The standout performer at the final audition for American Ryder Cup selection was a European, so absolutely no help to US skipper Zach Johnson. Not that an American victor – as opposed to the European Viktor (Hovland, who did win) – from the fringe contenders would have guaranteed his selection.
Though the date of Tuesday’s formal announcement framed the selection timetable, the truth is the FedEx finale at East Lake was unlikely to add to the sum of knowledge available to Johnson. Moreover, Fred Couples, one of five vice captains on the US team, helpfully identified via his own radio show that Jordan Spieth and Cameron Young are two of the skipper’s six preferences to add to the six automatically qualified.
Johnson’s rationale has always been to select the best team rather than the 12 best players in America, the emphasis being on chemistry and partnerships as much as technical ability. Though Spieth made it into the 30-man field at East Lake, his lowly 27th placed finish reflected his modest output of much of the year. No matter. Johnson loves him. And he is Jordan Spieth.
Similarly, Justin Thomas, who is negotiating the kind of slump that afflicts them all at some stage and did not make the play-offs at all, is favoured because of his pedigree and his bond with Spieth. He has a formidable track record in match play. Taken together these elements mean more to Johnson than form. His appearance in the field at the first PGA Tour event of the new Fall Series, the Fortinet Championship in California, in a bid to play himself into form two weeks before the Ryder Cup is a clear pointer to the inclusion of Thomas in the 12.
USA’s predicted Ryder Cup team for 2023
Q = qualified
- Scottie Scheffler (Q)
- Wyndham Clark (Q)
- Brian Harman (Q)
- Patrick Cantlay (Q)
- Xander Schauffele (Q)
- Max Homa (Q)
- Brooks Koepka
- Jordan Spieth
- Justin Thomas
- Cameron Young
- Rickie Fowler
- Collin Morikawa
Though Brooks Koepka finished narrowly outside the automatic places courtesy of LIV Golf’s exclusion from the rankings system, he made his case with powerful displays at the Masters, where he finished second in April, and in May at the PGA Championship, which he won for the third time to take his major tally to five. Though Johnson was an avowed denier of LIV before golf’s great rapprochement under the Saudi banner, Koepka simply bulldozed his way through the prejudice.
Rickie Fowler’s return to form capped with victory at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in June made him an obvious contender. Fowler is universally popular on tour and regularly holidays with Thomas and Spieth. The picture of all three enjoying a beer with their partners in Covent Garden whilst attending Wimbledon this summer blew the bloody doors off Johnson’s chemistry test.
Collin Morikawa completes the American line-up, though he is by no means last man in. Morikawa opened with a 61 and shared the 36-hole lead at East Lake before falling back to sixth. On the big occasion Morikawa has a flair for showing up; 10th at the Masters, 13th at The Players, 14th at the US Open and runner-up to Fowler in June. Morikawa was a member of the victorious Presidents Cup squad last year and won three of his four matches on his Ryder Cup debut in the mauling of Whistling Straits in 2021. He has the air of a veteran at just 26 years old, which happens when you win two majors by the age of 24.
The one player who might have given Johnson pause is Sam Burns, who won the Dell Technologies Match Play in March and is a formidable putter. Burns finished a shot behind Morikawa in a tie for ninth at East Lake and was also a member of last year’s Presidents Cup team. Though the United States administered their usual hammering of the Rest of the World, Burns did not post a single win. Paired three times with Scottie Scheffler, he lost twice and tied the other, and tied his singles match with Hideki Matsuyama. So not quite enough ballast on the Burns ballot.
