Zach Johnson announced his six captain's picks for the 2023 U.S. Ryder Cup team on Tuesday morning, adding to the six who'd already qualified automatically.

The first six to make the team were world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark, Open Championship victor Brian Harman, world No. 5 Patrick Cantlay, world No. 7 Max Homa, and Tour Championship runner-up Xander Schauffele, who tied for the lowest 72-hole score this past week at East Lake.

After much speculation on who would join those strong six, Johnson added Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, and Justin Thomas to the mix. Clearly not wanting anyone to know the order in which he chose them, Johnson announced his captain's picks alphabetically.

Smart move, Zach.

So now that the 2023 U.S. Ryder Cup team is set, one that will attempt to become the first to win on European soil since Tom Watson's group emerged victorious in England at The Belfry in 1993, it's now on every golf expert to begin that time-honored tradition of dissecting the captain's picks (and maybe second-guessing them), while also looking at those who may have been snubbed.

In this golf writer's opinion, Zach Johnson got most of these selections right.

Most of Zach Johnson's Ryder Cup captain's picks were no-brainers

Let's start with Brooks Koepka, who finished seventh in the Ryder Cup standings when automatic qualifying closed at the conclusion of the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields.

Yes, there are going to be plenty of folks who are upset that a LIV Golf player is on the U.S. Ryder Cup team. I suppose that goes for the European team as well.

As for Koepka, however, he certainly deserves to be there. For one, it's ridiculously impressive that he finished seventh in the standings, as he only had four opportunities to qualify for Ryder Cup points, those being the four major championships. LIV Golf events, of course, don't count for — well, anything outside of a boatload of cash.

Outside of The Open Championship, where he tied for 64th, Koepka fared well in the majors this year. After tying for second at The Masters, he won his third PGA Championship, besting Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland by two at Oak Hill. He then tied for 17th at the U.S. Open. So he was a no-brainer.

Also a no-brainer for Zach Johnson was Jordan Spieth, who finished eighth in the Ryder Cup standings. While the three-time major champion failed to win a PGA Tour event this season, he posted seven top-10 finishes in 22 starts. Spieth is also a four-time Ryder Cup participant, so he knows the pressure that comes with playing in this high-profile event.

Then you've got Collin Morikawa, who finished 10th in the standings. Like Spieth, Morikawa failed to win during the 2022-23 PGA Tour season. But he did post six top-10s, including a pair of runner-ups, and just tied for the fourth-lowest 72-hole score at the Tour Championship. He also went 3-0-1 in his Ryder Cup debut two years ago, and Johnson certainly couldn't ignore that.

Sam Burns, who finished 12th in the Ryder Cup standings, was also a no-brainer as he's certainly proven himself in a match-play format with a win this season at the WGC-Match Play. This will mark Burns' Ryder Cup debut.

Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas were the only two selections outside the top 12

Of Zach Johnson's six captain's picks, only Rickie Fowler (No. 13) and Justin Thomas (No. 15) were outside the top 12 in the Ryder Cup standings.

There likely won't be too much fuss about Fowler, who had his best PGA Tour season in years and finally got back to the winner's circle with a victory at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, his first win in over four years. In 25 starts during the 2022-23 campaign, Fowler posted eight top-10 finishes.

Being a Ryder Cup veteran also undoubtedly helped his case. Like Spieth, Fowler will be making his fifth appearance in the competition. But the current world No. 25 hasn't performed overly well, going 3-7-5 in 15 total matches.

Then there's Justin Thomas, who's easily Zach Johnson's most controversial captain's pick.

While JT finished 15th in the final Ryder Cup standings, he certainly didn't have a great PGA Tour season. In 20 starts in 2022-23, the two-time major champion missed six cuts, recorded just three top-10 finishes, and failed to make the FedEx Cup Playoffs after finishing 71st in the standings.

However, Thomas' Ryder Cup record undoubtedly factored into Johnson's decision. A member of the last two U.S. teams, the former world No. 1 went 6-2-1, including a 3-0-0 mark in Fourballs and a 2-0 record in Singles. He's also gone 10-3-2 at the Presidents Cup, earning many of those victories when paired with good friend Jordan Spieth.

So it's likely Johnson will use that pairing several times (perhaps every time) in doubles sessions. And that may be the only reason Thomas is on the team at all.

With all that said, let's now take a look at the players who many may feel deserved inclusion to the U.S. Ryder Cup team over Fowler or Thomas.

The biggest U.S. Ryder Cup snubs

In this writer's humble opinion, the number of PGA Tour players who could be viewed as U.S. Ryder Cup snubs is four, that list being Cameron Young, Keegan Bradley, Denny McCarthy, and Lucas Glover.

To keep things fair, we'll run through the list using their respective positions in the Ryder Cup standings.

We'll start with Cameron Young, who finished ninth. What could have hurt the 26-year-old's chances is the fact that he failed to qualify for the Tour Championship. Despite tying for 15th at the BMW, Young finished 42nd in the FedEx Cup standings.

However, given his strong showing at the WGC-Match Play, where he defeated Rory McIlroy in the semifinals before losing to Sam Burns in the final match, it's easy to see why he'd be viewed as a snub.

Then there's Keegan Bradley, who finished 11th in the Ryder Cup standings. Unlike several members of this U.S. Ryder Cup team, the 2011 PGA Championship winner notched a PGA Tour victory this season. In fact, Bradley won twice, taking titles at the Zozo Championship and the Travelers Championship.

The two-time U.S. Ryder Cup team member also just finished tied for ninth in the final FedEx Cup standings after a strong showing at the Tour Championship. Bradley honestly might have the biggest bone to pick with Zach Johnson right now.

Denny McCarthy, who finished one spot ahead of Justin Thomas in the Ryder Cup standings at No. 14, never seemed to genuinely be in contention for a Ryder Cup spot but did play plenty of solid golf this season, recording seven top-10s in 29 starts. That includes a runner-up finish at the Memorial, where he lost a playoff to newly-crowned FedEx Cup champ Viktor Hovland.

Last but certainly not least, there's Lucas Glover, who had a dismal start to the 2022-23 PGA Tour season. But the 2009 U.S. Open champion certainly came on strong as the season came to a close.

In his final five starts to close the regular season, Glover finished sixth or better four times, including a win at the Wyndham Championship. A week later, in the first postseason event, the 43-year-old won the FedEx St. Jude Championship, defeating two-time defending champion Patrick Cantlay in a playoff.

So, he definitely made Zach Johnson's job more challenging down the stretch. Nevertheless, Glover won't be making his Ryder Cup debut. And that's unfortunate, as this was likely his last real shot.

On the LIV Golf side of things, Talor Gooch, Patrick Reed, and Bryson DeChambeau were Johnson's best options outside Brooks Koepka. But it's improbable that any of the three were given serious thought.

European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald will make his six selections next Monday. Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, and Tyrrell Hatton have already qualified, and the final two automatic spots will be filled this weekend at the European Masters.

The 2023 Ryder Cup will be contested September 29-October 1 near Rome, Italy, with Marco Simone Golf & Country Club serving as the host.