Ryder Cup Heartbreak: The Players Who Just Missed Out on Making 2023 U.S. Team

Captain Zach Johnson’s highly anticipated picks are in, and six players have been announced to round out the U.S. Ryder Cup team: Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Brooks Koepka and Sam Burns. The decision also meant that several players received disappointing phone calls from Johnson ahead of Tuesday’s press conference. 

2023 U.S. Ryder Cup Team Biggest Snubs

Cameron Young

Young finished ninth on the U.S. Ryder Cup team standings, and recorded 10 top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season, including a T8 finish at the British Open. Young was voted the 2021-22 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year after finishing in the top-three at two of the season’s major championships. Fred Couples, one of the U.S. team’s assistant captains, even cited Young as a lock for the 2023 team last month. But Young missed out on this year’s Tour Championship, finishing No. 42 in the FedEx Cup standings, and would have been a Ryder Cup rookie. 

Johnson had high praise for Young, despite the ultimate decision to leave him off the squad in spite of Couples' previous comments. 

“It did keep me up at night, having to make those phone calls. Specifically Cam, phenomenal player, better person. He was nothing but class. I know what was said, but that was a while back. It was kind of in jest. It is what it is,” Johnson said. 

Keegan Bradley

Since capturing his sixth PGA Tour win at this year’s Travelers Championship, Bradley had been particularly transparent about his goal of punching a ticket to Rome. Bradley has previously appeared in two Ryder Cups—2012 and 2014, both U.S. losses—and has an overall record of 4-3-0.

“I’m in a spot where I’ve got a really good chance. I feel like I’ll be in the conversation regardless,” Bradley told Sports Illustrated after his Travelers victory. 

Later, at this year’s Tour Championship, Bradley said he thinks about making the Ryder Cup “every second.”

With two wins on Tour this season and only five missed cuts, Bradley had an impressive run of consistency, but ultimately couldn’t make a strong enough case for a spot on the team. 

According to Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis, Bradley was very disappointed to hear Johnson’s decision, but will be pulling for the team regardless. 

“I could tell by the response from Zach when I answered the phone that I wasn’t on the team...I’m super bummed out. I thought I put together a really good year with two wins...I am pulling for the U.S. team.”

Lucas Glover

For much of 2023, Glover’s name was far removed from Ryder Cup discussions. But when the 43-year-old captured back-to-back PGA Tour victories at the Wyndham Championship and the FedEx St. Jude, he immediately arose as a hot contender leading up to this week’s announcement. 

Johnson also had kind words for Glover, whom he calls a close friend. 

“I adore him. I was rooting for him as hard as I’ve ever rooted for anyone, because he’s my buddy. You want to see your good friends play well. Especially given, he’s kind of my generation—you love seeing the more seasoned veteran guys play well, because it’s hard against these young guys,” Johnson said. 

“Lucas was a part of our discussions, but so were a number of other guys,” he continued. 

Glover finished at No. 16 in the Ryder Cup standings. 

Tony Finau

Finau finished No. 21 in the U.S. team rankings and was a member of the victorious 2021 Whistling Straits squad, as well as the 2018 team. He boasts a 3-3-0 record, but did not have the PGA Tour season to warrant a captain’s pick, despite winning once at the Mexico Open. Finau’s best finish at this year’s major championships was a T26 at the Masters.

The LIV Guys

Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau—two LIV golfers who have seen Ryder Cup success in the past—were not selected by Johnson for this year’s team, and the U.S. captain alluded to the reason why Koepka was the only LIV member to be selected.

“There’s something to be said about playing consistently together, and they had opportunity. We have a guy on the team who had opportunity and seized it. You’re talking about the four majors last year and the four majors this year and Brooks Koepka. So there was opportunity there, and that’s kind of how we looked at it,” Johnson said. 

Dustin Johnson swept his matches at the Whistling Straits Ryder Cup, going 5-0, and DeChambeau recently shot a record-breaking 58 at LIV Golf’s Greenbrier event for his first win on the breakaway tour. But with LIV events not counting toward the U.S. team standings, Johnson and DeChambeau finished low on the official Ryder Cup points list, at No. 40 and No. 54, respectively.