inflation and today's inflated purses, which have outpaced inflation, and, well, see for yourself.

According to the statistician, Woods would have earned more than $400 MILLION. Or more than three times what Scheffler has earned. Pretty wild. Anyway, we're not sure if Tiger will be happy seeing that or not.