JJ Spaun got a 45-second phone call and a label: “the odd man out.” He answered in the best way possible, with a trophy. Spaun won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth on Sunday in his debut at the DP World Tour’s flagship event. He became the third American to win the title, after Arnold Palmer and Billy Horschel, and the first player to win it on debut since Byeong Hun An in 2015. The win came less than three weeks after U.S. Presidents Cup captain Brandt Snedeker left him off the team for Medinah this week.

“I’m not going to give specifics on the players that didn’t make our team,” Snedeker said. “I feel like this process is about the 12 players we did select. There are plenty of guys who, unfortunately, didn’t make the team. That sucks for them.”

Spaun later shared more about that phone call. Snedeker called him on a Monday morning, shortly after Spaun landed in Phoenix. The call lasted only about 45 seconds. Snedeker told him he was not on the team and called him the “odd man out.” When reporters asked Spaun to confirm those words, he did not hesitate.

“Yeah, he did. You can quote me on that,” Spaun said.

Spaun had believed his chances of making the team were “pretty good.” He also said his talks with Snedeker had been positive until then. So, when he arrived at Wentworth, he clearly had something to prove. Starting the final round just one shot behind the lead, Spaun played with that extra motivation.

“I played with a huge chip on my shoulder. I definitely had something to prove this week,” he admitted after winning. “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. I took care of my business this week. So all the best to the team next week at Medinah and I’ll be watching.”

Spaun and Snedeker have not spoken since that decision. Spaun finished 10th in the U.S. Presidents Cup points standings and had already played for the U.S. at the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. He went 2-1-0 in his three matches.

His 2026 season also gave Snedeker plenty to consider. Spaun won the Valero Texas Open in April, and his BMW PGA Championship win became his second victory of the year. He also had three more top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour. Still, Snedeker used four of his six captain’s picks on players who finished below Spaun in the standings.

Ben Griffin, who finished eighth, was also left off the team. One thing that may have hurt Spaun was his withdrawal from the Tour Championship because of a shoulder injury. The timing made things even more interesting, but Snedeker has not confirmed whether the injury played a role in his decision.

“The hardest thing you ever have to do is pick 12 guys,” Snedeker said. “We’re very fortunate on the U.S. side to have 16, 17, 18 guys that are worthy of being on this team, and there’s always gonna be guys that are gonna be left off.”

Pushed on whether Spaun’s injury specifically influenced the decision, Snedeker declined to go further. “I’m not going to get into specifics why X player or Y player didn’t make it,” he said.

Former PGA Tour winner Smylie Kaufman, speaking on The Smylie Show, said he personally wanted Spaun on the team, but understood why the decision went the way it did. Kaufman considered Spaun a safe pick before the injury, citing his points standing. He also noted that Spaun did not get many opportunities at the Ryder Cup, though not because he played poorly.

Kaufman also believes Koivun would still have made the team even if Spaun had been fit and received a pick. In his view, it was Bridgeman, not Koivun, who would have missed out had Spaun been healthy.

On the broader picture, Kaufman said, “We’re going to find out if it’s going to matter or not, because the depth of the United States team, even the guys that miss, the guys that we’re talking about, when you look at the back half of the lineup for the International team, those six to 12 guys have to step up in such a big way.”

Snedeker called Koivun “a generational player” after playing a practice round with him at the Wyndham Championship. “You look at every metric you want to look at,” Snedeker said. “To do what he did in college, to do what he’s done as a professional, this kid’s really special.”

He also rapidly qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs after turning professional. PGA Tour coverage initially described his run as matching Tiger Woods’ five-start mark, though later reporting counted Koivun’s season at six starts.

In his official statement, Snedeker said: “It’s rare to see a player this young demonstrate the level of poise and confidence that Jackson has, even before turning professional. He’s already proven he can win on the biggest stage in golf on the PGA Tour, and I’m excited to watch him perform in his first team event.”

Snedeker said of Bridgeman, “What impressed me most wasn’t just his win at the Genesis Invitational but the way he continued to perform after that breakthrough.”

Bridgeman has been one of the more consistent players on Tour in 2026. He has 12 top-25 finishes in 24 starts and has missed only one cut. He also ranks first on Tour in strokes gained: putting. On the same day Spaun won at Wentworth, Bridgeman shot a final-round 61 to win the Biltmore Championship Asheville by two shots. It was his second win of the year. Koivun also finished tied for fifth at the event.

So, Snedeker’s two most questioned picks arrived at Medinah with strong results behind them. But Spaun’s win at Wentworth has made sure the debate is not going away anytime soon.