Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka Among Six Captain’s Picks for U.S. Ryder Cup Team

Jordan Spieth, Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa rounded out U.S. captain Zach Johnson’s selections.

Zach Johnson filled out his U.S. Ryder Cup team Tuesday, leaning heavily on the input of the players who had already made the team as well as experience in selecting his six at-large picks.

Justin Thomas will likely be considered the most controversial, given a surprisingly poor season that saw him miss the cut in three major championships.

Brooks Koepka’s move to the LIV Golf league was also viewed as a potential roadblock to inclusion, one that the U.S. captain dismissed based on Koepka’s overall championship record and the affinity for him among his teammates.

Collin Morikawa, a two-time major champion who went 3-0-1 in his first Ryder Cup two years ago; Rickie Fowler, who had a resurgent 2023 season and has played in four Ryder Cups; Jordan Spieth, a three-time major champion who has played in four Ryder Cups; and Sam Burns, the only Ryder Cup rookie but a member of last year’s Presidents Cup team; were the other picks.

Johnson will take four Ryder Cup rookies to Marco Simone in Rome, Italy, for the Ryder Cup next month and attempt to break a streak of 30 years since the U.S. team last won in Europe.

“To say I’m excited about these gents would be an understatement,” Johnson said. “Fierce competitors. Great flexibility when it comes to pairings and when it comes to the fit for Marco Simone. A great fit for each other, which is massive. With that comes a lot of awesome options. Some great experience in there, too.”

Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa and Xander Schauffele had qualified via a year-plus-long points system that ended Aug. 20 following the BMW Championship.

Clark and Harman have never played in a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup and made the team largely on the backs of their victories at the U.S. Open and British Open, respectively. Homa is playing in his first Ryder Cup after competing in the Presidents Cup last year.

Johnson said the six qualifying players’ input was a key factor in the picks.

“In my experience, certainly as a vice captain, having gentlemen in the room who have earned their way on that team who are invested … I was confident in their feelings and opinions because of how much they’ve been talking,” Johnson said. “Having unity in that team room. Just seeing the unity and seeing the fact they are taking this very serious.

“They had great opinions, feelings, specifics even on how they felt they could make those six whole. They have taken full ownership, which is exactly what you want. Their opinions weigh heavy on what we did.”

Among the players in consideration who were not picked were Cameron Young, who finished ninth in the final Ryder Cup points standings; Keegan Bradley, who won twice this season; Lucas Glover, who got hot late in the year with two recent victories; and Tony Finau, whose been part of several U.S. teams in recent years. LIV Golf league members Dustin Johnson, who went 5–0 two years ago at Whistling Straits and Bryson DeChambeau were also believed to be considered.

Johnson referred to Thomas as “the heart and soul of Team USA, our emotional leader.” His 6-2-1 record in the Ryder Cup as well as a 16-5-3 overall record when combined with the Presidents Cup were clearly factors.

Thomas acknowledged the past few weeks have been difficult. He narrowly missed qualifying for the FedEx Cup playoffs, tying for 12th at the Wyndham Championship, where one stroke better would have qualified. He finished 71st in the final standings.

He also had a rough year in the major championships, missing three cuts, including at the Open in July. Twice he shot in the 80s in majors and has not won since his 2022 PGA Championship victory, his second major title. Thomas has just one top-five finish in ’23.

Thomas said he felt the uneasiness at the Open when he missed the cut and spoke with the media and “everyone’s looking around and who wants to ask. I did put a lot of pressure on myself to make this team. It’s been a valuable learning experience for me. It’s something I will use and learn from going forward. I’m very fortunate to be here.”

Johnson did not inform Thomas until Monday that he had made the team.

“I had a lot of emotions,” Thomas said. “Relief was one of the first things. I could relax. After the Wyndham, I didn’t pick up a club for two weeks. I was talking to my wife this morning and I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights as to what could happen and I couldn’t do anything about it. Then after I got the call from Zach I couldn’t sleep last night because I was so excited.”

Koepka, who won the PGA Championship in May after tying for second at the Masters, was deemed a question mark due to his association with the LIV Golf league. As a member of the PGA of America, Koepka and any LIV players were grandfathered in with their membership, a loophole that made them eligible.

It’s interesting that Johnson said he did not contact other LIV players such as Dustin Johnson and DeChambeau who might have been in the running for a pick.

Koepka, who played in only 10 Ryder Cup qualifying events over the past two years, was among the top six automatic qualifiers for most of this year until falling out following the last event at the BMW Championship. Johnson’s comment suggested it was an easy call.

“When it came to BK, his experience, his temperament, the way he goes about his work, his passion for the Ryder Cup all spoke volumes,” Johnson said. “He and I had been communicating a lot over the last couple of months. We have had very candid discussions. When he started to make his way onto this team … he basically earned his way on. It was a pretty easy pick.

“Brooks is great in the team room. These guys wanted him, I wanted him and he was a natural fit.”

Johnson has scheduled a scouting trip for those who can make it to Marco Simone in two weeks. The team will spend a couple of days familiarizing itself with the layout, which annually hosts the Italian Open on the DP World Tour.

The European team’s automatic qualifiers will be decided at the conclusion of this week’s Omega European Masters in Switzerland. Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and Tyrrell Hatton have automatically qualified.

European captain Luke Donald will make his six at-large picks Monday.

The Ryder Cup is Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.