Zach Johnson has announced his captain’s picks for the US Ryder Cup team to face Europe in Rome next month. They are Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.
They join the six automatic qualifiers – Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa and Xander Schauffele – who accumulated the most Ryder Cup points over the last two years.
The US Team will travel to Rome hoping to win a Ryder Cup on European soil for the first time since 1993. It will do so with an evident emphasis on experience. While three automatic qualifiers (Clark, Harman and Homa) will make their Ryder Cup debut, Burns is the only captain’s pick that has not appeared in the event. The other five captain’s picks have a combined 14 Ryder Cup appearances with a 25-21-11 record.
Thomas is the lone team member who failed to make the FedExCup Playoffs. The 15-time PGA Tour winner has had a disappointing 2022-23 season. Although, he has been one of the top-performing Americans in each of the last several team events. Thomas finished 15th in the Ryder Cup Points List, the lowest of any of the captain’s picks.
“In my mind, he was born for this,” Johnson said regarding Thomas. “You don’t just leave JT at home. He is without question the heart and soul of the US Team. Our emotional leader.”
Fowler returns to the team after missing the previous two Ryder Cups. Koepka, Morikawa, Spieth and Thomas were part of the US team’s record 19-9 victory at Whistling Straits in 2021. Koepka is the only LIV Golf League player to make the team, having missed out on automatic qualification by just one place.
Which Players Missed Out for the US Ryder Cup Team
Among the players to narrowly miss out on a captain’s pick were Cameron Young and Keegan Bradley, who were 9th and 11th on the points list. Lucas Glover also put himself into contention with two late wins, but he was ranked 16th in the points list, one behind Thomas.
The European Team will be finalised following the conclusion of the DP World Tour’s Omega European Masters on Sept 3. Captain Luke Donald will announce his six captain’s picks on Sept 4 to go with the six automatic qualifying players.
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