23 September 2023 , 13:36
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Golf legend Jack Nicklaus has entered the debate on Ryder Cup selection with his thoughts on why Dustin Johnson deserved to be selected for Team USA, despite his status as a LIV Golf player.
Johnson was one of the star players for the United States that was not selected by captain Zach Johnson for this year’s matches in Italy. Team USA will be looking to beat Team Europe and retain the trophy that was won at Whistling Straits in 2021.
Zach Johnson used his six captain’s picks to select Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas for Team USA. They join Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Max Homa, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele who qualified automatically for the tournament.
Before the picks were announced, there was a large amount of debate around whether or players who compete on the LIV Golf breakaway circuit should be selected. Dustin Johnson was one of several players who left the PGA Tour in 2022 to sign up for the Saudi-funded league.
Koepka was another player who signed up to play for LIV, but unlike Johnson, he was selected as part of the 12 players to represent Team USA.
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Nicklaus, an 18-time major champion, believes that Dustin Johnson was deserving of a place on Team USA’s roster. The 83-year-old went on to say that he thinks no other player who missed out besides Johnson who signed up for LIV can feel as unlucky as the two-time major winner
"I think he deserved to be on the team," Nicklaus told .
"Yes, no question. He played very well. He played very well in very important tournaments. He got beat out the last tournament for the automatic spot, but he still deserved to be picked."
Dustin Johnson was not selected for the Ryder Cup for Team USA (Quinn Harris/Getty Images)Nicklaus added: "I don't think there's anybody else (from LIV) that deserved to be picked.”
The 2023 Ryder Cup will take place at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Italy. The tournament begins on September 29, with Team USA the current holders of the trophy.
However, Team Europe have not lost on home soil since 1993 at the Belfry in England. Captain Luke Donald used his six picks to select Ludvig Aberg, Tommy Fleetwood, Nicolai Hojgaard, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, and Sepp Straka. As a result, they joined Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland, Robert MacIntyre, Rory McIlroy, and Jon Rahm to make up the full roster.