Zach Johnson Gives Honest Thoughts on Justin Thomas’s Ryder Cup Chances

On a recent podcast episode, the U.S. team captain explained why Thomas is “still in consideration” for a spot in Rome.

The Ryder Cup is just about six weeks away, and that means that it’s almost time for captain Zach Johnson to make his captain’s picks for the U.S. team, which will attempt to end a 30-year winless drought overseas.

The six automatic qualifiers for Rome will be set after this week’s BMW Championship, but one week later, Johnson will have a tricky decision on his hands. The 2023 U.S. team captain must choose six more players to round out his 12-man squad after next week’s Tour Championship.

Whether he makes the team or not, the choice will almost certainly involve Justin Thomas, the two-time PGA champion who has had one of his worst seasons to date this year, but has been a core contributor to the U.S. team since 2017. Johnson hasn’t revealed any definitive decisions just yet, but he did share some honest musings about Thomas’s position on Golf Magazine’s Subpar podcast with Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz.

During the episode, Knost points to Thomas's combined 16-5-3 record in his five total Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup appearances, and then poses a simple question to Johnson: “What has your communication been like with him?” 

Johnson then gave an extensive and transparent update on how he might handle the 30-year-old and 15-time PGA Tour winner when it comes time for captain’s picks.

“Good friend of yours. Very good friend of mine as well. When you have somebody of that talent and obviously that high of character, you don’t want to see him struggle," he said. "Forget about the Cup, I just want him to play good golf. When JT plays well, it’s good for everybody. He is certainly one of our assets on the PGA Tour. 

“We’ve been communicating. I would hope that he understands, and he does—open lines. We’re going to keep the honesty train going, we’re going to leave it all out there. And I told him, I don’t know what’s in store, but obviously he’s still in consideration. He’s been a part of team USA since 2017, guys want to be around him, he’s great in the locker room, and obviously what he’s done inside the ropes in these Cups has been well documented. So his resume speaks for itself.

“At the same time, I also have to look at all the other factors involved. Whether it’s the golf course—horses-for-courses kind of thing—we’re kind of getting into that with the stats. All that data crunching, and then you have to look at form too. A lot of nuance and a lot of heavy weighted topics. He knows that he can call me anytime and we can have an open line of communication. He’s been fantastic."

Johnson might not have revealed much, but clearly the door remains open for Thomas to receive one of those six coveted captain’s picks, despite missing this season’s FedEx Cup playoffs. 

Johnson will make his official decision on Tuesday, Aug. 29, at the PGA of America headquarters.