Dustin Johnson: I deserved place on US Ryder Cup team 

Dustin Johnson is adamant he did enough to make the US Ryder Cup team and believes he would have been teeing it up in Rome had he not joined the LIV Golf league.

Johnson blew the Europeans away in the last biennial showdown in 2021, posting a flawless 5-0-0 record to emerge as the star man in an American demolition job at Whistling Straits.

But the five-time Ryder Cup stalwart was ignored for a wildcard pick by US skipper Zach Johnson – despite winning all five matches in a dominant performance two years ago.

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Johnson finished 40th in the qualification standings after only being able to secure points this year in majors following his ban from the PGA Tour, with Brooks Koepka the only LIV golfer named in the US team.

He finished 10th in the US Open but struggled in the other majors and will now be watching the showdown at Marco Simone from home.

And despite some indifferent form, Johnson insists he would have made the team but for his defection to the LIV series.

“I would love to be a part of the team,” the two-time major champion told the Palm Beast Post.

“But to be honest, I haven’t really played that well, this year. But have I played well enough to be on the team? Yeah. I didn’t have the best year. Was it good enough to make the team? I think so. If I would have been playing on (the PGA Tour), yeah, I would have made the team.

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“Do I think I can help the US team? Absolutely.”

Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns and the out-of-form Justin Thomas were preferred to the captain’s namesake Dustin for this year’s battle.

Captain Johnson revealed upon naming his six picks that players below 25th in the standings were not alerted over their rejection, but the US skipper had been in contact with the former world No.1 before overlooking him.

‌“He’s a good friend of mine. So yeah, we talked,” Johnson added. “I told him I’d love to be on the team. But like I said, not being on the Tour, I needed to really play well.

‌“If I would have played a little better at the majors, I think I definitely would have had a really good chance. But I just struggled a little bit in the majors this year, which happens. When you’ve been a part of teams for the last 12-14 years, you want to be a part of it because they are great events.”

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.