When USA needed a fast start on Sunday at the 2018 Ryder Cup, Jim Furyk sent out Justin Thomas first to take on Rory McIlroy as the visitors looked to overturn a 10-6 deficit.
Justin Thomas ended up winning his fourth point from five matches in the top match of the session. It was not enough to set up a dramatic finish, with the middle order seeing Europe across the line. But it was a result which showed why Thomas was ahead of Rory McIlroy in the world rankings at the time.
By the time the Ryder Cup was played on European soil again, Thomas had won a second major title. However, he was relying on a captain’s pick for Rome as he sat 15th in the qualification standings. He had failed to make the FedEx Cup playoffs on the PGA Tour at the end of the 2023 season.
Nevertheless, Zach Johnson decided to overlook Keegan Bradley to pick Thomas. Thomas himself would joke that he would have picked Bradley having watched the Full Swing episode which focused on that particular moment.
How Rory McIlroy reacted to Justin Thomas being controversially picked for the 2023 Ryder Cup
Unsurprisingly, Johnson’s picks were scrutinised after Europe largely cruised to victory at Marco Simone. Thomas won 1.5 points from his four matches – though only three Americans won more points across the week.
But one player who felt that Johnson definitely made the right call in picking Thomas was McIlroy. Speaking on Subpar ahead of that year’s Ryder Cup, the Northern Irishman admitted that he could not believe the backlash surrounding his selection.
He also had an interesting response to Colt Knost comparing Thomas with Ian Poulter.
“I thought the whole JT thing was completely – I felt the conversation around it was completely unjustified because in my opinion, being a European and knowing that I have to face some of these guys, honestly, there’s other guys that I’d rather face than JT. So knowing that as a European, to me, it was a no-brainer. Even though he’s not had the best year and he’s struggled for form, JT’s still one of the first guys you put down on that team sheet for the US. I thought it was a no-brainer,” he said.
“I think comparing JT to Ian Poulter does JT a little of a disservice in terms of their CVs and their careers and everything. To me, it’s more like, JT, if you’re going to compare him to someone on the European team over the years, it’s probably Sergio [Garcia], just in terms of that fire and that passion and obviously the resume that he has as an individual.”
What Justin Thomas said about the backlash before the Ryder Cup in Rome
Thomas was actually one of USA’s better players in Rome – albeit the bar was unbelievably low after a dreadful start for the team.
Of course, the nature of the defeat probably meant that Thomas did not feel entitled to hit back at some of the criticism. But he certainly was entitled to feel more content with his performance than most of those in red, white and blue that week.
Thomas was asked about the controversy ahead of the Ryder Cup and whether he was keeping some of the receipts should he be able to answer back over the next few days. But he seemed to be content with having a point to prove.
“I definitely haven’t kept the receipts. I don’t feel like there is any good that can come from that. After I was picked from the team, doesn’t matter what it is, especially when it comes to people and stuff online, everybody’s got an opinion and theirs is right and everybody else’s is wrong, at least that’s what generally seems to be. So for that exact reason, I stayed away from social media and stayed away from stuff online because I knew nothing good was going to come from it,” he said.
“The only thing that mattered to me was that Zach and the vice captains and the, I guess, at that time, other six guys on the team wanted me on the team. Zach and I had had discussions whenever it was before the picks, and that was kind of my — what I told him, is I’m like, look, obviously, of course, I want to be on the team, yeah. I think that I can compete and that I can go out there and I can do great for the team. But at the end of the day, if the six guys in that room don’t think that I’m what’s best for the team, then I don’t deserve to go.”
It is early days in 2025, but Thomas is now sat eighth in the FedEx Cup standings, with Maverick McNealy the only American ahead of him right now. So there appears to be a very good chance that he will qualify automatically for Bethpage later this year and not need to worry about whether Keegan Bradley will pick him.
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