Zach Johnson's U.S. Ryder Cup Team Dilemma Continues, With Half the Team Up in the Air

Six automatic qualifiers will be determined after this week's BMW Championship. But after that, the captain will have tough choices.

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Zach Johnson said he wanted a tough decision on his at-large selections for the Ryder Cup team. The U.S. captain will get his wish, but not necessarily for the reason he hoped.

Johnson wanted strong play to make the decision difficult, not indifferent play. Specifically, the fact that Justin Thomas—perhaps the Americans' best team player over the past six years—didn’t make the FedEx Cup playoffs and missed the cut in three major championships leads to an uneasy decision.

The top six automatic qualifiers will be determined after this week’s BMW Championship but the real drama comes after the Tour Championship when Thomas is to make his six picks.

At this point, it is probably fair to say that the top nine are in: Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman have already automatically qualified. Brooks Koepka's play in the majors and his past team success suggest he will be a pick even if he falls out of the top six. Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay comprise one of the best U.S. teams, having gone 2-1 together at the Presidents Cup and 2-0 at the Ryder Cup.

Could Justin Thomas, even after a poor 2023 season, figure into Zach Johnson's Ryder Cup team? :: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

One of Johnson's assistants, Fred Couples, let it spill recently that Max Homa, Cameron Young and Jordan Spieth are locks. While that might not necessarily be true, it does seem reasonable, although Young—who has not won on the PGA Tour but played in the Presidents Cup last year—is an interesting case.

And so is Lucas Glover, who has come out of nowhere to win two straight tournaments and vault up the points list. Eight days ago, Glover, 43, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, was not even in the conversation. Given his always-strong ball-striking ability along with his recent putting form, Glover will undoubtedly get a look.

If you go with the top nine, that leaves three spots left for Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, Thomas, Keegan Bradley, Glover and Tony Finau. And what about Bryson DeChambeau? He should not be dismissed either. While one 58 at the Greenbrier does not make a Ryder Cup team, his overall play of late and his ability to hit it so far offer some intriguing possibilities.

Now for the disclaimer: unless you are in the top six automatic qualifiers, nobody "deserves" to be on the team. It’s why there are picks. The idea is to pick players that fit the best, that lead to the best teams or matchups.

And it should also be noted that "current form" is a bit of a misnomer. The opening day of the Ryder Cup, Sept. 29, is seven weeks away. The PGA Tour schedule ends after just two more events with only one possibility of a tournament start prior to the Ryder Cup, unless some players elected to compete in the DP World Tour’s BMW PGA Championship—which is two weeks prior to the event.

Glover might have a hot putter now but who knows if it continues. DeChambeau played a great event a week ago, but it took him until Sunday to break par at Bedminster to finish T18.

So there is time to lose or regain form and it is impossible to predict how that will occur.

That means team dynamics likely supersede how well anyone is playing. And why Thomas still has a very good chance to be picked, despite his poor form for much of this year.

What stands out is his 16-5-3 record in U.S. team matches. He's also played a Ryder Cup on the road, where he went 4-1 in Paris in 2018. Finau also played well at the Ryder Cup, going 2-1 in a poor overall U.S. performance. Koepka was there. So was Dustin Johnson, whose body of work this year seems short of getting a pick, despite his 5-0 record two years ago.

Morikawa is such a strong iron player it’s hard to imagine leaving him off. He went 4-0-1 at Whistling Straits and 2-1 at the Presidents Cup. Bradley’s form has fallen off since his Travelers win including a missed cut at the British Open and a T43 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. It’s also been a long time—the 2014 Ryder Cup loss at Gleneagles—since he’s played in the competition.

Is DeChambeau a good fit? That is probably the biggest question if he is to be considered. His long-ball exploits can be intimidating. It’s also true that Marco Simone Golf Club outside of Rome will be set up with narrow fairways and difficult rough, just as Le Golf National was in 2018.

And is there a good partner for DeChambeau? Morikawa seemingly has the mindset to play with anyone. And for all their past woes—remember the Bryson-Brooks feud—Koepka and DeChambeau would make for an interesting team.

This week will set the top six automatic qualifiers. But that’s it. Filling out those remaining spots will lead to considerable conjecture.