Ryder Cup Captain Zach Johnson announced the players on his 2023 team in late August. Some years it’s about who’s on the team. Some years it’s about who’s not on the team. And rarely, is it both.
This year it’s both.
And Johnson is taking some heat for his choices.
The format for picking the 12-man team has been tweaked through the years. Several years ago, 10 of the dozen players qualified by accumulating points awarded for how they finished in tour events. The 10 top point-getters automatically made the team, and the remaining two spots went to “captain’s picks.” They weren’t
necessarily the 11th and 12th point-getters. The logic was to pick the players, not already on the team, who were in the best “form” in events leading up to the Cup matches.
That formula was great … until the European team started winning almost
every Cup. From 1995 to 2014, Team USA captured only two of the biennial matches, while the Europeans won eight times..
The European teams traditionally had three “captain’s picks.” So prior to the 2021 matches, Team USA changed things up: six players qualified and six were chosen by Captain Steve Stricker. Team USA won that Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. Now,Team Europe is adopting that winning format for the 2023 matches.
Which brings us to Johnson’s 2023 picks. The six who qualified on points are
Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa and Xander Schauffele.
The captain’s picks (with Ryder Cup points ranking) are Brooks Koepka (7), Jordan Spieth (8), Collin Morikawa (10), Sam Burns (12), Rickie Fowler (13) and Justin Thomas (15).
Many feel Cameron Young (9) and Keegan Bradley (11) were snubbed. Young, even though he’s ninth in the standings, has not been in top form this season. He’s had five top 10s, only two having come in the past 2 months. He made the FedEx Cup Playoffs but didn’t qualify for the championship finals.
Bradley had a real bounce-back season after years of adjusting to the anchored putting ban. He won twice and contended in the playoff finals until a not-so-great final round.
The real red flag of the captain’s picks is Justin Thomas. He’s obviously a great player, but he’s performed poorly since fall 2022. This season he has no wins, and only three top 10s. JT also missed the cut in three of the four majors.
Here is a sample of his play in 2023:
Masters: shot 42 on the last nine holes to miss the cut by 1
Players Championship: tied for 60th
PGA: tied for 65th
US Open: tied for 152nd (73-81, missed cut)
Memorial: tied for 80th (75-75, missed cut)
Open Championship: tied for 135th (82-71, missed cut by eight shots)
JT finished 71st in the FedEx Cup standings to miss qualifying for the playoffs. Granted, he missed by a single shot, but he didn’t finish in the top 70 tour players over the course of the year.
Looking at his 2023 results, it’s hard to believe he finished 15th in Cup points! With these stats, it seems improbable that anyone would pick him to play in the Ryder Cup.
But, apparently, there are other criteria at work here. JT is close friends with everyone on the team, and especially close to a few of the captain’s picks.
Johnson and Vice Captain Fred Couples are defending the selection and dismissing the snubbing of Bradley. Of course!
When questioned, Johnson said “It became pretty obvious what makes us whole. He (JT) has been the heart and soul of Team USA. In my mind, he was born for this and you just don’t leave JT at home.”
Couples called it “player power, the team has spoken” and said “Keegan’s an older guy and not tight with them. They’re picking other guys that might not have the record of Keegan, but they pair them up perfectly.”
Couples added that picking JT was a “no brainer.” Both captains cited the importance of atmosphere in the team room. Wow! So, it sounds like the players who qualified on points have major input on who the captains pick. I wonder how that makes Keegan feel?
So here we have the 2023 Team USA Boy’s Club. The players wanted their buddies on the team to hang with them and their significant others for a week in Rome. The Ryder Cup will take place Sept. 30 – Oct. 1 at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club. And Italy is especially lovely in autumn, dontcha know.
Of course, every single player wants to win. but it sure looks like winning is secondary to having a good time hanging with their friends in the team room.
JT is certainly a great player who has struggled mightily this season. Is it possible that while he’s been home watching his buddies play on TV that he’s found his game and is back to pre-2023 form? It sure seems like a stretch of the imagination to me.
It’s inevitable the score will be close and the Ryder Cup will be determined by the final matches of the Sunday Singles. There’s a good chance it’ll all come down to JT’s match. If he’s nowhere near form, Capt. Johnson can sit him the first two days. But there’s no hiding him on Sunday; everyone plays singles.
Can JT rise to the occasion? I hope so. We’ll find out on October 1.
Go USA!
Bob Green continues to enjoy his retirement
after 41 years as head golf professional at Tedesco Country Club in Marblehead. Write to him at bgreen49@aol.com.
