Should Jackson Koivun make the U.S. Presidents Cup team at Medinah?
Golf Channel's Ryan Lavner and Rex Hoggard discuss Jackson Koivun's Presidents Cup's candidacy following a win at the 3M Open. Lavner calls Kouvin playing at Medinah a "can't lose proposition."
Video Transcript
Hoggard and Ryan Lavner.
Gentlemen, nice to see you.
Lav, listen, I think this young man deserves a spot on the team with that win.
Go Scottie Scheffler 21, Wisconsin go.
2023 Rome, Ludvig berg.
Am I crazy or does he deserve serious consideration?
You're definitely not crazy, Damon.
And it's great to see Rex joining us on this round table.
He must have a lot of makeup on because he got beat up, on social media for what was going to be a freezing cold take when Jackson Coggin eventually makes this Presidents Cup team.
To me, Damon, this is, this is pretty obvious.
And the fact that Rex has been so resistant, to this move to me is emblematic of why the US culture and these team competitions have just been so slow to evolve and, and try new things.
And the PGA Tour is going to tell you, and they're never going to admit, that the Presidents Cup, is just a proving ground for the Ryder Cup, but it is.
And Brandt Snedeker, the captain of the US side, has every reason to want to be a successful captain for a team that has not lost since the '90s.
I totally understand that.
But Jackson Coggin on this Presidents Cup team, in my opinion, is a can't lose proposition.
If he plays well, and he gains invaluable experience, then it should serve him well in a year's time at Adare Manor.
And if he does not play well, then it's not even necessarily that much of a drop-off in performance or expectation from what you would've gotten from, say, Ben Griffin, who right now would be an automatic qualifier, or a J.J. Spaun or an Akshay Bhatia, who at this point are still among the top 12 and will be serious candidates to make that team.
If I'm Luke Donald, the European Ryder Cup captain for next year, I am praying that the Americans maintain the status quo and just go safe and do not bring the 21-year-old wunderkind onto this team who could potentially be a real game-changer for him in a year's time.
Just, just give me one second.
I have to clear my throat to make sure I, I get to this correctly, 'cause we did kick this around- on Monday's podcast.
And to be clear, we did a 40-minute first segment, 40 minutes on Jackson Coggin- and what he did at the 3M Open.
Every producer in that building right now is breaking into hives because no one does a 40-minute first block.
But we did it because it was such a special event.
He is such a special player.
Forget about what he did statistically.
If you look at ball-striking-wise, he blew away the field ball-striking-wise in a field that had Scottie Scheffler, the world number one, the guy that normally does that to everyone else.
But it, it was his mental strength, w- the way he handled himself coming down the stretch on Sunday.
That was the most impressive part.
But to not get ahead of the skis here, as my partner, and it seems like you, Damon, as well, I think every time this happens, we become prisoners of the moment.
He is a very special player, and there is no doubt in my mind he is under consideration for a pick on that team later this year at the Presidents Cup.
But there is no way you can convince me or any of the players on either the US team or the international team that this should be some sort of triple A, that this should be some sort of developmental match, getting ready for next year at the Ryder Cup.
This isn't training camp.
This is an event in and of itself, and it's not fair to treat it that way.
It's not fair to the players, it's not fair to the captains, it's not fair to the fans who want to go and watch a real event.
All that being said, right now Jackson Coggin- They wanna watch Jackson Coggin has at least two more starts, probably three.
Absolutely it's fair to Jackson Coggin because he has two more events, probably three, getting into the BMW.
Right now he's 70th on the points list.
To improve his chances and play his way at least into consideration for a spot on that team.
Right now he's 51st on the US points list, and he's moving up quickly based on what he did last week.
But no, I don't think right now you automatically put him on the team.
We see what happens over the next four weeks.
You know what?
All I can do here is quote Robert De Niro and go, "Right, no, no, no, you insulted him a little bit yourself.
You insulted him a little bit yourself."
Couple things.
Number one, we now know what the problem is with the United States Ryder Cup team, it's Rex.
I mean, it's clearly been defined as such.
My view on it is Jackson should be on that team.
But if you're gonna put Jackson on that team, and I do think it's time for young blood and to bring the kids in and do the Ludvig berg, do what the European side has done for decades, where they bring young players in, give them the experience, even if they're just tagging along on the team.
Akshay Bhatia's gotta be on that team as well.
I don't think it has to just be recency bias and leave that off.
So-
