MEDINAH, Ill. – There were no points up for grabs Tuesday at the Presidents Cup but U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker claimed what felt like a ‘W’ in his first press conference of the week.
About halfway through Snedeker’s press conference, he was asked about J.J. Spaun’s comments on Sunday following his victory at the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour.
“I played with a huge chip on my shoulder. I definitely had something to prove this week, but everything happens for a reason,” Spaun said. “The extra motivation, I think that is the willpower that you have. Being left off the Presidents Cup team a couple weeks ago was very disappointing and I wanted to prove that I deserve to be on that team.”
Snedeker could have defended his decision to skip Spaun, who was ranked 16th in the world and was 10th on the U.S. points list, but said Sunday’s victory was an example of how top players are motivated.
“First of all, I’m super excited for J.J. What he did at Wentworth was impressive coming down the stretch,” Snedeker said. “That being said, he’s a competitor. Like I knew this was going to happen. I told all the guys that didn’t make the team, like your job is to go make me look like an idiot as quick as possible.”
Spaun said his conversation with Snedeker regarding his captain’s picks was “like a 45-second phone call” and that the captain told him he was the “odd man out.”
Snedeker, however, said he was comfortable with his six picks – including Patrick Cantlay, Chris Gotterup, Jackson Koivun, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas and Jacob Bridgeman, who also won on Sunday at the PGA Tour’s Biltmore Championship.
“The best advice I got from all the captains I talked to and even coaches, you’ve got to trust your gut. My gut was telling me one thing,” Snedeker said. “You’ve got to make those decisions. It’s tough. I feel awful for J.J., and I always will, because he’s a great dude and I love the guy to death.”
