The last time the Ryder Cup was played in the United States, Dustin Johnson was undoubtedly the best player for the home team. At Whistling Straits, Steve Stricker relied on him for all five matches, and the LIV pro delivered with a perfect 5 points. Yet Zach Johnson snubbed him for Rome, and Keegan Bradley passed at Bethpage. After witnessing Team U.S. falter in New York, Johnson now has his sights set on a return to Ireland.

Currently playing in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, he was asked whether he’d like to join Team U.S. again in the future. “I’d love to. I just need to play a little better. However, I finally feel like I’m getting my game back into form. I’ve got a lot more confidence in it, and I am starting to swing it well again. I went through about a year where I wasn’t swinging at it very well. But I feel I am now starting to hit a lot of nice shots and feel a lot more consistent,” Johnson told Bunkered.

Initially, when he joined LIV Golf, Johnson was one of the most dominant forces in the league. He won the Individual Championship and helped the 4Aces GC win the Team Championship as well. However, over the last year, the 41-year-old has been struggling on the course, and this has severely affected his form. But he has undoubtedly been far more consistent this season. He got five top-10 finishes in LIV Golf and also got a top-25 finish in The Open Championship to close the majors season.

Interestingly, Johnson was a lot less confident about his form when he didn’t make the squad in 2023. When he was asked about not making Zach Johnson’s team after delivering a 5-0-0 performance two years ago, he said, “To be honest, I haven’t really played that well this year.” It is ironic considering he had just come off an emphatic season with LIV Golf. He had also missed only one cut in the majors in 2023 and got a T10 finish in the U.S. Open to validate his selection. So it comes as a surprise that he wasn’t confident then, but he is hopeful about 2027 right now.

Having said that, Team U.S. did miss a lot of the firepower they used to possess with the inclusion of Dustin Johnson & Co. in the team. And experts also believed that the American side didn’t have the advantage they usually had going into Bethpage.

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Does Dustin Johnson give Team U.S. a big advantage?

Back in 2021, beating any pair that involved Dustin Johnson was certainly a mountainous task. Going against him in a singles contest was even more challenging, and Paul Casey experienced it. However, the fact is that the American squad four years ago had a huge advantage, which helped Steve Stricker set up Whistling Straits perfectly. The likes of Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau, and Brooks Koepka were all great with the driver.

On the other side, Team Europe had only Rory McIlroy & Jon Rahm to really match that tempo against them. Even Brandel Chamblee discussed this during a recent podcast. He said how Team U.S. had a huge advantage off the tee back in the day.

However, the picks by Keegan Bradley in 2025 don’t have the same firepower to really help him set up the course to their advantage. Whoever is the captain in 2027, they should definitely consider bringing the likes of Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka back into the equation if they want to gain an edge in Ireland.