Team USA Johnson announced his full lineup for the Ryder Cup Tuesday, which included LIV Golf player Brooks Koepka, who will represent his country at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club outside of Rome. Koepka was part of the remaining six Captain's Pick players revealed, including Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.
The six players will play alongside previously announced qualifiers Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay, Brian Harman, Max Homa and Xander Schauffele in Italy, where the competition is being hosted for the first time, taking place Sep. 25 – Oct. 1.
"Five-time major champion, three-time PGA champion," Johnson said of his justification for selecting this year's PGA Championship winner, Koepka, according to The New York Post. "He's built in my mind for the biggest of stages, and there's no bigger stage than the Ryder Cup," Johnson said of Koepka. "His record shows that. He's a very versatile. Guys want to play with him."
The selection of Koepka has been a subject of controversy, which prompted a heated discussion of country vs. tour between golf commentators Brandel Chamblee and Brad Faxon live on TV.
But, seriously, with Koepka's stellar performance at two of the majors this year, including a runner up place at The Masters in addition to his major hardware at the PGA, the captain's pick really was a no-brainer. Excluding him would have been difficult to justify, with the five-time major winner finishing just outside of automatic inclusion by a mere 29 points.
"The way I see it, [Koepka] basically earned his way onto the team," Johnson said via The Guardian. "It was a pretty easy pick. Brooks is great in the team room, great inside the ropes. These guys wanted him. I wanted him. A very natural fit."
Hilariously, Koepka's wife, Jena Sims — who just gave birth to their newborn earlier this month — already spilled the beans on Sunday.
Well, kind of: Sims said she didn't know about the selection until Monday, however, and then kept mum about it until the official announcement Tuesday.
"We didn't know when I took the pizza pic on the [American Flag] paper plate," she said, according to Fox News. "Tradition to eat pizza off paper plates in our household and Brooks grabbed those flag ones so I made the joke and it took off."
"The last few years have been a lot, but at the same time, that's what I've been grinding for, trying to get back in shape and to feel good for this moment," Koepka said, according to ESPN. "Super excited -- it's gonna be a fun week."
This will be Koepka's fourth appearance in the Ryder Cup.
The real shock of Brooks Kopeka being selected for Ryder Cup
Perhaps the biggest surprise was reserved for the selection of Justin Thomas, who has struggled all season and didn't even qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs, a tournament he won in 2017.
"[Thomas] has, without question, been the heart and soul of Team USA," Johnson said, justifying the pick of Thomas. "Our emotional leader – he leads by example. His passion for the Ryder Cup is very evident. In my mind, he was born for this, and you just don't leave JT at home."
Not everyone agreed.
The polarizing selection of Thomas was especially jarring considering the incredible performances by Cameron Young and thrilling breakthroughs from Lucas Glover and Keegan Bradley this year.
Young's omission was especially shocking with Vice Captain Fred Couples all but assuring his inclusion just a month ago, with the 26-year-old finishing 9th in qualifying points.
Glover's and Bradley's heartfelt victories this year seemed destined to equal a team spot for at least one of them. Glover's back-to-back titles at Wyndham and FedEx St. Jude was one of the greatest moments of the PGA year, and Bradley's Travelers Championship victory helped him finish just outside the T10 on the points list, but one point higher than Burns, who was selected. Surely, one of these golfers should have made the team. Keegan Bradley especially took the decision hard.
"It did keep me up at night, having to make those phone calls — specifically Cam, phenomenal player, better person," Johnson admitted. "He was nothing but class."
"Fierce competitors, great versatility, great flexibility when it comes to pairings, when it comes to the fit for Marco Simone, a great fit for each other, which is massive," was how Johnson described his team pick philosophy.
Time will tell whether the mix of players for the USA will play off. It's been three decades since they've won on European soil.