If I was a tour player, I think I would have made the Ryder Cup team.“
Former World No. 1 Dustin Johnson (USA-photo) has lamented that he was not named to the 2023 Ryder Cup team for the biennial men’s golf competition between the United States and Europe, which begins on Sept. 29 in Rome, Italy, solely because he plays for LIV Golf. “I know I didn’t play great this year, but I feel like I did enough to make the Ryder Cup team,” Johnson told the Palm Beach Daily News, a local newspaper in Florida, USA, on Thursday.
Johnson was not named to the 2023 Ryder Cup team, which was recently confirmed by U.S. team captain Zach Johnson. The U.S. team includes world No. 1 Scott Schauffler, this year’s major winners Wyndham Clarke, Brian Harman and Patrick Cantlay, Max Horma, and Xander Schauffele, as well as self-selected players Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Colin Morikawa, Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, and Justin Thomas.
Dustin Johnson’s absence from the Ryder Cup is due to the fact that he has been so strong in the event. He has won all five of his matches in the tournament, including 2010, 2012, 2016, 2018, and 2021, leading the United States to a 19-9 record. It was only the fourth time in the nearly 100-year history of the event, which was founded in 1927, that a player had won five matches and the first time in 42 years since Larry Nelson (USA) in 1979.
Johnson has one win on LIV Golf this season and five top-10 finishes, but crucially, he has been unable to capitalize in the majors. He tied for 10th at the U.S. Open, but struggled at the Masters (tied for 48th), PGA Championship (tied for 55th), and The Open (missed the cut).
Johnson chose Koepka, even though he is a fellow LIV player, because of his performance in majors, including a win at the PGA Championship and a tie for second at the Masters.
Koepka is the only LIV Golf player representing the United States and Europe in the Ryder Cup.
On the other side of Dustin Johnson’s frustration is the fact that former World No. 1 Justin Thomas, who hasn’t fared much better, was selected to represent the 먹튀검증 United States. Thomas has struggled this season, finishing 71st in the PGA Tour’s FedExCup standings, failing to make the playoffs and missing three cuts in four majors, but he was called up by Johnson. The move has been criticized for being based solely on reputation and raises questions of equity.