One of the most recent hot topics in the golf world has been Brooks Koepka‘s deposition from the top 6 automatic qualifications for the US Ryder Cup Team. Astonishingly, the first six positions have been filled by all PGA Tour Pros, who have had a chance to display their game and gather points, unlike LIV golfers.
While the statement stands true for LIV athletes, some of the PGA Tour Pros, despite a fair chance, have still failed to capitalize on the same. This evidently includes eminent golfers like Justin Thomas.
Interestingly, both Koepka and Thomas, now, lie on similar lines of fate with only the captain’s picks remaining. And while Zach Johnson has yet to confirm his decision, one of the fans has made a startling hypothesis regarding the same, attracting more resonating opinions from other enthusiasts as well.
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A golf fanatic delivers a staggering Ryder Cup theory
With almost a month left for arguably the most awaited battle, one of the most anticipated questions remains regarding who will make the team on both sides. Amidst this, an interesting fan theory has come forth on who will most likely be picked by Zach Johnson to represent the US Team and why.
The Reddit user by the name r/ProGolf raised a valid question while debating with himself regarding Ryder Cup berths. The question was whether the most popular players or the top 12 players on the list should get the Captain’s vote. The answer was rather refreshing.
Pointing to the technicalities of the tournament, the golf fan said, “It’s an exhibition match, with no prize money for winning.”
Per the Redditor, the match is put on by the PGA of America to grow the game, promote tee times, sell lessons, and golf merchandise. The account strongly voiced that winning and losing isn’t the crucial part of the biennial event, rather how the viewership that it receives is what counts. According to this theory, the golf lover put forward the list of players who will and will not register their names on the US Ryder Cup Team.
Based on the surmise, will Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas be make the team?
As quoted by the user, “Through that lens (the reasoning he provided) the choices become extremely obvious”:
Falling under the obvious INs for the team were the two big PGA Tour names—Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler. Both the players, the user believed, are “hugely popular”. Particularly referring to JT, he said that the 30-year-old is the poster boy of the PGA Tour. Justin Thomas clearly has the evident support of the fans, as per the comments made by the Reddit user.
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Furthermore, the inevitable OUTs for the Redditor were Sam Burns and Cameron Young. The point of the argument is their popularity factor. With no major wins to their name, the Reddit user expressed that they deliver a low popularity factor. However, this he felt, might change in the future.
The next two categories were interesting as they lay in a speculating realm of either or. The first group termed “NOT OUT” consisted of Brooks Koepka and Keegan Bradley. As both guys have major wins under their belt and are in good form, the fan voiced that they might be a good addition to the team.
Concerning the latter, the golf enthusiast said, “The drama/controversy of having a LIV guy on the team will add eyeballs. So yeah, he’s in.”
Meanwhile, the NOT IN classification witnessed the user mentioning Lucas Glover, Dustin Johnson, and Bryson DeChambeau. Other online audiences appeared to be seconding this appealing hypothesis.
‘Hadn’t thought of it like this’- golf world pendulums towards the intriguing Ryder Cup theory
The golf world finds itself in situations of making picks more often than not. With the Ryder Cup not so far ahead now, it is all that covers the fan’s discussions lately. Even under the aforementioned Reddit post, users could be seen putting forth their varied opinions.
Most viewers seemed to agree with the postulation, commenting, “I largely agree with you,” “Hadn’t thought of it like this. You are probably pretty close here,” and “Makes sense, the experience plus the form in view. Understandable.”
Others could not hold back from talking about their wish to see specific golfers taking on the greens, replying, “JT’s Ryder Cup record is so good, needs to be there,” “I believe the team is: Scheffler Clark Harman Xander Cantlay Homa Koepka Spieth Morikawa Young Rickie JT.”
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Few among them seemed to take the recent performances more into consideration, writing, “I love JT and I hope he gets out of his rut soon, but this guy does not belong anywhere near the Ryder Cup.”
Fans were also quick to question the PGA Tour’s hand behind the selection, mentioning, “Not bringing Bryson the way he’s been playing lately is petty of the PGA, ” “Are the PGA of America secretly influencing the picks without us knowing?” Overall, there hardly seemed to be a complete consensus amongst the fans, though there was more inclination toward the selection of the mentioned golfers.
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What do you think of the Reddit fans’ take and the reasons stated for the golfers’ selection? Let us know in the comments below.
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