Team USA told Johnson snub was "mistake" after being "forced" to pick Koepka

14 September 2023 , 17:36

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Dustin Johnson has been left out the U.S. Ryder Cup team

The United States Ryder Cup team have been warned they could well regret the decision to leave out both Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau ahead of this year's event in Rome by three-time European captain Bernard Gallacher.

The visitors head to Italy to defend the crown they won so convincingly in Wisconsin two years ago. Steve Stricker led his team to a record-breaking 19-9 victory over their European rivals at Whistling Straits, in what was tipped to be the beginning of a period of dominance for the U.S. team with a squad full of talent.

The one man who stuck out from the rest in Wisconsin was Johnson, whose form and experience saw him win all five of his matches against the Europeans in one of the great Ryder Cup performances. Two years on though the world of golf finds itself in a much different place after the bullish emergence of the LIV Golf setup.

Eight months after his Ryder Cup heroics Johnson became one of the marque names to join the Saudi-backed league, ending his long affinity with the PGA Tour. Whilst the move to LIV did not end his eligibility to compete at the Ryder Cup, the knock-on effects appeared to have cost him a spot in this year's team. Johnson's Saudi switch saw him banned from the PGA Tour, and with Team USA captain - and namesake - Zach Johnson opting with a Tour-heavy squad, he opted to overlook the 4Aces captain.

And the former Masters champion was not the only member of the States' record-breaking class of 2021 to be cut from the team on the back of his LIV switch, with DeChambeau also absent from this year's Roman roster. Like Johnson, DeChambeau thrived in Wisconsin, donning an unbeaten record across the three days to instil him as a key member of the U.S. setup.

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This time around though the big-hitting American will be forced to watch from home, no doubt thanks to his mega-money LIV Golf move. One man who knows a thing or two about picking a Ryder Cup team is Gallacher, having been in charge of the European team on three occasions between 1991 and 1995.

Dustin Johnson was the star of the show in Wisconsin

And after seeing the release of the 12-man U.S. team earlier this month, he feels two big names are missing. In an interview with Mirror Sport , Gallacher - who is a Golf Care Ambassador - claimed the snubbing of Johnson and DeChambeau could well prove to be a 'mistake' on the Americans' part. "The American team are always strong but they will miss Dustin Johnson not playing and they will miss Bryson DeChambeau," he said. "Dustin Johnson got five points in Whistling Straits last year, and Bryson DeChambeau was undefeated as well, not having them in the American side gives us [Europe] a real chance of winning in Rome."

The European side have also felt the affects of the birth of LIV Golf, with some of the continent's greatest players opting to make the move last summer. Three of Europe's mainstays in Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood all decided to sign on the dotted line with Greg Norman and co, but this came at a hefty cost of ending their association with the Ryder Cup, after resigning their DP World Tour memberships and Team Europe eligibility on the back of their Saudi switch.

There is no question their omission will have left a huge hole in Luke Donald 's team heading to Rome, whether that would have been them involved as a player or vice-captain. But Gallacher believes the LIV saga has caused more unrest for the Americans than it has the Europeans. "You talk about us missing Sergio [Garcia], Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, but the Americans have big misses too," he added.

Not many know the Ryder Cup better than Bernard Gallacher

"With Dustin Johnson you take a guy out who won every match and Bryson DeChambeau was one of the stars as well. We will miss our players from the LIV Tour, but America will miss their players more." Despite the absences of Johnson, DeChambeau, Garcia, Westwood and Poulter, there will be one LIV Golf star competing at Marco Simone in American Brooks Koepka.

The Smash GC captain earned his place in the team on the back of his form on the major stage, finishing in a tie for second at this years Masters, and winning the PGA Championship a month later. This saw Koepka fly up the U.S. Ryder Cup standings, but his lack of PGA Tour golf saw him slip out of the top six in the final week of qualifying, forcing him to settle for a captain's pick.

Gallacher however believes skipper Zach Johnson had no option to pick the five-time major champion amid the U.S. PGA's control over the American team. He said: "He was forced to pick Brooks Koepka, because Koepka finished runner-up in the Masters and won the USPGA, and that major and the Ryder Cup is run by the PGA so it was a loophole that he managed to get in. He was forced to put him in whether he liked it or not. Whether he agreed with LIV players or not he just couldn’t not pick Brooks Koepka."

Joshua Lees