Kevin Kisner Criticises Ryder Cup Selection Process - "It’s Too Political For Me"

Speaking to GOLF’s Subpar podcast, the multiple-time PGA Tour winner revealed that he has "had the same phone call for about four [Ryder Cups] in a row from about every captain. ‘Man, you were on the team and then you didn’t play well in the playoffs.’ OK, bud.”

From 2016-2021, the American has arguably been one of the best matchplay players in the world, securing victory at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in 2019, as well as a runner-up placing the year before. During that five year stretch, his record stands at an impressive 16-6-2.

It's not just on the PGA Tour stage where Kisner has shown his matchplay pedigree. At the 2017 President's Cup, the American went undefeated for the week, managing two wins and two halves against an extremely competitive International team.

Despite all of this success, Kisner still hasn't forgotten about the previous Ryder Cup snubs. After missing out in 2016 and 2018, the American had thrown his name into contention for a Ryder Cup Captains pick just weeks prior to the staging of the event at Whistling Straits, claiming victory at the Wyndham Championship.

However, a missed cut at the first FedEx Cup playoff event, the Northern Trust, followed by finishing tied for last at the BMW Championship, meant that Captain, Steve Stricker, decided to go for youth, picking Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele among others.

“I don’t know, man. They don’t like me I, guess,” Kisner told GOLF’s Subpar podcast. “I don’t know. I didn’t give a s**t. It’s too political for me, I didn’t really care, and I don’t really get caught up in that s**t. I love Stricker to death, but he didn’t pick me this year, which I get — I didn’t play worth a s**t in the playoff.”

When the Ryder Cup returns in 2023, the American will be nearly 40 and, although players have made their debuts at an older age, it appears the landscape for American talent is only growing more competitive. Kisner has confronted this reality and feels content with how his career has gone so far.

“I don’t really care. I love playing team golf, I love representing the US, I’d love to be on any team possible", he says. "But if my career ended tomorrow, I’d be perfectly content with everything I’ve accomplished. If you had told me 15 years ago, you’re going to have four wins, play in a Presidents Cup, play in 35 straight majors, or whatever I’ve done, I would have said, ‘You’re f***ing crazy.'”