Plenty for Zach Johnson to ponder in Ryder Cup conundrum
USA celebrate with the Ryder Cup after victory against Europe at Whistling Straits two years ago. Picture: Anthony Behar/PA
The American team isn’t looking at all like what it was expected to after the 12-man roster that demolished Europe 19-9 in 2021. The bones of that roster seemed so young and stable that it would form the foundation for the near future.
Only three of those 2021 players, however, were able to land automatic spots on Johnson’s team bound for Rome – world No 1 Scottie Scheffler and the formidable partnership of Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. The remaining three qualifiers are rookies, two of which were on nobody’s radar as recently as April.
Max Homa landed a spot based on sustained quality play the last two seasons, and he proved to be a valuable asset to the US team in last year’s Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow. But the other two auto spots were party crashers who snatched major victories this summer – US Open champ Wyndham Clark and Open champ Brian Harman. Neither one was in the conversation before their unexpected major triumphs over two of Europe’s leading assets (Rory McIlroy in Los Angeles and Jon Rahm at Hoylake).
Their inclusion has complicated the process for Zach Johnson to round out his roster with six picks on Monday. Johnson told Sports Illustrated this week that “my list goes pretty deep,” with 20 players from “a pool of immense talent” under consideration with only this week’s Tour Championship left to make a late impression. Johnson said he would have a dinner in Atlanta on Wednesday night with his six qualifiers as well as vice captains Davis Love III and Stewart Cink to talk about all the options.
One of the choices is obvious – Jordan Spieth will make his fifth Ryder Cup appearance. A second choice seems obvious, as PGA champion Brooks Koepka was only nudged out of an automatic spot on points at the wire last week by Schauffele. But Koepka’s LIV Golf status makes his selection anything but a sure thing.
Two other in-form LIV golfers from the core of 2021’s juggernaut American squad face even dicier prospects to return. Dustin Johnson went 5-0 at Whistling Straits and remains popular with his American peers and could form an intimidating alliance with his once inseparable mate Koepka. Bryson DeChambeau has regained his form with robust contentions in majors this summer and a stunning 58 last month in the final round of the LIV Golf event at the Greenbrier, yet he’s always been an awkward partner to match up.
Collin Morikawa, a two-time major winner, is another likely choice despite not having won a tournament in two years. Morikawa’s ball-striking is an asset the US team could use at Marco Simone as it tries to end a 30-year drought on European soil.
Captain Johnson’s biggest conundrum is what to do with Justin Thomas. The two-time PGA champion and former world No 1 has fallen into an untimely funk with some astonishing high scores and poor performances on the biggest stages. But Thomas and Spieth have been the emotional backbone of US international teams in recent years and it’s hard to imagine an American team in Rome without Thomas on it. It’ll be a tough call one way or the other and one that is likely to dominate the conversation at Wednesday night’s team dinner.
Rickie Fowler and Keegan Bradley, each a veteran of several Ryder Cups, have both re-emerged from protracted slumps to make strong cases for inclusion. Each won PGA Tour events this summer and Fowler in particular would make a comfortable stand-in to partner with Spieth if Thomas gets left out.
Then there’s Lucas Glover, another bygone major winner who suddenly emerged from the where-are-they-now files with consecutive PGA Tour wins in August courtesy of a red-hot putter. Glover has never played in a Ryder Cup and was not in the conversation a month ago. Another good week at East Lake could force Johnson’s hand.
Two young players who seem destined to become American team staples haven’t quite been able to rubber-stamp their readiness — Cameron Young and Sam Burns. Young’s putting has been a liability to him securing a maiden victory, but his other traits helped him sit ninth on the US points list which has long been a shoo-in to earn a captain’s pick. Burns prevailed in the final WGC Match Play in March, beating Young in the final and Scheffler in the semis – a hard result for the captain not to take into account.
Two-time Ryder Cupper Tony Finau appears to be the odd-man out from the team at Whistling Straits despite two tour wins this season. Finau, however, hasn’t featured very prominently since his win in Mexico in April and would require a down-ballot reach to get a pick.
As if all those options aren’t enough, Johnson has one intriguing darkhorse candidate worthy of discussion – Denny McCarthy. The 30-year-old McCarthy is hardly a household name who has yet to break his professional maiden, but he is a pure-putting savant that is a feature the Americans desperately need to bust the road drought. McCarthy would be a hard sell considering the breadth of talent at Johnson’s disposal, and just missing out on a place at East Lake cost him an important chance to make his case.
Captain Johnson has some tough decisions to make and some intriguing choices to choose from. There are at least 13 players who could reasonably hope to get the good phone call from the captain, and more than half of them will receive bad news on the other end of the line.
It’s not a situation anyone expected in the aftermath of Whistling Straits, with perhaps as little as half of the record-setting team returning.
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