Brandt Snedeker made some bold calls when selecting his players for the Presidents Cup.
Perhaps the boldest of Team USA’s captain’s picks was 21-year-old Jackson Koivun, making his first appearance at the competition this week. Koivun just turned professional after this year’s US Open, and now he’s playing among the best American players on the planet.
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Koivun has been dubbed golf’s next superstar, and he hit the ground running on the PGA Tour this year. He won the 3M Open in only his third event as a professional.
When selecting Koivun for his team, Snedeker leaned on one piece of advice past Team USA captains gave him.
What made Brandt Snedeker pick Jackson Koivun for the Presidents Cup
Picking Koivun was a huge display of faith from Snedeker. Yes, the Americans are huge favorites to win the Presidents Cup and have an overwhelming talent advantage, but he still needs to rely on his 12 players to be ready for the moment to avoid an embarrassing defeat.
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Snedeker says he has faith that Koivun will perform for the Stars and Stripes, and explained that he leaned on advice from past captains to pick the young star.
Speaking to the Golf Channel, he said, “Probably the best piece of advice I got from all the past captains was, ‘you have to trust your gut’.
“Stats are going to tell you one thing: you can go watch all you want to, but at the end of the day you have to have a gut feeling with what you’re going.
“All the research I did on Jackson, getting to know him, talking to his college coaches, talking to everybody who’s ever played with him, everyone who’s ever met this kid, I realized what a special player he is.
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“I got a chance to play with him at the Wyndham Championship this year in a practice round, and kind of got to see with my own eyes what he was all about.
“Just felt like I had a conviction. This kid’s special; he needs an opportunity, I feel like this is the right place for him to do it. And I think he brings a ton to our team; having a 21-year-old kid makes the old guys really excited to show him the ropes.
“He’s a great kid, and I’m excited for the golf world to see him.”
This will be valuable experience for Koivun, who is expected to be a staple of the American team for many years to come. He’ll now arrive at Adare Manor for next year’s Ryder Cup already adjusted and familiar to the team, only needing to concern himself with playing golf.
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