It was little surprise when Keegan Bradley confirmed Justin Thomas as his first captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage, with the two-time major champion the one player who failed to automatically qualify but seemed to be a lock for the side.
There was none of the controversy which surrounded Justin Thomas‘ inclusion for the 2023 Ryder Cup this time around.
Thomas finished seventh in the qualification standings, while he also won the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town in April. He finished the season with eight top 10s under his belt.
Admittedly, Thomas did experience a dip after winning at Hilton Head. He missed the cut at both the PGA Championship and the US Open. Between Quail Hollow and the BMW Championship, he registered just one top 10.
One concern raised about Justin Thomas ahead of the Ryder Cup
But if there was any doubt over his position in Keegan Bradley‘s team, a solid performance at the Tour Championship put those concerns to bed.
However, Bradley may still face an issue when it comes to Thomas.
The 32-year-old has played the majority of his Ryder Cup golf alongside Jordan Spieth. But with Spieth not involved at Bethpage, Bradley will almost certainly have to find a new partner for Thomas.
And speaking on The Smylie Show, Smylie Kaufman suggested that Thomas is a contender to only play three sessions unless he can prove himself at next month’s Procore Championship.
“It’s interesting, because I don’t know. I don’t know,” he said, when asked about who he could be paired with.
“His record, I’m sitting here looking at some of the stuff that he’s done, he went 2-3 in foursomes, 2-1-2 in fourball and he’s 3-0 in singles, talking about JT. And I’m looking at this group this year. He’s played, I believe with Patrick Cantlay before in some fourball stuff if I’m not mistaken. But JT, what he’s been doing well this year is that he’s been putting well. He needs to start hitting the golf ball better. So that would be my biggest concern, can you find someone that’s going to be really solid for him, that’s going to be in play a lot for him to feel less pressure about having to get the ball in play.
“So foursomes right now, JT has a ton of experience, but I’m not ready to throw JT out in foursomes until I see him play in Napa. I need to see him have a really nice ball-striking week. And then from there, I’d be like okay, yeah, I’m good sending him out in foursomes. This team does not have a lot of experience for Friday morning. That’s the one thing that concerns me.”
Justin Thomas’ career record in team events as he prepares for fourth Ryder Cup appearance
Based on what Thomas has shown in previous team events, he is certainly a contender to exceed expectations in New York.
He beat Rory McIlroy in a superb match at the top of the singles lineup in 2018. And he was arguably one of the USA’s better players in Rome.
| Event | Points won | Overall Record |
| 2017 Presidents Cup | 3.5 | 3-1-1 |
| 2018 Ryder Cup | 4 | 4-1-0 |
| 2019 Presidents Cup | 3.5 | 3-1-1 |
| 2021 Ryder Cup | 2.5 | 2-1-1 |
| 2022 Presidents Cup | 4 | 4-1-0 |
| 2023 Ryder Cup | 1.5 | 1-2-1 |
| Total | 19 | 17-7-4 |
Thomas is someone who absolutely embraces the Ryder Cup stage and tends to thrive.
And having missed out on a pick for last year’s Presidents Cup, you would imagine that he will be desperate to make the most of this opportunity to help USA regain the Ryder Cup.
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