By Frank Dalleres
In naming his six wild card picks to complete the US Ryder Cup team, captain Zach Johnson has clearly prioritised players with experience.
Johnson would have been castigated if he hadn’t chosen US PGA champion Brooks Koepka, despite the controversy around Koepka’s membership of the LIV Golf tour.
Collin Morikawa, who won 3.5 points from four matches on his Ryder Cup debut last time, has looked back to his best form lately.
Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler, with four previous appearances each, have been playing well for most of the year and are ranked eighth and 13th on the US points list respectively.
Sam Burns is the only rookie among his wild cards but I think he is a great pick. Burns is a hell of a player and won’t be scared by the occasion.
Johnson’s only dubious selection is Justin Thomas, who missed the cut at both the Open Championships and US Open before failing to make the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
But as they say, class is permanent and form is only current. Thomas is very capable of turning his form around for the unique challenge of facing Europe.
Johnson spoke in glowing terms about Thomas’s “emotional leadership” at previous Ryder Cups and that kind of thing is massively important.
A lot goes on behind closed doors in the team room and a captain really needs people like that who put a smile on their team-mates’ faces.
With Koepka included, fellow LIV Golf players Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau will probably be feeling a little bit aggrieved.
We don’t know what pressure Johnson was put under by the PGA regarding LIV members, but it can’t have been an easy decision for him.
I do feel a little bit sorry for Cameron Young, who hasn’t made the team even though he finished ninth on the points list – above Morikawa, Burns and Fowler.
Normally that would be enough to get in. Keegan Bradley was 11th and also missed out, but he can’t have too many complaints.
Opting for experience makes sense given that the six automatic qualifiers for the US side had just three previous Ryder Cups between them.
As a captain, Johnson wouldn’t want too many rookies in the team because it can be more difficult to pick them.
You never underestimate your opponent and I’m sure Europe won’t either because this is a strong US team, even if it is not as strong as it could have been.
We’ll have to wait and see how they fare in European conditions. Europe have beaten some extremely strong US teams in winning the last six Ryder Cups on this side of the Atlantic.
Overall, though, I think Johnson will be very comfortable with his selection. I’m sure the last three months have been tormenting him.
I honestly believe he has done well. Zach is a lovely man and a deep thinker, so will have considered the make-up of his team very carefully.
He will already have thought about possible pairings. With the PGA Tour season finished, I’m sure he’ll get them together to try out some ideas before they head to Italy next month.
European players now have one more event, this week’s European Masters, to qualify automatically for Luke Donald’s team.
Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick are on course to join Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and Tyrrell Hatton in the 12 and they will surely be in.
Beyond them are the likes of Bob MacIntyre and Adrian Meronk. I always liked those players who had fought their way into the team and they can do that in Switzerland.
Sam Torrance OBE is a former Ryder Cup-winning captain and one of Europe’s most successful golfers. Follow him @torrancesam
