Breaking Down the U.S. Ryder Cup Team, From the Leader to the Question Marks
Zach Johnson now has his 12 players that will represent the USA in the 44th Ryder Cup in 29 days at Marco Simone just outside of Rome.
Make no mistake, this is Johnson’s team. His picks consisted of two players who just missed out on one of the six automatic qualifying spots after the BMW Championship, with Brooks Koepka seventh and Jordan Spieth at eighth, to four players further down the rankings with Collin Morikawa (10th), Sam Burns (12th), Rickie Fowler (13th) and Justin Thomas (15th).
The six automatic qualifiers were Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa and Xander Schauffele.
It’s a team with four rookies in Clark, Harman, Homa and Burns, but also a ton of experience as the other eight have played in 17 Ryder Cups with a combined record of 34-22-13.
“I think these six guys are built for competing over there,“ Johnson said Tuesday about his captain's picks. “I very much feel like I'm built that way, too.”
Johnson sees each of the 12 as an individual entity, but each player brings different attributes. In a month, win or lose, we'll know if Johnson made the right call.
Ranking the 12 individually is hard, even for Johnson, who had reams of information and data at his disposal when making his six picks.
But, with a month to go it seems worth a shot to interpret what Johnson has said over his captaincy and now has put into practice.
2023 U.S. Ryder Cup Captains Picks Breakdown
The Leader: Justin Thomas
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With a game not near Ryder Cup ready, Johnson made a strong endorsement for Thomas, saying in his selection press conference, “In my mind, he was born for this, and there is—you just don't leave JT at home.”
Johnson had made his feelings known about Thomas as far back as the British Open at Royal Liverpool when the two-time PGA champion missed the cut.
With a 6-2-1 career Ryder Cup record, the 30-year-old has the best record of anyone on the team. Johnson believes Thomas also adds leadership to the team room.
With eight of the 12 players either rookies or one-time Ryder Cuppers, veterans and team-room chemistry could be critical.
The Unflappable: Brooks Koepka
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With five major titles under his belt and his game near its previous peak, the 33-year-old has a mentality no one else the 12-man roster possesses—the killer instinct of a gunslinger in the old west.
His walk and his mannerisms are right out of the 1830s.
He brings an attitude and a game that will be needed to win the cup on European soil for the first time in 30 years.
Koepka also brings a no-nonsense approach that could work well with Scheffler, who already seemed to endorse Koepka before the qualifying ended.
The Greenkeepers: Xander Schauffele, Max Homa, Sam Burns
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Three members of this team are in the top 11 of strokes-gained putting this year on the PGA Tour—Schauffele (4), Homa (7) and Burns (11). Putting is the most critical element to winning a Ryder Cup, and these three will be important cogs for a team that has struggled at times to make crucial putts on both sides of the pond.
These three players are interchangeable and important.
Lastly, Homa has two wins this season and Burns has one. Only seven of the team's 12 players have won this season.
Majors-Tested: Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman
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Clark and Harman are both Ryder Cup rookies, but in winning their majors (Clark at the U.S. Open and Harman at the British Open) they produced on the biggest stage with doubters all around them.
Their ability to not get flustered is most important in a hostile environment, which Marco Simone will be.
The fact that they are rookies should not deter Johnson from using them often and letting them run, with all evidence suggesting they will be very comfortable in a Ryder Cup environment.
The Seasoned: Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Collin Morikawa
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Spieth, Fowler and Morikawa all have Ryder Cup experience and will likely be a nucleus for which Johnson will depend on.
Spieth will likely be paired with Thomas at least in foursomes, due to their friendship and the fact they won the Saturday morning foursomes in 2021 at Whistling Straits.
While Fowler has an abysmal 3-7-5 record in the Ryder Cup, the 34-year-old won this year for the first time since the 2019 WM Phoenix Open and will be a rock on which Johnson will depend.
Morikawa has a 3-0-1 record and comes off a solid if unspectacular Tour season. With five wins in his short career, the 26-year-old fits perfectly into a team that needs a supporting cast.
The Question Marks: Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay
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Scheffler and Cantlay have had flashes of brilliance in their careers, but with Scheffler's well-documented struggles with his putter and Cantlay not being able to close out Tour wins on Sundays this year, it’s hard to put a lot of faith in either of them.
Cantlay is a good friend with Schauffele and could pair with him for a solid foursomes pairing.
Scheffler is an easygoing guy with whom everyone enjoys playing. He could fit well in a fourball with almost anyone. But he might not be a good fit in foursomes due to his putting woes.
In the end, both players seem limited in how Johnson can use them, putting them in the bottom of the rankings.