Team USA Ryder Cup squad announced as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka calls made
LIV Golf stars Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka have been selected to represent Team USA in the Ryder Cup next month. The iconic biennial event is set to be contested from Friday Sept. 29 to Sunday Oct. 1 at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club near Rome.
On Tuesday, US Ryder Cup team captain Zach Johnson named his six wildcards after the automatic berths were confirmed. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was joined by Wyndham Clark, Open champion Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa and Xander Schauffele as automatic participants from the PGA Tour.
Amid plenty of discussion regarding whether LIV Golf stars will be integrated into the team, Koepka’s form has made the five-time major champion a must. He finished second at the Masters before winning the US PGA Championship, securing his spot on Johnson’s roster.
Koepka narrowly missed out on making the US team automatically and remains popular with fellow players, which helps his case. Zach Johnson also opted to ignore Justin Thomas’ poor form by selecting the two-time major champion.
Thomas missed the cut at both the US Open and the Open Championship, leaving his participation in the Ryder Cup up in the air. During the Open at Royal Liverpool, Thomas admitted confusion over his torrid form, which saw him miss out on the PGA Tour’s playoffs to conclude the season. His selection suggests Team USA hope the 30-year-old – who took two and a half points from four matches at Whistling Straits in 2021 – can bring his experience and influence to Rome and help the team retain the title.
Dustin Johnson is the headline omission after struggling at the majors throughout the 2023 season. Johnson, who has competed at five Ryder Cups in his career, enjoyed his best performance this year at the U.S. Open where the two-time major champion finished tied 10th.
Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Sam Burns Collin Morikawa are also among captain Zach Johnson’s picks as his Team USA roster takes shape with no room for Bryson DeChambeau. Despite fielding its youngest team in history, Team USA crushed Europe two years ago, inflicting a record 19-9 defeat on Europe.
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Europe will get a flavor of its roster when captain Luke Donald makes his six picks next Monday. Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and 2023 FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland have qualified automatically.
Meanwhile, Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick and Sepp Straka are believed to be certainties to receive selections from Donald and play in Rome. Scottish star Robert MacIntyre will look to secure his Ryder Cup debut in the final European qualifying event, the European Masters – which starts on Thursday.
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