2026 Presidents Cup Player Profiles: International Team

Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Status: Captain’s Pick
World Ranking: 97
Data Golf Ranking: 72
President’s Cup Experience: Two appearances (2022, 2024)
Overall: 3-1-1
Singles: 2-0-0
Foursomes: 1-0-0
Fourball: 0-1-1

Christiaan Bezuidenhout makes his third straight appearance for the Internationals as a captain’s pick, a questionable one at that this go-around. His lone top 10s came at opposite-field events, and both occurred before June. As for the Cup competition, none of Bezuidenhout’s past partners are on this year’s team, but it's the singles format where the South African has shown his worth. Sure, they were comfortable wins against Kevin Kisner (2022) and Brian Harman (2024) late in the day when the Cup was already decided, but those are rare wins on Sunday for the Internationals. And it’s not like the Internationals had many better options. –Adam Woodard

Corey Conners

Status: Captain’s Pick
World Ranking: 54
Data Golf Ranking: 52
President’s Cup Experience: Two appearances (2022, 2024)
Overall: 2-7-0
Singles: 1-1-0
Foursomes: 1-3-0
Fourball: 0-3-0

The good news is, Conners remains an excellent iron player, maybe the best on the International squad outside of Si Woo Kim. The bad news? Conners simply isn’t an elite player anymore, or at least he wasn’t in 2026. Statistically this was his worst season since 2019. A year ago, he finished fourth at the Tour Championship. This year, he didn’t even make it to the BMW Championship, and finished 59th in the FedEx Cup. He’s never been a good putter, but his driver was always a nice complement to his superb iron play. Now it’s also a liability. He had just one top 10 all season. Ogilvy didn’t have a ton of great options, and the fact that Conners was a captain’s pick who generated zero controversy probably says all you need to know about the Internationals' lack of depth. –Kevin Van Valkenburg

Nico Echavarria

Status: Captain’s Pick
World Ranking: 60
Data Golf Ranking: 90
President’s Cup Experience: Rookie

Ahead of what’s sure to be plenty of Chicago Bears talk during this trip to the Windy City (and northwest Indiana), we now present an audience-mandated Nico Minute:

The 32-year-old Colombian reportedly had the International Shield as his phone background as some added motivation this cycle, and sure enough, here he is. He won the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches back in March, keeping it between the mayo and mustard (or whatever it is you put on a Chicago hot dog) while Shane Lowry fell apart on Sunday. Not much has happened for him since, as he last finished in the top 10 of an event in May at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Echavarria did make it to the second round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, but finished in dead last at the BMW Championship to wrap up his season.

In any event, the win at PGA National was good enough for an eighth-place finish on the International Points List and an easy captain’s pick for Geoff Ogilvy. Echavarria will join Camilo Villegas and Sebastian Munoz as Colombians who have donned the almighty Shield.

Now that that’s over with, have you heard about this Caleb Williams guy? –PJ Clark

Ryan Fox

Status: Automatic Qualifier 
World Ranking: 24
Data Golf Ranking: 62
President’s Cup Experience: Rookie

Ryan Fox’s late-bloomer run over the last two years has been fun to watch. The Kiwi picked up his first two PGA Tour wins last season, then added his first-ever major title at this year’s Open Championship. He makes his Presidents Cup debut after qualifying second for the Internationals, and as the second-oldest member of the team — a year younger than veteran Adam Scott and a year older than fellow rookie Nick Taylor — captain Geoff Ogilvy will assuredly look to Fox to be a leader in the team room despite his lack of experience. –Adam Woodard

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Ryo Hisatsune

Status: Captain’s Pick
World Ranking: 66
Data Golf Ranking: 77
Presidents Cup Experience: Rookie

Hisatsune got off to a hot start in 2026, recording three consecutive top-10 finishes at Torrey Pines, TPC Scottsdale, and Pebble Beach. The 2023 DP World Tour Rookie of the Year has shown plenty of promise, but struggles with the putter have kept him from contending on a consistent basis. That’s not to suggest that his pre-putt routine, which includes taking a swig of water before every putt, isn’t working, but maybe we need to work on the temperature of the water or change something else up. Has he tried sparkling water? 

A Presidents Cup debutant, Hisatsune seems like a probable playing partner for Hideki Matsuyama, given that Matsuyama is both experienced and Japanese. Such a pairing would put a little bit of pressure on Hisatsune, as this would be one of the strongest duos on the International side. For the Internationals to have any chance, Hisatsune will need to show up. –Joseph LaMagna

Sungjae Im

Status: Captain’s Pick
World Ranking: 59
Data Golf Ranking: 43
President’s Cup Experience: Three appearances (2019, 2022, 2024)
Overall: 6-7-2
Singles: 2-1-0
Foursomes: 1-4-1
Fourball: 3-2-1

Steady Sungjae makes his fourth straight appearance at the Presidents Cup carrying a decent overall record. Geoff Ogilvy needs him to be more than decent. By Sungjae standards, it was a middling year. He did not make it to East Lake, which has been automatic in recent years, often by simply how many starts he makes and points he buckets. He did finish in the top 10 in both FedEx Cup Playoffs events before getting chopped from the Atlanta proceedings. But overall, it was a steady, meh year that does not stack up with the USA players’ records. He spent much of the 2024 Cup playing with Hideki Matsuyama, which may change this time with another Japanese player in the fold. I am not sure how he will perform, but I can predict with near 100 percent certainty that there will be members of both teams wearing Sungjae HIM apparel in the post-Cup revelry on Sunday night. –Brendan Porath

