To the surprise of absolutely nobody, United States Presidents Cup team captain Steve Stricker selected Phil Mickelson and Charley Hoffman with his captain's picks on Wednesday afternoon. International team captain Nick Price countered with Emiliano Grillo and Anirban Lahiri. 

Hoffman and Mickelson join a stacked U.S. squad that now looks like this.

  • Dustin Johnson (OWGR: 1)
  • Jordan Spieth (2)
  • Justin Thomas (4)
  • Rickie Fowler (10)
  • Daniel Berger (22)
  • Brooks Koepka (11)
  • Kevin Kisner (25)
  • Patrick Reed (19)
  • Matt Kuchar (13)
  • Kevin Chappell (27)
  • Charley Hoffman (24)
  • Phil Mickelson (29)

This team includes four major winners from the past two seasons and 12 of the top 30 players in the world, which is astounding. Its average world golf ranking is 15.6. 

There was some debate over whether Mickelson should be included on the team after he missed the PGA Championship cut in August, but a T6 at the Dell Technologies Championship last week at TPC Boston put that conversation to rest. He has never missed a Presidents Cup and has made 23 straight team events overall (including the Ryder Cup).

"It means a lot to me," Mickelson told Golf Channel. Even though he didn't earn a spot based on points, Mickelson praised Stricker and Co. "What means a lot to me this year is that the players and captains wanted me on the team. No matter how many of these teams I've been on, I'm always just as excited for the next on."

Hoffman just missed qualifying on points by a couple of shots (like, literally a couple of strokes over the last two years). Stricker almost had to include him, and he should have. Hoffman has been playing the best golf of his life and has seven top 10s so far this season.

The International team, on the other hand, includes just five of the top 30 in the world and boasts an average world ranking of just 31.9. Here is what their squad looks like.

  • Hideki Matsuyama (OWGR: 3)
  • Jason Day (9)
  • Adam Scott (20)
  • Louis Oosthuizen (21)
  • Marc Leishman (23)
  • Charl Schwartzel (26)
  • Branden Grace (34)
  • Si Woo Kim (36)
  • Jhonattan Vegas (37)
  • Adam Hadwin (45)
  • Emiliano Grillo (54)
  • Anirban Lahiri (75)

This is nothing new, of course. This event has not been super competitive since its inception in 1994. The International team has just one win (1998) and one tie (2003). Regardless, the juices will be flowing for Presidents Cup rookies like Vegas, Kisner and Berger at Liberty National here in a few weeks.