U.S. Ryder Cup team names surprise final assistant captain

The U.S. Ryder Cup roster is still very much up in the air. The U.S. Ryder Cup leadership, though?

That has been finalized.

On Monday afternoon, U.S. captain Zach Johnson named his final assistant captain for the U.S. side — the last of five “vice captains” who will aid him when the biennial event travels to Rome next month. And the selection?

Stewart Cink.

On Monday, Johnson announced that Cink, a five-time Ryder Cupper (with one Cup victory) and eight-time PGA Tour winner, would be his fifth and final assistant.

Johnson has been teasing the final spot on his Ryder Cup captain’s roster for some time now — leaving some to speculate he was leaving open the possibility of a popular U.S. player like Tiger Woods or Justin Thomas getting an assistant nod.

“I have one more left in my pocket,” Johnson told Golfweek coyly in July when asked explicitly about the vice captaincy.

As it turned out, though, Johnson followed a similar blueprint to his other four assistant captain’s picks, choosing a figure from his “playing prime” with Ryder Cup experience. The four other assistants are ’21 Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker, Davis Love III, Jim Furyk and Fred Couples.

Cink joins an American side grappling with one of its most difficult roster decisions to date. A crowded picture was made murkier by the major championship victories of both Brian Harman and Wyndham Clark, who look likely to secure automatic berths on the U.S. roster. A host of American Ryder Cup “favorites” — Thomas and Tony Finau among them — now enter the final weeks before roster selection fighting for their slots on the team.

The hopefuls will have until the conclusion of the BMW Championship on Aug. 20 to secure an automatic bid on the U.S. team. If a slot isn’t earned by then, they will have until after the conclusion of the Tour Championship, on Sept. 3, to make their case to U.S. Ryder Cup leadership that they deserve one of six “captain’s picks” on the team.

Cink sports an all-time individual record of 5-7-7 at the Cup, and a team record of 1-4. This year’s event will be his first as an assistant captain.

The Ryder Cup will be played at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy from Sept. 29-Oct. 1.

James Colgan

Golf.com Editor

James Colgan is a news and features editor at GOLF, writing stories for the website and magazine. He manages the Hot Mic, GOLF’s media vertical, and utilizes his on-camera experience across the brand’s platforms. Prior to joining GOLF, James graduated from Syracuse University, during which time he was a caddie scholarship recipient (and astute looper) on Long Island, where he is from. He can be reached at james.colgan@golf.com.