Golf Purists Are The Biggest Bozos Around If They Don't Understand The "Boy's Club" Ryder Cup Captains Picks
Warren Little. Getty Images.Zach Johnson announced his captains picks for the 2023 Ryder Cup team yesterday, and it should come as a shock to absolutely nobody that Justin Thomas was one of the 6 players who made the squad.
While it shouldn't be a shock that Justin Thomas will be heading with the boys to Rome, it definitely has a few folks worked up. Primarily people who are sick and tired of the "boy's club" aspect when it comes to picking the Ryder Cup team. With guys like Keegan Bradley and Lucas Glover getting left at home in favor of a guy who missed the cut at 3 out of the 4 majors this year and didn't even make the playoffs, we've seen a lot of responses like this.
Now let me make a couple things abundantly clear before we get going here. 1) I love Lurch. I've never gotten the opportunity to meet the big fella before, but I feel like my life would be instantly better if I got a chance to drink a few beers with him and just chop it up. 2) I love Keegan Bradley. He's the People's Golfer, and it would have been great to see him be a part of USA mopping the floor with Europe on their home soil.
But the thing golf purists just can't seem to wrap their brains around is roster construction in team sports. The late, great Herb Brooks put it perfectly when putting together the roster for the 1980 USA men's Olympic hockey team, "I'm not looking for the best players. I'm looking for the right ones".
Golf is such an individual sport, so I get not valuing the importance of having some great locker room guys in the mix. And I'm not saying that Keegan Bradley couldn't be a great locker room guy. I'm sure the rest of the team would love to have him around. But is he a better locker room guy than JT? Is he a better emotional leader to get the boys fired up and rally together to beat some Euro ass? Probably not. Being a locker room guy is a skill. Say what you want about Justin Thomas' form this season, but his ability to get the boys buzzing out there is still unmatched.
That's why you need the Boy's Club. That's why you can't just go around picking whatever players have been playing the best over the past season. Think back to some of the greatest teams in USA history. Obviously you have the 1980 men's Olympic hockey team. They took down the Soviet Army all thanks to Herb Brooks making sure he didn't fill the roster with a bunch of little bitches who can skate fast but have zero heart. Then you have the 1992 Dream Team. They left Isiah Thomas off the roster because the rest of the team, mainly Michael Jordan, couldn't stand the guy. He was a 2x champ and an NBA Finals MVP. Clearly he was a great player, but Team USA left him off the roster because he wasn't a locker room guy. Think they made the right call on that one.
Now have a little faith in your captain, and show your support for the greatest nation in the world by loading up on all the new Ryder Cup merch. Some of the crispiest items to ever hit the Barstool Store.