Justin Thomas to justify Ryder Cup captain’s pick

As United States captain, Zach Johnson was undeniably spoilt for choice but his decision to plump for Justin Thomas as one of his six picks raised plenty of questions ahead of the Ryder Cup.

Thomas has unquestionably endured a difficult season on the PGA Tour, even missing out on the FedEx Cup Playoffs, but the way he has been written off ahead of the meeting with Europe feels a bit disrespectful.

The 30-year-old’s previous two Ryder Cup appearances show what he can offer to Johnson’s team, and it is not hard to envisage him playing a decisive role at the Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome.

Thomas overlooked as the USA’s top points scorer

With the United States shading favoritism to win the Ryder Cup at -110, compared to Europe’s odds of +120, making the right partnership decisions in the fourballs and foursomes is going to be key for Johnson. Thomas is not currently considered among the favorites to be the USA’s top points scorer, with the Ryder Cup 2023 betting putting him around a +1100 shot, but that price overlooks his record in the competition.

On debut in 2018, Thomas was the shining light as the USA suffered a 17.5-10.5 defeat at Le Golf National in France as he played in all five matches, winning four points to be the team’s top points scorer. He won three of those points alongside Jordan Spieth and that successful pairing must have come into Johnson’s thinking when selecting his team.

Keegan Bradley and Tony Finau could certainly question why they were overlooked in favour of Thomas after both players won twice on the PGA Tour in the 2023 season but, as Ian Poulter has demonstrated numerous times, the Ryder Cup is a horses-for-courses competition.

Playing the Europeans in Europe is a different test to dominating them at Whistling Straits, as the USA did two years ago, and the fact that Thomas was picked to go out first in the 2018 singles when he edged out Rory McIlroy, shows he can rise to the occasion in an intimidating atmosphere.

Signs of a return to form

Of course, his form in 2023 has to be a cause for concern, especially after posting a combined score of 41 over par for the four majors this year, only making the cut at the US PGA, where he finished in a tie for 65th place.

But his two finishes either side of missing out on the playoffs, when he was tied for 12th at the Wyndham and then fifth at the Fortinet, have offered a glimpse that Thomas is returning to form. He will undoubtedly be disappointed that he failed to kick on in the final round of the Fortinet when in a strong position, but the opening three days should prove to be an ideal confidence boost.

With such strength in depth in the USA team, a case could be made for whether the holders would have noticed the difference if Finau or Bradley had been selected ahead of Thomas. But with Europe expected to put up a much stronger fight on home turf, Johnson knows having someone of Thomas’ caliber and steeliness could prove vital in swinging the Ryder Cup the USA’s way.