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Dustin Johnson won’t be in Rome as member of Team USA for the 2023 Ryder Cup in two weeks.
But the two-time major champion and former world No. 1 believes he should be.
Speaking with the The Palm Beach Post, Johnson said that he’d have been a member of the team had he not left the PGA Tour for the LIV Golf Series.
“I would love to be a part of the team,” he said. “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. Do I think I can help the U.S. team? Absolutely.”
Johnson is 12-9 all-time at the Ryder Cup, including a perfect 5-0 record in 2021.
But he had one victory this season in the LIV Golf Series, which came all the way back in May. He added four other top 10s, but just one other top five.
He finished 48th at The Masters, 55th at the PGA Championship and in a tie for 10th at the US Open before missing the cut at The Open Championship.
So the results don’t exactly support Johnson taking a spot on the team. Though he did admit that his major performances likely came into play.
“If I would have played a little better at the majors, I think I definitely would have had a really good chance to be on the team,” Johnson said. “But just struggled a little bit in the majors this year, which happens.”
Additionally, fellow LIV golfer Brooks Koepka did earn a spot on the US team in Rome. Koepka also had just one win on the LIV tour, but he added three other top 5s as well a second-place finish at The Masters and a victory at the PGA Championship.
Koepka is the lone LIV Golf representative on either team at the event.