Scott poised to shine in Melbourne

Aussie moves up; China's Li on list of Asian hopefuls for Presidents Cup

Eight-time Presidents Cup participant Adam Scott is in position to make a record ninth appearance for the International Team after vaulting seven spots into No 4 in the selection standings following his runner-up finish at last week's Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio.

Meanwhile, Patrick Cantlay proved unbeatable at Muirfield Village Golf Club with a final-round 64 to capture his second career PGA Tour victory and jump from No 9 to No 6 in the US Team standings.

The Presidents Cup will be held at Royal Melbourne Golf Club for the third time, Dec 9-15, when the International Team, captained by South Africa's Ernie Els, takes on the US contingent led by captain Tiger Woods.

The runner-up finish at the Memorial was Scott's second of the season and represented his fifth top-10 result in 12 starts.

The 38-year-old Aussie has competed in every Presidents Cup since 2003, and except for 2009, when he was one of two captain's picks for Greg Norman's team, he's been an automatic qualifier.

"I feel good. For sure, everything I've been doing is moving in the right direction," Scott said at Muirfield.

The last time the Presidents Cup was contested at Royal Melbourne in 2011, Scott recorded a 2-3 record.

"The biggest thing I'd love is for this to be a home game as far as the crowd is concerned," Scott said in Golf Australia's Inside the Ropes podcast this week.
"That will help us out tremendously. If we can just somehow make the US Team feel a little bit uncomfortable, that'd be really good."

Marc Leishman remains in the No 1 spot for the International Team after his fifth-place finish at the Memorial, which marked his first top-10 in a stroke play event on the PGA Tour since February.

Just behind him in solo sixth, Japan's Hideki Matsuyama moved up one position to No 2 in the standings. It was a timely return to form for the three-time Presidents Cup participant, who collected his first top-10 finish since The Players Championship in March.

Matsuyama is one of three Asian golfers currently inside the top 8 to make automatic qualification for the International Team.

China's Li Haotong is ranked fifth while Chinese Taipei's CT Pan, who won his first PGA Tour title in April, sits at No 6.

Li and Pan are aiming to become the first golfers from China to play in the Presidents Cup.

Four other Asians－South Korea's Kang Sung (11th), Thailand's Jazz Janewattananond (12th), Shugo Imahira of Japan (14th) and Kim Si-woo of South Korea (15th)－currently occupy top-15 spots in the International Team standings.

In total, four Aussies are in position for one of the eight automatic qualifying spots that will be distributed on Aug 19.

Leishman (No 1), Scott (No 4), Cameron Smith (No 7), and Jason Day (No 8) are all hoping for the opportunity to compete on home soil, with Smith in search of his Presidents Cup debut.

Since the inception of the Presidents Cup in 1994, no less than three Australians have competed in a single Presidents Cup.

On the US side, Cantlay is one step closer to qualifying for his first Presidents Cup team after he won the Memorial in comeback fashion to join the coveted top 8 at No 6 in the standings.

Cantlay's victory was yet another highlight in an already stellar season for the 27-year-old, marked by eight top-10 finishes in 14 starts, including runner-up at the Shriners Hospitals of Children Open and a tie of third at the PGA Championship.

At the previous week's Charles Schwab Challenge, Kevin Na moved into Presidents Cup contention by claiming his third PGA Tour title and vaulting from No 36 to No 17 in the standings.

Having competed full time on the PGA Tour since 2004, Na is looking to represent the US for the first time in a team event.

The top five in the US Team standings remained unchanged after the Memorial, with Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka occupying the top two spots, followed by Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele and Matt Kuchar.

Following a missed cut at the PGA Championship, Woods got back on track with a tie for ninth at the Memorial, highlighted by a final-round 67.

Tiger's fourth top-10 finish in his eighth start of the season moved him one spot up in the standings to No 10.

With a third straight top-10 result, Jordan Spieth moved five more spots in the standings to No 28. Spieth owns an overall Presidents Cup record of 8-5-1 and is a perfect 5-0-0 in the foursomes format.