"If they don't take him, it's the worst call ever" - Geoff Ogilvy urges selection of Justin Thomas for Ryder Cup, citing his inspirational leadership

The Ryder Cup qualifications are all but set for the United States, with Justin Thomas coming in 15th, nowhere near the top six. He could be selected by the captains, but that would likely involve skipping over players like Collin Morikawa, Keegan Bradley, and others who are playing better.

Should the team skip Thomas, Australian golfer Geoff Ogilvy believes it would be catastrophic. He had strong words for captain Zach Johnson (via Golfweek):

“If they don’t take him, it’s the worst call ever. He’s the best head-to-head match player in the world.”

Ogilvy also said:

“JT would be my first pick. I’ve been inside the ropes at enough Presidents Cups there’s just no chance you don’t take Justin. He does something to the team. He goes out front and leads and fist pumps and makes everyone behind him believe."

When asked why Justin Thomas, who has not had a very good year and failed to make the FedEx Cup, should be picked over anyone else, Ogilvy's answer was simple:

“Because JT has that great experience and because as Rory called him ‘an annoyance,’ he should definitely be on that team.”

Thomas is a veteran of the Ryder Cup and has valuable experience that others might not have. How much that's worth is up to Zach Johnson. Whether or not some other, likely deserving candidate gets skipped over for Thomas is up to Johnson, too.

There are several LIV Golf members, most notably Brooks Koepka (who just slipped out of the top six qualifying spots), who could join the team at Zach Johnson's call. They would be great additions, but there's still a divide between the PGA Tour and LIV.

That's one choice Johnson has to make, but he also has to make a tough choice regarding Justin Thomas as well. It is a less than enviable time to be the captain of the United States for the Ryder Cup.

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Zach Johnson provides update for Justin Thomas

With a very tough decision coming up, Zach Johnson has been open about what he's thinking. He's been in contact with the former major winner regarding his chances of making the Ryder Cup.

Justin Thomas may not make the Ryder Cup

Via Golf Digest, he said about Justin Thomas:

“When you have someone that talented and obviously with that high of character, you don’t want to seem them struggle. Forget about the Cup, I just want to see him play good golf. And when JT plays good it’s good for everybody too."

"He is one of our, certainly, one of our assets on the PGA Tour. So yeah, we’ve been communicating. I would hope that he understands, and he does; open lines. We’re going to keep the honesty train going. We are going to leave it all out there."

He continued:

"And I have told him I don’t know what’s in store but obviously he’s still in consideration. He’s been a part of Team USA since 2017, guys want to be around him. He’s great in the locker rom. And obviously what he’s done inside the ropes in these Cups is well documented. So his resume speaks for itself.”

There's no indication which way he's leaning, but Johnson is certainly considering his PGA Tour counterpart strongly.