Koepka, Thomas make Ryder Cup team as US captain Johnson makes his choices

Even though US Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson played it safe with the six slots available for him to fill for the upcoming clash against Europe in Rome, there has been a fair amount of heartburn over a couple of his picks.

There were no surprises in Johnson naming Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler, Sam Burns and Justin Thomas alongside the six who were automatic qualifiers on the basis of their ranking points. What has sparked criticism is the choice of Thomas in particular after a horrendous past season.

‘JT’ as he is popularly called, missed the cut at three of the four majors this year. Through the 2023 season where he failed to add to his 15 PGA Tour titles, Thomas had just three top 10 finishes, and fell short of making the season-ending FedEx Cup playoffs. 

In the two-year Ryder Cup rankings cycle, he was down in 15th place.
So what tipped Johnson’s hand? Thomas is an outstanding match play exponent and holds a 6-2-1 Ryder Cup record and is reckoned to be one of the top performers at team events including the last Ryder Cup at Paris where he was one of the new bright spots in a 17.5-10.5 US defeat.

Thomas is also a force in the team locker room. “In my mind, he was born for this,” his captain said at Tuesday’s pick announced at the PGA of America headquarters in Texas. “He has been the heart and soul of Team USA at Ryder Cups. He's our emotional leader… You just don't leave J.T. at home.”

Missing out though were season-long performers like Keegan Bradley, Cameron Young, and Lucas Glover, not to mention proven Ryder Cup performers like Dustin Johnson, Patrick ‘Captain America’ Reed, and Bryson DeChambeau. 

The full US team after Tuesday’s announcement

Automatic qualifiers: Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark, and Max Homa. 

Captain's picks: Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler, Sam Burns, and Justin Thomas.

Between them, the six named on Tuesday have just two wins through the season, one of them being Koepka's victory at the PGA Championship. 

Additionally four of the six have played a Ryder Cup in Europe while none of the six who qualified automatically have done so and three will make their event debut. Zach Johnson was clearly looking to balance experience and recent form.

Putting additional pressure on Johnson is the fact that the US have not won on European soil in 30 years, losing six times in a row since Valderrama in 1997 and Le Golf National in Paris in 2018. The 2021 rout of Europe at Whistling Straits where the US chalked up a record 19-9 scoreline is also reflected in the present team with seven members being part of the squad two years ago.

Of the six named on Tuesday, Koepka, Spieth, Morikawa, Fowler, and Thomas have a combined 14 Ryder Cup appearances with a 25-21-11 record. Only Burns has never played the event and will make his Ryder Cup debut next month at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Guidonia Montecelio near Rome.

While Fowler returns to the team after missing the previous two Ryder Cups. Koepka, Morikawa, Spieth and Thomas were part of the USA’s record 19-9 victory over Europe at Whistling Straits in 2021.

For Tean Europe, the six automatic qualifiers will be finalised after this week’s Omega European Masters in Switzerland on September 3 and Europe captain Donald will announce his six picks the following day.