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The former coach of Tiger Woods, Hank Haney, let his opinion roll on Zach Johnson and his Ryder Cup captain’s picks.
Ryder Cup captain, Zach Johnson, made his captain’s picks on Tuesday to finalize the American Team. To fill the team, he picked Collin Morikawa, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Sam Burns and Rickie Fowler.
They joined Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman and Patrick Cantlay who all automatically qualified for the team.
Johnson’s selections were very divisive among fans. Some people were thrilled but there is a large contingent that were turned off by the picks.
Tiger Woods’ long-time coach, Hank Haney, voiced his opinion pretty openly on Twitter about the whole situation. He didn’t pull any punches with his comments.
“It didn’t matter who Zach Johnson picked, the USA team will be heavily favored, but those picks confirm it’s the Boys Club,” Haney wrote.
It didn’t matter who Zach Johnson picked the USA team will be heavily favored but those picks confirm it’s the Boys Club.
— Hank Haney (@HankHaney) August 29, 2023
To look at the picks, Koepka arguably makes the most sense. He played well in most of the majors and was the No. 7 guy in Ryder Cup points standings. The former FSU golfer earned his captain’s pick.
Spieth was No. 8 in those point standings but has not been playing his best of late. Morikawa was No. 10 and finished top 10 in the FedeX Cup playoffs. Burns was No. 12 and Fowler was No. 13.
Johnson skipped over players with solid resumes like Cam Young, Keegan Bradley, Tony Finau and Lucas Glover to round out the team with Thomas.
Thomas was all over the place this season. The former Crimson Tide made the cut at one major this year. He struggled all season long and didn’t make the FedEx Cup playoffs. The 30-year-old was No. 15 on the point standings — the lowest among the captain picks.
However, it seems his 6-2-1 Ryder Cup record speaks for itself. It certainly gave Colt Knost enough confidence to make a wild tattoo bet with a fan.
Nevertheless, the optics do not look good. Thomas, Fowler and Spieth are all best friends. Burns is a very close friend to Scheffler. It’s easy to understand the sentiment Haney is expressing.
Bradley also seemed to feel slighted. He voiced his displeasure and talked about trying to get closer to the guys, but feels like an outsider.
Haney is right, the boy’s club is back together. On paper, the Americans are likely favored, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be victorious. They haven’t won on foreign soil in 30 years.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