Si Woo Kim

Status: Automatic Qualifier 
World Ranking: 13
Data Golf Ranking: 11
President’s Cup Experience: Three appearances (2017, 2022, 2024)
Overall: 6-5-0
Singles: 1-2-0
Foursomes: 2-3-0
Fourball: 3-0-0

It’s hard to envision an International upset victory without a leading contribution from Si Woo Kim, who enters the Cup as the highest-ranked player on their roster. Kim is now a veteran of that side, this being his fourth Cup. The Internationals are in a transition era as Adam Scott ages and no real top-of-the-rankings player has emerged. Could that be Si Woo? Maybe. He’s had a phenomenally consistent year and is one of the very best ball-strikers in the world (leading the Tour in SG Approach, ahead of Scottie in 2026). He also hasn’t won this year. And his major record is underwhelming, to say the least. In a profile with Joseph LaMagna, he admitted to having a poor approach at the biggest events, becoming more of a passenger happy to be there, and being unable to clip Scottie in all their home games. That will not work at the Presidents Cup if the Internationals are to have any chance of flipping this somehow. They need leaders posting in the intense crucible that are these team events. Ryder Cup Europe has always had those people and experiences to lean on. The Internationals simply never have when it counts. It’s doubtful that starts with Si Woo, but his record in the Cup is solid, and it would need to start with him if the Internationals are to have much of a chance. –Brendan Porath

Tom Kim

Status: Automatic Qualifier 
World Ranking: 31
Data Golf Ranking: 27
President’s Cup Experience: Two appearances (2022, 2024)
Overall: 3-5-1
Singles: 0-1-1
Foursomes: 1-2-0
Fourball: 2-2-0

Tom Kim might be the Justin Thomas of the International side. The emotional pulse of the team and a player who is both young and experienced in team events. Kim recently turned 24 and has already played nine Presidents Cup matches in his career. The Presidents Cup is a big stage for an International player like Kim, and it’s a spotlight he seems to relish. In Montreal, Tom and Si Woo Kim created fireworks in their Saturday matches, routing Wyndham Clark-Keegan Bradley and losing narrowly to Patrick Cantlay-Xander Schauffele. You’d have to imagine we’ll see that South Korean duo again. This time, they should wait until after the match to do any sort of “Night, night” celebration. –Joseph LaMagna

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Min Woo Lee

Status: Automatic Qualifier 
World Ranking: 30
Data Golf Ranking: 39
President’s Cup Experience: One appearance (2024)
Overall: 0-1-1
Singles: 0-0-1
Foursomes: 0-0-0
Fourball: 0-1-0

Min Woo Lee had a bit of an odd season in 2026. He started and finished strong, with a string of underwhelming performances in the middle that included the major championships. On a positive note, he hit his irons better than he ever has in his career. On a less positive note, his putter let him down much more often in the summer than you’d expect, given that it is normally a strength. Lee is an affable fellow and should make for a comfortable pairing no matter who you throw him with. Whether he or his partner will be doing more of the heavy lifting is anyone’s guess. Will he be a chef or a sous-chef? –Joseph LaMagna

Hideki Matsuyama

Status: Automatic Qualifier 
World Ranking: 26
Data Golf Ranking: 17
President’s Cup Experience: Six appearances (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2024)
Overall: 9-13-5
Singles: 3-1-2
Foursomes: 3-6-1
Fourball: 3-6-2

Hideki Matsuyama enters his seventh Cup after a solid-yet-winless season, with zero missed cuts and 14 top-25 finishes in 23 events, six in the top 10. Geoff Ogilvy has a few options with how to deploy Hideki. He played three matches with Sungjae Im two years ago, and a pair of aces with Hideki alongside Adam Scott hasn’t fared well over the last decade-plus. Splitting those aces and joining Hideki with fellow countryman and rookie Ryo Hisatsune makes for a comfortable pairing and frees up the International team’s most experienced player. If the International side is going to pull off the upset, Hideki has to play a pivotal role. –Adam Woodard

Adam Scott

Status: Automatic Qualifier
World Ranking: 52
Data Golf Ranking: 28
President’s Cup Experience: 11 appearances (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2024)
Overall: 20-28-6
Singles: 5-6-0
Foursomes: 10-10-2
Fourball: 5-12-4

Everything about the following paragraph is true: Scott has never won a Presidents Cup, yet he has a better record in this event than any of his teammates (he was part of the tie in 2003); he has a losing record overall, he’s played in 54 career matches, and if he plays twice this week, he’ll surpass Phil Mickelson has for the most matches in the history of this event; he’s had 18 different partners, including this year’s captain Geoff Ogilvy; he’s qualified for the team every year except one (2009), when he was a captain’s pick; he’s faced off in matches against Jay Hass in this event (born in 1952) and Sahith Theegala  (born in 1997). He’s been paired up with Hideki Matsuyama more than any International player (seven times) but gone just 2-4-1 with him as a partner. –Kevin Van Valkenburg

Nick Taylor

Status: Captain’s Pick
World Ranking: 81
Data Golf Ranking: 66
President’s Cup Experience: Rookie

One of four rookies on the International team, Nick Taylor was an interesting selection by Geoff Ogilvy and Co. The 38-year-old finished 13th on the points list despite just one top 10 and five top 25s this season. It’s a no-brainer pairing to play him alongside fellow countryman Corey Conners, who has played with a Canadian in five of his seven partner matches. Taylor’s year was so average I really have no idea what to expect from him this year, but given past Bagel Boy performances from the Canadians in this event, a point or two will justify the selection. –Adam Woodard