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A16 SPORTS
Wednesday 28 June 2023
U.S. team for golf’s Ryder Cup could be loaded, and some stars

could be left out

By DOUG FERGUSON comers to the big stage
AP Golf Writer are Max Homa and Cam-
Ryder Cup captain Zach eron Young, Clark and Sam
Johnson still has time on his Burns, the latter narrowly
side, just not as much. He left off the last Ryder Cup
also keeps getting more team.
candidates for his U.S. The core from Whistling
team, which isn’t making Straits included Justin
the job any easier. Thomas, Jordan Spieth
And it’s no longer about and Collin Morikawa, all of
Brooks Koepka or anyone them multiple major cham-
else from LIV Golf. pions, none with a victory
“There’s still a lot of golf over the last 12 months.
between now and then,” The matches start Sept. 29
Johnson said that Sunday in Rome. The leading six
morning in May at the PGA players through the BMW
Championship, a few hours Championship automati-
before Brooks Koepka cally qualify, and then
showed off his major swag- Johnson says he will lean
ger at Oak Hill with a victory on those six players and his
that did more than restore assistant captains to deter-
his reputation as Big Game mine the six wild-card picks
Brooks. to give the team a sense
It moved him to No. 2 in the Max Homa, left, fist-bumps Wyndham Clark, right, after their putts on the 10th hole during the of ownership. Time on his
Ryder Cup standings. Giv- second round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament at TPC River Highlands, Friday, June side? Eight weeks remain
en that Koepka appears 23, 2023, in Cromwell, Conn. Associated Press before qualifying ends.
to be back at full strength, That includes a major (Brit-
that’s not such a bad thing. the U.S. Open. Coupled battled the internal pres- back images of his Ryder ish Open) and a pair of $20
Now consider the last two with his victory in an el- sure of playing before a Cup debut in 2012. million events from the Fe-
weeks. evated event at the Wells home crowd in New Eng- He moved to No. 7 in the dEx Cup playoffs. Most of
Wyndham Clark showed Fargo Championship, Clark land and won the Travel- standings. the top players won’t be
plenty of moxie when he moved past Koepka to No. ers Championship for his Bradley hasn’t played in a playing more than four of
outplayed Rory McIlroy on 2 and is all but assured of his second victory of the year. Ryder Cup since 2014, an those eight weeks.
the back nine of Los Ange- Ryder Cup debut in Rome. That big yell he let loose unhappy memory in Scot- The leading six in the Ry-
les Country Club and won And then Keegan Bradley on the 18th green brought land from Captain Tom der Cup standings going
Watson benching him in into the Rocket Mortgage
three of the five sessions Classic are Scottie Schef-
and Europe celebrating on fler, Clark, Koepka, Xander
home soil. Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay
The thought of playing in and Homa.
another Ryder Cup meant Next in line are Bradley, Spi-
every bit as much as the eth, Young, Burns, Thomas
$3.6 million he won. and Morikawa.
“It is the first thing I said to Still to be determined?
my wife walking up to sign Plenty. The resurgent Rickie
my card,” Bradley said Sun- Fowler and Tony Finau, who
day. “This is a pretty big step has played on the last four
towards doing that. I’m 37 U.S. teams and has two
years old. I hope to play in wins this season, are part of
multiple more. I don’t know the conversation.
how many more with ev- Dustin Johnson is probably
erybody so good and the too far back that even a
young kids, just the team is claret jug won’t allow him
incredible. to qualify, but he will be
“I would love to go to hard to ignore if he were
Rome and be a part of to win the final major of
that team.” Right when it the year. The last (healthy)
looks as though the Ameri- American to win a major
can team has a core of and get left off the Ryder
Ryder Cup stars who finally Cup team was Todd Ham-
can swing the pendulum ilton in 2004. Turnover is
in its favor, someone new nothing new for the Ameri-

or something new comes cans.
along. When they manhandled
From that ‘21 team that Europe at Hazeltine in 2016
gave Europe its worst loss to end a three-match los-
ever in the Ryder Cup, ing streak, only six of them
three players defected to were on the charter flight
something new (LIV Golf). to France two years later
Among the potential new- (another loss). q