As LIV Golf Faces Excruciating Pain, Here’s a Look At Top Names Who Were Unable to Fulfill Their Patriotic Dreams

The Ryder Cup is about 25 days away and both teams are set to battle it out in Rome. Team Europe as well as Team USA have finalised their 12 players for the event. However, these decisions are not free from controversies.

The Ryder Cup selection process consists of two key components: automatic qualifiers and captains’ picks. While automatic qualifiers are based on player performance and merit, captains’ picks are at the discretion of the team captain, making them subject to scrutiny. Numerous players with an impressive track record found themselves excluded from the final list.

Players Omitted by Team USA

Team USA is headed by Zach Johnson, who picked Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Sam Burns and Brooks Koepka. He has come under severe criticism for his choices. Big players who he left out are:

Bryson DeChambeau

The LIV Golfer was left out by Zach Johnson in his captain’s picks. Hence, the event will be missing Mr.58 at the Ryder Cup. The choice of leaving behind Bryson despite him having a mind-blowing 13 under par round to win a LIV Golf event three weeks ago has attracted a major backlash. Rumors are circulating that he wasn’t even given a courtesy phone call about his exclusion.

Dustin Johnson 

Dustin Johnson being left out of the Ryder Cup team comes as no surprise due to his current form but the former world number one has a great Ryder Cup record, giving him an edge over the other players. Some say that there are not many players like him who remains composed in the most challenging tournaments.

Phil Mickelson 

There are 197 Americans who have played the Ryder Cup for Team USA. Out of these 197 players, Phil Mickelson holds the record for playing the maximum number of Ryder Cups. The lefty has played 12 Ryder Cups is in his lifetime.

With his experience, there is no better candidate who can compete with him. Phil has an excellent shot game and smashes the driver off the deck. He also has great mental fortitude and can easily withstand pressure.

Players left behind by Team Europe

The European team captain Luke Donald has announced his picks. They are Ludvig Aberg, Tommy Fleetwood, Nicolai Højgaard, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose and Sepp Straka. He too has drawn criticism for leaving behind the following players.

Adrian Meronk

The Polish DP World Tour winner has to be the most disappointed among the lot. He has bagged two wins on Wentworth-based circuit this season. He also won an event on the same course on which the Ryder Cup will be held in Rome from September 29. This gave him an edge over all the other players.

It is now clear that Meronk will be left at home, and LIV Golf’s Richard Bland made his feelings clear on the omission on his Instagram. He was truly unhappy.

Ian Poulter 

The passionate Ian Poulter, known for his Ryder Cup heroics, found himself left out. This is also a potential end to his Ryder Cup career. No other golfer enjoyed beating the Americans more than he did. Now that is a tale from the past though. His experience could have given a tough challenge to the Americans.

Sergio Garcia 

The Spanish golfer is the Ryder Cup leader in points. He made his debut in 1999 but now having resigned from the DP World Tour membership and joined LIV Golf, he is currently on the outside as far as the Ryder Cup is concerned. He has a record 25.5 points but since he has resigned from the DP World Tour, he finds himself out of favor. Though, his form was also an issue.

Also read – Mere Moments After Luke Donald’s Infuriating Move, LIV Golfer Bashes 2023 Ryder Cup Captain For His Bold Pick

In both Team USA and Team Europe, the captains’ selections have sparked debates about the balance between past accomplishments and current form. As the event draws near, all eyes will be on these decisions and how they impact the outcome of the competition.

Did the captains make the right decisions? Only time will tell.

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