Experience, form, passion … and a little bit of outside-the-box gut-feeling thinking. 

These are the essential elements U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson should be locked in on as he prepares to announce his six captain’s picks on Tuesday. 

If Johnson, a two-time major championship winner, wants to enhance his legacy beyond his wildest dreams by becoming the captain of the first U.S. Ryder Cup side to win on foreign soil in 30 years, he has some difficult decisions to make … and get right. 

So, without further ado (and at no extra charge), I offer my Pick 6 for Rome 2023: Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Keegan Bradley, Collin Morikawa and Rickie Fowler. 

Some of these choices are no-brainers and some may raise an eyebrow and appear not fair to players who’ve played their way into the top 12 in Ryder Cup points. 

Thomas — for example, has been struggling with his form all season, finished 15th on the points list and failed to qualify for the FedExCup playoffs. 

Choosing Thomas, who’s 6-2-1 in Ryder Cup play, is the classic gut decision. You won’t, however, find a grittier player in the game who grinds. And I believe once Thomas puts on the red, white and blue, that slump that’s confounded him for months will be a speck in the rearview mirror and he’ll snap into form. 

Is JT a risky pick for Johnson? 

Absolutely, for a few reasons — beginning with the fact that he’s such close friends with Johnson. If he was picked (which I think he will be), Thomas could represent the classic second-guess should he fail to produce. And, if the U.S. was to lose, that could stick with Johnson forever. 

But these are the kinds of pressures that come with being the captain. 

If Koepka, despite his defection to LIV Golf, was not to be picked (which doesn’t appear to be the case based on a social media post on Sunday that showed him holding a slice of pizza on an American flag plate), that would be captaincy malpractice and proof that politics are more important than winning the Ryder Cup. 

All Koepka has done is win the PGA Championship (which is run by the PGA of America, the same governing body that oversees the U.S. Ryder Cup team), post a runner-up at the Masters and finish seventh on the points list despite playing in only the majors this year because of the PGA Tour’s ban of LIV players in its events. 

If I was Zach Johnson, I’d have considered two other LIV Golf players, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson, both of whom were instrumental in America’s victory over Europe in the 2021 Ryder Cup. Johnson was 5-0-0 at Whistling Straits and DeChambeau, who recently shot a final round 58 to win a LIV event, was 2-0-1. 

Choosing more than Koepka from LIV, though, might create a revolt among the PGA Tour members who’ve been grinding for points the past two years, and that could damage team chemistry. 

The two most unkind failures to make my cut here are Cameron Young, who finished ninth on the points list, and Sam Burns, who finished 12th. 

The problem for both of these players is the fact that, in Johnson’s group of six who automatically qualified, like Young and Burns, three of them (Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman and Max Homa) have never played in a Ryder Cup. Young is one of the longest hitters in the game, but he’s still seeking his first PGA Tour victory. 

Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele are the three automatic qualifiers with Ryder Cup experience. Johnson needs more experience on the road. He needs players who’ve felt that international pressure before. This is where Spieth, Morikawa, Bradley, Fowler and Thomas come into play. 

Morikawa has won two major championships and was 3-0-1 at Whistling Straits. 

Fowler has a poor 3-7-5 record in four Ryder Cup appearances, but his form has returned this year and he’s a team glue guy who can be paired with anyone. 

Bradley’s passion for the event is unrivaled, and that — along with his recent top form that has included a win and a return of his putting prowess — is an intangible that’s difficult to overlook. 

Bradley recently told reporters this about his desire to be on this Ryder Cup team, his first since 2014: “I think about it every second.” 

Experience, form, passion. Checks all the boxes for Zach Johnson.