Could Justin Thomas or Tiger Woods be named Presidents Cup captain’s assistant?

Keegan Bradley already planned to be at The Royal Montreal Golf Club for the Presidents Cup later this month. He just thought it would be as a U.S. Team captain’s assistant, a role he accepted shortly after he became the next U.S. Ryder Cup captain earlier this summer.

That all changed after the BMW Championship where Keegan Bradley won to keep his PGA TOUR season alive and, as it turns out, secure one of Jim Furyk’s captain’s picks as a player for the U.S. Team.

“Well, I guess we'd all have to be pretty honest about it. He almost didn't make it to the BMW, correct? I think he was 50th going in there, the last guy in the field, and then goes for a wire-to-wire victory. That definitely caught a lot of folks' eyes,” Furyk said.

“I think my assistant captains, the leaders on the team, knowing that a guy's season is on the line, his back is to the wall and he goes out there and performs under the ultimate pressure, I think at that point those guys were – one by one, it seemed to them it was a foregone conclusion that he was joining our team.”

Furyk confirmed Bradley’s role in Canada will be solely to play and help the U.S. extend its winning streak over the Internationals. He also confirmed he would be looking for a new captain’s assistant.

Furyk declined to delve into specifics about who he may look to fill Bradley’s seat. Pressed for whether it could be someone with previous captain experience or possibly someone who narrowly missed out on a captain’s pick, Furyk said, “I'm not even going to hint.”

That vagueness will certainly lead to speculation. Justin Thomas’ omission from Furyk’s six captains picks was the surprise of the day. Furyk picked Nos. 7-12 on the Presidents Cup standings – Bradley, Sam Burns, Tony Finau, Russell Henley, Brian Harman and Max Homa. Thomas was 19th in the standings.

Thomas hasn’t missed a U.S. national team event since the 2016 Ryder Cup. Could he keep that streak alive, but as an assistant captain this time around?

What about Tiger Woods? Woods was a playing captain for the U.S. during the last international Presidents Cup in Australia in 2019. He was an assistant at the 2016 Ryder Cup and 2017 Presidents Cup. Woods was also the favorite to be the 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup captain before he declined the role and the PGA of America pivoted to Bradley. Furyk said Tuesday he did not consult Woods about his captain’s pick selections.

“Tiger and I have been friendly over the years, but I didn't give him a call to talk about the picks at all,” Furyk said.

Furyk did not put a timeline on a decision to name a new assistant captain, but it’s expected those plans will need to come together quickly. The U.S. Team is scheduled to arrive in Montreal for Presidents Cup preparations in less than three weeks.