The US Brat Pack will be an awesome Ryder Cup barrier
THE Ryder Cup in France is a little over a year away. But even at this early stage, Europe look like they face a huge task to win it back.
Events at Quail Hollow last Sunday confirmed that, as Justin Thomas followed his close friend Jordan Spieth into the Major winners’ club.
Spieth is the trailblazer for this new generation of Americans. He has shown everyone fresh out of college on the PGA Tour that if you’re good enough, you’re old enough.
But, more than that, the camaraderie among these guys is really striking.
To see Spieth and Rickie Fowler waiting at the 18th green for Thomas to be crowned PGA Champion was a great sight for US Ryder Cup captain, Jim Furyk.
Normally, American golfers have been regarded as selfish and individual, and they have found it hard to come together as a team.
These guys are all friends. They go on holiday together at spring break, like your average uni mates.
If one of them can’t win, they root for their friend. This is natural team spirit that I associate with the French or Spanish out on tour.
Spieth and Thomas are already Major champions, but it can only be a matter of time before Fowler joins them.
His record is too good, and he is too consistent, for him not to claim one of golf’s biggest prizes.
But there are plenty of others waiting in the wings. Patrick Reed is not far behind and Daniel Berger is another fine prospect.
Throw in US Open Champion Brooks Koepka, plus World No.1 Dustin Johnson, and the American team in Paris will be their strongest for years.
The frightening thing is that, at 33, Johnson is the oldest of the lot. So it bodes well for US golf for the next decade.
This generation grew up watching the Europeans dominate and they want to put that right. It might not be great for Europe, but it’s brilliant news for the Ryder Cup.
When Thomas won back-to-back events in Hawaii at the start of the year, he looked like a Major champion-in-waiting.
He played in the last group at the US Open, and learned the hard way as he shot 75, as Koepka took the honours.
The next time he had his chance, the 24-year-old took it and seized the moment, chipping in and holing clutch putts.
What impresses me about Thomas is that when he is on, he isn’t afraid to go low. He shot a 61 in Malaysia for his first tournament win, he shot a 59 in Hawaii and he equalled Johnny Miller’s US Open record of 63 at Erin Hills this year.
He is the ideal PGA Champion, with both his dad and grandfather having been club pros, and this won’t be his last Major win.