Rory McIlroy Says Justin Thomas Ryder Cup Pick Was A 'No Brainer,' Admits He'd Rather Not Have To Play JT In Rome
The debate about whether or not Justin Thomas should or should not have received a captain's pick for a spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team has found its way to Team Europe leader Rory McIlroy. To say McIlroy is a fan of JT's would be putting things somewhat mildly because, in his opinion, Thomas was more than deserving of his controversial captain's pick.
Thomas is coming off of an incredibly disappointing and inconsistent PGA Tour season. He missed the cut in three of the year's four major championships and didn't qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Despite Thomas being in a very real and obvious slump, McIlroy believes him making the U.S. team was a "no brainer" decision for team captain Zach Johnson.
Justin Thomas has been the guy for the U.S. Ryder Cup team over the last two events. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy Wants No Part Of Justin Thomas At The Ryder Cup
Not only that, the four-time major winner hinted at the fact that he and plenty of his European teammates would rather not square off with Thomas in Italy later this month.
“I felt the conversation around was completely unjustified,” McIlroy said recently on the Subpar Podcast. “Because, in my opinion, being a European and knowing that I have to face some of these guys, honestly there are other guys on that team that I’d rather face than JT. So, to me it was a no-brainer..."JT’s still one of the first guys that you put down on that tee sheet for the U.S.”
Thomas has been a stone-cold killer over the course of his two Ryder Cup appearances of his career posting an overall record of 6-2-1 including a 2-0 record in singles. Thomas got the best of McIlroy in their singles match in 2018 before dominating Tyrrell Hatton 4&3 in 2021.
Thomas is also 10-3-2 all-time in the Presidents Cup proving that when he's representing his country, he flips a switch.
Maybe this is McIlroy playing a bit of reverse psychology and he's already informed European team captain Luke Donald that he wants another shot at Thomas at this year's Ryder Cup, but based on Thomas' outstanding résume, it's highly doubtful.
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