Skip to content
  1. Home
  2. Sports

All Eyes On Frisco, Texas Before Ryder Cup

United States Ryder Cup Captain Zach Johnson announced his six picks
Brian Ashcraft
Photo: Donnelly Wolf/PGA of America
Photo: Donnelly Wolf/PGA of America

Weeks before the Ryder Cup, U.S. team captain Zach Johnson announced his six picks for the players to round out the 12-man roster to go head-to-head with the European team.

The press conference was held at PGA Frisco and broadcast worldwide.

"We knew that when we made the deal, there would be moments like this, when the eyes of the would all be on Frisco," Mayor Jeff Cheney told Local Profile. He was right. They were.

FRISCO, TX - AUGUST 29: The six captains picks- Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, are revealed at the Ryder Cup captain’s picks announcement at The Home of the PGA on August 29, 2023 in Frisco, Texas. (Photo by Donnelly Wolf/PGA of America)

At the press conference, Johnson revealed the six players he choose to join: Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. Johnson described all of them as "good guys" and "great competitors."

They will join Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay, Brian Harman, Max Homa, Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler — all of whom automatically joined the team due to their current rankings.

Both Spieth and Scheffler hail from North Texas.

The Ryder Cup is played on odd-numbered years with 12-man teams from the U.S. and Europe, with venues alternating between the two. This year, it's in Europe, and while the Americans won in 2021, team U.S.A. hasn't won on European soil since 1993.

FRISCO, TX - AUGUST 29: Zach Johnson at the Ryder Cup captain’s picks announcement at The Home of the PGA on August 29, 2023 in Frisco, Texas. (Photo by Donnelly Wolf/PGA of America)

Throughout the press conference, Johnson and the other players used words like "hostile" and "lion's den" to describe playing in Europe during the Ryder Cup. What makes the experience so different is that in typical golf tournaments, the spectators who walk with golfers are likely fans — not so during the Ryder Cup when played in Europe. "You have to be wired a little differently," Johnson said about what it takes to compete.

"The difference between the home and away fans is a thing, for sure," U.S. Ryder Cup Vice Captain Stewart Cink told Local Profile. "It affects people in different ways." But how will it impact the 12 players who take to the links in Rome next month? According to Cink, "It will drive them to a focus and an intensity that you achieve in few places in golf."

The 2023 Ryder Cup gets underway on Sept. 29 at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club outside Rome, Italy.