Zach Johnson, Team USA’s Ryder Cup captain, revealed his six picks for the fight against Europe in Rome on Tuesday.
Justin Thomas was a surprise selection from Johnson, while Brooks Koepka was the only LIV Golf player to make the team.
Thomas and Koepka were joined by Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, Collin Morikawa and Jordan Spieth.
The six qualifiers for Team USA were already set last week after the BMW Championship, with Xander Schauffele squeezing into last place alongside Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay and Max Homa.
Zach Johnson, Team USA’s Ryder Cup captain, announced his six picks for Rome on Tuesday
Justin Thomas was a surprise selection from Johnson after his recent poor form
PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka is the only LIV golfer to make the US team
Thomas comes as the most controversial pick, with Johnson opting to overlook the two-time major winner’s poor form that forced him to miss the PGA Tour’s season-ending playoffs.
However, Johnson could rely on Thomas’ experience, with the 30-year-old having a 6-2-1 record in Ryder Cup action. He took two and a half points from four games at Whistling Straits in 2021.
Johnson is also likely to try to revive the ready-made, successful collaboration between childhood friends Thomas and Spieth.
Spieth will make his fifth Ryder Cup appearance with the wild card pick, and will look to carry over the momentum from last year’s Presidents Cup, where he came away undefeated with a 5-0 record.
Koepka left the PGA Tour for Saudi-backed LIV Golf last June, only accessing Ryder Cup points in the majors. He placed second at the Masters and won the PGA Championship, with points counting double for winners of a major.
However, Koepka painfully dropped from No. 5 to No. 7 in the automatic standings after the final qualifying event, finishing 29 points behind Schauffele.
But despite being missing from PGA Tour action this season and playing just 11 events aside from the majors on the LIV Golf circuit, Koepka’s victory at Oak Hill was enough to convince Johnson that he deserved a seat on the plane to Italy. .
Koepka will be able to host a tune-up event with LIV Golf at Rich Harvest Farms the week leading up to the Ryder Cup action and the lead group’s schedule will not prevent him from taking part in the Marco Simone scouting trip two weeks prior to the competitions.
Johnson will also likely try to revive Thomas and Spieth’s ready partnership
Despite defecting to LIV Golf, Koepka did enough to convince Johnson that he deserved a pick
“The past few years have been a lot, but at the same time I’ve been striving for that, trying to get back in shape and feel good for this moment,” Koepka said. ‘Very excited. It’s going to be a fun week.’
Fowler had a resurgence this season, winning for the first time in four years this summer after reuniting with swing coach Butch Harmon in 2022.
He finished the Tour season in 11th place in strokes won: total – an improvement of 122 places on the previous year.
Like Spieth, the Californian will make his fifth appearance in the Ryder Cup with a 3-7-5 record over his previous four.
Morikawa will also return to the Ryder Cup, having made a resounding debut in Whistling Straits, winning three of his team matches alongside Dustin Johnson before his singles cut in half against fellow rookie Viktor Hovland sealed victory for the USA.
Meanwhile, along with Harman and Clark, Sam Burns will be an American rookie, having just missed out in 2021.
The 27-year-old won this year’s WGC-Match Play and finished ninth in the FedExCup.
The Louisianan also shares a close friendship with Scheffler, which could lead to a Spieth-Thomas-esque partnership.
“I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t my No. 1 goal,” Burns said. “I knew this was something I wanted to be a part of. For me personally, there is no greater honor than representing your country, and to take on these world-class players I am extremely excited.”
2021 team members Bryson DeChambeau and Tony Finau missed it, as did Keegan Bradley, Cam Young and Russell Henley after each made their plea to come to Rome for the entire 2023 season.
Bradley had said the 24 hours after the Tour Championship would be ‘hell’ before leaving East Lake on Sunday.
“Hopefully I get the chance to play on this team,” said Bradley. “If I don’t, I’ll be rooting hard. In recent years it has been very difficult for me to watch the Ryder Cup because I just wasn’t in talks to get on the team. But this year will be different if I don’t make the team. I’ll watch, and I’ll fight for the boys, just like I’m playing.’
The US secured a dominant victory over Europe in Whistling Straits in 2021, but head to Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in search of their first victory on European soil in 30 years.
European captain Luke Donald’s team has yet to be finalized, but heavyweights Rory McIlroy, Masters champion Jon Rahm and FedEx Cup champion Hovland have already been locked in.
More to follow.