Koepka, Thomas, 4 Others Selected For U.S. Ryder Cup Team

United States Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson made his six captain's picks for the U.S. Ryder Cup team on Tuesday morning.

The six picks are:  Sam Burns, Collin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, and Brooks Koepka.

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The most polarizing picks among the six to some golf observers are Koepka and Thomas.  Thomas, who is a two-time PGA champion, had a rough year in 2023.  He finished 71st in the FedEx Cup standings, one spot outside the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Koepka makes the Ryder Cup team despite only accruing Ryder Cup points for the four major tournaments (Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, British Open).  He left the PGA Tour for the rival LIV Invitational Series last summer.  He finished tied for second at the Masters behind winner Jon Rahm.  But won his 3rd PGA Championship back in May, winning the Wanamaker Trophy (Koepka pictured above with the Wanamaker Trophy) by two shots over Scottie Scheffler and FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland.

The six players picked will join the other six Americans who qualified on points.  They are:  Patrick Cantlay, British Open champion Brian Harman, U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Max Homa.

The U.S. will defend the Cup when they head to Italy to play the 12-man European squad from September 29th-October 1st.  The European team features Masters champion Jon Rahm, FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland, and four-time major champion Rory McIlroy.

The United States won possession of the Ryder Cup by beating Europe two years ago 19-9 and Whistling Straits CC in Wisconsin.  The Americans have not won the Ryder Cup on European soil since 1993.