Did Justin Thomas really earn his Ryder Cup spot?

Justin Thomas is off to Rome for the Ryder Cup, did Zach Johnson get it right?

The official roster is now set for the American Ryder Cup Team. This is the team that U.S. Captain Zach Johnson has officially chosen to take on Europe in Rome from September 25th – October 1st.

Since this is the first Ryder Cup since LIV Golf became part of the equation, there was plenty of speculation about who was actually going to make the team. Although Brooks Koepka was the only LIV player to be selected for Team USA this time around, that wasn’t what I felt was the biggest surprise when Johnson announced his picks on Tuesday.

Golf is a game of struggles and dealing with adversity and Justin Thomas has had his fair share of both this season, yet he still managed to earn a captain’s pick for this year’s U.S. Ryder Cup Team.

Justin Thomas did not record a single win this season and he only managed three top-10 finishes in 2022/23. The 2022 PGA Champion made the cut 70 percent of the time this season on the PGA Tour.

Justin Thomas finished the season ranked 71st in the FedEx Cup standings.

Keegan Bradley is who many believed would earn a spot on this year’s team. Bradley was able to record two victories this season, at the ZOZO Championship last October, and the Travelers Championship in June. He finished T-9th in FedEx standings and made 78 percent of cuts this season.

The Ryder Cup is meant for the best players to compete against each other. It’s not a tournament where a person is picked based on their potential or results from previous seasons. It is meant to be a decision based on a player’s current performances.

Judging by this past season’s statistics, there is a compelling argument to be made that Justin Thomas did not earn his spot, and Keegan Bradley should have been one of Zach Johnson’s captain’s picks instead.