Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas have been picked among the six wildcard picks for the 2018 Ryder Cup by United States captain Zach Johnson.

After joining LIV Golf last year, US PGA champion Koepka fell short of the points required to qualify automatically.

Thomas did not advance to the FedEx Cup play-offs at the end of the season.

Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, Collin Morikawa, and Jordan Spieth have also been named to the team to face Europe.

The 12-man squad also includes automatic qualifiers Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark, Max Homa, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Patrick Cantlay.

“A lot of time, a lot of energy has gone into this process,” Johnson added.

“I have a lot of faith in these six [selections].” That assurance comes from simply surrounding myself with wonderful people.

“These are the six guys who make the others whole.”

The 44th Ryder Cup will be held at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club near Rome from September 29 to October 1.

Three of the four major winners in 2023 are on Johnson’s tournament team.

The Open was won by Harman, the US Open by Clark, and the PGA Championship by Koepka.

Thomas, 30, is a Ryder Cup veteran, but he has struggled this year, losing cuts at the US Open and The Open and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

“In my opinion,” Johnson remarked, “Justin Thomas is one of the most talented players on the PGA Tour.”

“He has unquestionably been the heart and soul of US Ryder Cup teams, our emotional leader.”

“Overall, [he has] an outstanding Ryder Cup record.” His enthusiasm for the Ryder Cup is palpable. In my opinion, he was born for this, and you never leave JT at home.”

Because the PGA of America does not include LIV Golf events in their rankings, Koepka, the team’s lone LIV Golf player, could only collect Ryder Cup qualification points at major championships.

“A five-time major champion, he is built in my mind for the biggest of stages, and there’s no bigger stage than the Ryder Cup,” Johnson said.

The United States won the Ryder Cup with a record 19-9 victory in Wisconsin in 2021.

However, they have not won on European soil in 30 years, with their last triumph on the continent being in 1993 at the Belfry in Warwickshire, where they won 15-13.

After the European Masters in Crans-sur-Sierre, Switzerland, European qualification concludes on September 3rd.

The top six European players in the standings will qualify, like in the US, and captain Luke Donald has six picks. On September 4th, he will reveal the team.

Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, and Tyrrell Hatton have already qualified.