Six teams from the Presidents Cup qualify automatically, half of the teams still have to be selected

CASTLE ROCK, Colorado (AP) — Adam Scott is playing in the Presidents Cup for the 11th consecutive year, more than any other player on the international team. That was no big surprise.

The same applied to the six players of the American team.

The BMW Championship was the final tournament for six automatic qualifiers from the U.S. and international teams who will compete at Royal Montreal from September 27-30.

The leading six players remained unchanged.

Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay and newcomer Sahith Theegala qualified for the Americans. Sam Burns would have secured sixth place only if he had won. He finished the tournament one stroke behind Keegan Bradley.

The six qualifiers for the international team were Hideki Matsuyama, Tom Kim, Sungjae Im, Jason Day, Scott and Byeong Hun An.

Canadian Corey Conners had a chance for a top finish in Castle Pines, but finished with 73 points and 22nd place. The international team will be determined based on the world rankings.

Jim Furyk and Mike Weir of Canada will announce their six captain’s picks after the Tour Championship, and that’s where the excitement lies.

“I hope I haven’t spoiled everyone’s plans,” said Bradley, who moved up to 10th place in the US rankings with his victory.

Bradley, 38, is already the youngest Ryder Cup captain since Arnold Palmer (34) took the helm as playing captain in 1963. In addition, he has won the PGA Tour title every year for the past three years and moved up to 11th place in the world rankings with his victory at the BMW Championship.

Burns moved up to No. 7, followed by Tony Finau, Russell Henley, Bradley, Brian Harman and Max Homa. Henley has never played on the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup team.

Harman and Homa have been out of form for most of the summer. And then there’s Justin Thomas, who has played for every U.S. team since 2017. He’s ranked 19th after being the lowest-ranked player in the Ryder Cup one year when he was selected. Thomas did make it to the Tour Championship – 30th and last – so he has a week to perform.

“I feel like I’ve played well in some big tournaments this year. I didn’t do that until the beginning of the season,” Thomas said. “I know I’m playing well enough, but that’s because of Jim and the other captains and the guys on the team. I hope I can make it to Atlanta and prove that I belong.”

Weir would like to have Canadians on his side for the home crowd. None qualified. Conners was in seventh place, followed by Cam Davis and Min Woo Lee of Australia, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and three Canadians – Taylor Pendrith, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin.

Pendrith played in the recent Presidents Cup and played well on the back nine to secure a spot in next week’s Tour Championship.

“I want to be in East Lake. I really want to be in the Presidents Cup. But I’ve had a great season and if I don’t play great the last two weeks, I’d be OK with that,” he said. “It would obviously hurt a little bit, but to come out here and do it and perform under the pressure is an incredible feeling. I can’t wait to keep going.”

Scott has played on every Presidents Cup team since 2003 – the year after Tom Kim was born – but has never been on a winning team. The 2003 games ended in a tie in South Africa, and the Americans have won nine games in a row.

Phil Mickelson has participated in the Presidents Cup twelve times, more than any other player.

AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Taylor Pendrith of Canada prepares a putt on the sixth green during the final round of the BMW Championship golf event at Castle Pines Golf Club on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, in Castle Rock, Colo. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Australia’s Adam Scott hits from the seventh tee during the final round of the BMW Championship golf event at Castle Pines Golf Club on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, in Castle Rock, Colorado. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Scottie Scheffler tees off on the driving range before the third round of the BMW Championship golf event at Castle Pines Golf Club on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Castle Rock, Colo. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Keegan Bradley holds up the BMW Championship trophy after winning the BMW Championship golf event at Castle Pines Golf Club on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, in Castle Rock, Colo. (AP Photo/Matt York)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans Saints receiver Samson Nacua delivered a thrilling special teams play that he and his team won’t soon forget – even if he regrets how it ended.

Nacua didn’t even expect to be on the field when special teams coaches sent him to the field late in the first half of a preseason game on Sunday for the opportunity to return a 58-yard field goal attempt by Tennessee sophomore kicker Brayden Narveson.

What followed was a 106-yard sideline-to-sideline return from the back of the New Orleans end zone.

Nacua was forced out of the field at the Tennessee 3 by Titans tight end Thomas Odukoya.

With time running out, this unusual play did not result in a scoring opportunity for New Orleans, which lost 30-27, but it was a highly entertaining display of athleticism that lasted nearly 20 seconds after the ball landed in Nacua’s hands.

“I let the guys down,” said Nacua, 26, the older brother of Rams receiver Puka Nacua. “I should have thrown the ball to my homeboy, who was right next to me, and let him run in.”

Nacua was signed during training camp. He has never played in a regular season NFL game, but has played in the USFL and UFL since his college days at Utah and BYU.

Nacua hadn’t checked the messages on his phone when he spoke in the locker room after Sunday’s game, but he noticed that many had come from family and friends.

“They will probably tell me that I am the slower brother – and I will feel sick because I know that I am faster than Puka,” said a grinning Samson Nacua.

“When I went sideways, it felt like I had gone 50 yards more because when I got to the 50-yard line, I thought, ‘My legs are gone,'” he said. “I was so tired.”

It’s unclear if the move improves Nacua’s chances of remaining on the team beyond Tuesday, when teams must trim their rosters from 90 players to the regular-season maximum of 53.

“That’s just part of the evaluation,” Allen said. “The positive is that this play was very smart and the guys had a competitive nature to score on this unit. It was definitely an exciting play.”

Odukoya, a native of the Netherlands, had a chance to tackle Nacua earlier on the return as he was following up the play near New Orleans’ 45-yard line, near the sideline to Nacua’s left as he ran past and pulled to the right, running the length of the field and approaching the end zone.

Odukoya just managed to reach the angle and ran through the Saints players who tried to block the ball to force Nacua to drop out just short of the end zone.

“That relentless effort to execute that play really saved a touchdown and ultimately probably gave us the game win,” Titans coach Brian Callahan said.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Samson Nacua (89) is ejected from the field near the goal line as he returns a failed field goal during the first half of an NFL preseason game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Samson Nacua (89) returns a missed field goal during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Samson Nacua of the New Orleans Saints (top) is ejected from the field by Thomas Odukoya of the Tennessee Titans (bottom left) just before the goal line as he returns a missed field goal attempt during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Samson Nacua (89) of the New Orleans Saints returns a missed field goal attempt during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply