Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, and Brooks Koepka celebrate their victory at the 2021 Ryder Cup. | Photo by Darren Carroll/PGA of America
Spieth, Thomas, and Koepka have had plenty of success in Ryder Cup foursomes, but Captain Zach Johnson decided to sit them to start.
Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas will begin the Ryder Cup on the bench.
So will five-time major champion Brooks Koepka.
On Thursday evening, U.S. Captain Zach Johnson revealed his pairings for the morning foursomes at the opening ceremony. Spieth, Thomas, and Koepka were omitted.
“The gist of it is we’ve got 12 guys,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, I can’t play all 12 each session. So, at some point, somebody’s got to sit. This golf course demands a lot out of you physically.”
Wyndham Clark, who has provided bulletin board material for Team Europe, will also sit out the first session.
“I think it’s an ideal situation where you don’t necessarily want to play everybody all five sessions,” Johnson added.
“I’m not saying that’s what we’re going to do, but you’re taking everything into account. Not only that, but the eight guys I have down on paper are the ones that we feel best put us in the position to get off to a great start, obviously.”
Those eight players include world number one Scottie Scheffler and Ryder Cup rookies Max Homa, Brian Harman, and Sam Burns.
Scheffler and Burns will face Jon Rahm and Tyrell Hatton to begin the Ryder Cup.
“We’re very confident in putting Scottie and Sam out,” Johnson said of his opening pairing. “You’ve got some experience in there, and you’ve got some chemistry in there as well. Those guys want to get after it, and I’m confident they can do that.”
15 minutes after the first group tees off, Homa and Harman will start their match against Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Åberg.
Then, Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa take on Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka.
Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay will then battle Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood to conclude the opening foursomes.
“I’m very confident in my eight,” Johnson said Thursday. “All these guys I have on my side, I know they’re up against a very bona fide opponent, all eight of ours versus all eight of theirs.”
Spieth and Thomas’ omission from the opening foursome matches is a surprise, especially considering that U.S. Vice Captain Fred Couples said they will “probably play in four matches” on the Golf Channel earlier this week.
Photo by Maddie Meyer/PGA of America via Getty Images
Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas smile during the opening ceremony of the 2023 Ryder Cup.
This duo has played six matches together in the Ryder Cup.
In 2018, when Thomas made his maiden appearance, Spieth and Thomas posted a 3-1 record. They lost their first foursomes match to Francesco Molinari and Fleetwood, 5 & 4, but rallied on Saturday to defeat Ian Poulter and McIlroy 4 & 3.
Thomas was the lone bright spot for Team USA in France, winning four points for the red, white, and blue while the Europeans dominated.
Three years later, Thomas and Spieth went 1-1 together at Whistling Straits to help the U.S. regain the Cup.
As for Koepka, the former Florida State Seminole boasts a 2-2 record in alternate shot play.
That includes a loss to Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose in 2018, the last time the Ryder Cup was held on European soil. Stenson and Rose defeated Koepka and Dustin Johnson, 2 & 1.
But Koepka—like Thomas and Spieth—will have to wait to make their debuts this year.
The 2023 Ryder Cup begins Friday at 1:30 a.m. ET on USA Network.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
