Zach Johnson received six phone calls from happy people when he selected the U.S. Ryder Cup squad. Ryder Cup squad.
The 12-player team headed to Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome has been set.
Brian Harman was the victim of disappointing calls in the past. But not this time. The 36-year old played his way onto the team by qualifying automatically for the Americans after a T-5 at the BMW Championship last week. Harman, who was a member of Team USA in both 2005 and 2009 at the Walker Cup, will be making his professional debut.
Harman’s season has seen him earn 11 top-25 finishes and six top-10 results on Tour. He also had three runner-up performances in addition to the Open Championship win. Harman is well aware that performances like these keep him in the running for a draft, but he also knows what it’s like to be at the other end of the conversation.
“Let’s see. Jim Furyk told me that I was not on the team for (the 2018 Ryder Cup). Harman said that Harman and Furyk had a nice chat. “Because, when he told me that I was not, I said, ‘Well I know, you’ve done less than I should to try and make this team. I get it. I would have never picked me.
He continued, “And then Steve Stricker phoned me and told that I wouldn’t be making the 2017 Presidents Cup Team.” I thought that my chances of being selected for the (2017) Presidents Cup team were better. Steve has always been my dear friend and I understand.
“I’ve never been left out and I felt that I deserved to be there.”
Harman said that Davis Love III called him last year to talk about the Presidents Cup team, which Harman wanted to be a part of.
He said: “But I had not done anything that would have earned me a flier selection. I finished third last year in Memphis, was 70th in the FedEx Cup, and I ended up playing well at the end.”
Many players would have grudges towards captains and find excuses for why they were not chosen. Harman, however, used the incident as motivation to ensure he wasn’t left out this year. You can talk about what kind of player you would want to be on your team.
