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Snedeker wants J.J. Spaun to ‘make me look stupid’ for Presidents Cup snub

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MEDINAH, Illinois — Brandt Snedeker said he wants J.J. Spaun “to make me look like an idiot” after he left the 2025 U.S. Open champion off the U.S. team and offered a Ryder Cup prediction to perhaps help smooth over any hard feelings.

Snedeker, the U.S. team captain this year, addressed Spaun’s omission after Spaun expressed disappointment at not being chosen to be part of the biennial team match-play event pitting the best golfers from the U.S. against the top international golfers this week at Medinah Country Club outside Chicago. Spaun made his remarks immediately after winning the BMW Championship in England on Sunday, Sept. 20, noting he played with a “huge chip on his shoulder” after being snubbed from the Presidents Cup team.

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“Being a captain, you have to make tough decisions unfortunately, and we had 15 guys, 16 guys that we were really looking at,” said Snedeker, who also mentioned Ryan Gerard, Akshay Bhatia and Gary Woodland – a U.S. team vice captain at this year’s Presidents Cup – as close calls during his deliberations on captain’s picks.

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“You’re going to have to make these tough decisions and the best advice I got from all the guys I talked to, even coaches, is you got to trust your gut,” Snedeker added. “My gut was telling me one thing.”

Spaun was passed over despite finishing 10th in the Presidents Cup standings. The 12-man U.S. team includes 21-year-old PGA Tour rookie Jackson Koivun and Ryder Cup veteran Patrick Cantley, despite both finishing outside the top-12 in the Presidents Cup points standings.

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Spaun, 36, admitted to reporters after his BMW Championship win overseas that he entered the tournament hoping “to prove that I deserve to be on the team” and that conversations leading into Snedeker’s decision had given him the impression he was likely to be chosen.

Spaun also revealed Snedeker told him he was “the odd man out” while explaining the decision during a brief phone conversation. Spaun injured his shoulder at the Tour Championship and had to withdraw from the FedEx Cup playoff finale last month before Snedeker made his captain’s picks.

But after not picking Spaun earlier this month, Snedeker proclaimed Tuesday, “I would be shocked if he’s not on the (U.S.) team in Ireland” at next year’s Ryder Cup.

“I feel awful for J.J. and I always will because he’s a great dude and I love the guy to death,” Snedeker said. “That being said, he’s a competitor. I knew this was going to happen. I told all the guys that didn’t make the team, ‘Your job is to make me look like an idiot as quick as possible.'”

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“I fully expect … all these guys that were on the cusp of making this team, to go out and make me look stupid,” he continued. “They’re the best golfers in the world. Give them something to set their sights on, they’re going to do it.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Snedeker wants J.J. Spaun to ‘make me look stupid’ for Presidents Cup snub

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