USA Wildcard picks
At 3pm today USA Ryder Cup Captain Zach Johnson will pick six wildcards for Rome. Six USA players qualified automatically which are Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Max Homa, Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark and Patrick Cantlay. Zach Johnson has the option of picking players from breakaway LIV tour which could possibly include Dustin Johnson who won five points from five matches at Whistling Straits in 2021. USA will be favourites for 2023 Ryder Cup but it will be interesting to see if Johnson goes with either rookies or experience.
Brooks Koepka is a member of LIV Tour but won his fifth major at Oak Hill in 2023. Koepka’s performance to win his third PGA Championship was remarkable which included three rounds in the 60s. The PGA Championship wasn’t the only major that Koepka performed well as he finished runner-up to Jon Rahm at Augusta. Koepka has played well on the LIV tour with several top five finishes and a win earlier in the year. Koepka has won six matches and been a part of two Ryder Cup wins for USA. I think Koepka will be picked as a wildcard.
Collin Morikawa has won two majors which were the PGA Championship in 2020 and The Open in 2021. Morikawa played in his first Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits were USA won by a score line of 19-9. Morikawa was unbeaten at Whistling Straits as he won three matches and tied with Viktor Hovland in the singles. Outstanding iron play is the strongest aspect of Morikawa’s game and was back to his best with rounds of 61 and 64 at the Tour Championship. I believe that Morikawa will also be a pick and play in his second Ryder Cup in Rome.
Jordan Spieth has won three majors which were The Masters, US Open and The Open. Spieth has played in four Ryder Cup’s and was a part of two winning USA teams in 2016 and 2021. Spieth’s record in the Ryder Cup is very good as he has won eight matches out of 18. Spieth made it to East Lake and finished in 27th position. Spieth is a great player to have on your team as he is a battler and has a great short game. I think Spieth will be a part of Zach Johnson’s team and play in his fifth Ryder Cup.
Rickie Fowler has returned to the leaderboards and had a fantastic 2022/2023 PGA Tour season. Fowler came close to winning a major at Los Angeles Country Club before winning the Rocket Mortgage Classic in a play-off. Fowler’s great performances brought him from outside the top 100 up to 25th in the world golf rankings. Fowler has played in five Ryder Cup’s but missed the 2021 edition at Whistling Straits. I also think that Fowler deserves a pick for Rome and playing with Spieth could be a possible partnership for either fourballs or foursomes.
Keegan Bradley was incredible as he won the Travelers Championship with four rounds in the 60s. Bradley had a good season as he finished inside the top 10 of 2022/2023 FedEx Cup after the Tour Championship. Bradley has played in two Ryder Cups and has a successful win rate of %50. I believe that Bradley should be picked as a wildcard and play in his third Ryder Cup.
My final pick is between Justin Thomas, Lucas Glover and Sam Burns.
Justin Thomas has won two majors which were the PGA Championship in 2017 and 2022. Thomas record is incredible in fourball matches at both Ryder and Presidents Cup with winning six and losing none. Thomas had a poor 2022/2023 PGA Tour season as he failed to make the FedEx Cup play-offs.
Lucas Glover has recently won both the Wyndham Championship and FedEx St Jude Championship. Glover shot two rounds in the 60s to finish in a tie for 18th at the Tour Championship. Glover is in great form but might of left it too late to qualify for Rome.
Sam Burns won the WGC Dell Technologies Matchplay after beaten Cameron Young six and five. With the Ryder Cup also been match play Burns could be a possible pick. Burns finished the 2022/2023 PGA Tour season in a tie for ninth at the Tour Championship.
My final wildcard pick is Burns.