Brad Faxon is adamant that the in-form Lucas Glover warrants a place on the US Ryder Cup team, suggesting that the qualifying system is "flawed" should he not be selected.
Glover has surged into contention for a place on Team USA after back-to-back wins at the Wyndham Championship and FedEx St Jude Championship.
The 43-year-old has risen to 16th in the US qualification standings and said he would pick himself right now given his current level of performance.
“[I’m] playing pretty good golf, and I think I'd be pretty good in the team room and be a good partner, so yeah, absolutely I would,” Glover said after his win last week.
The US qualification window shuts after this week's BMW Championship meaning Glover will likely be reliant upon a captain's pick. Brad Faxon is one of a growing number of people who believe his form warrants one.
"There is nobody who has been playing better over the last month than Lucas Glover," he said, speaking on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio.
"The system is about trying to get hot players. We had two-year qualifying processes and now it's a year. We wanted to get the players who were playing the best to be able to play.
"If he gets left off the team after winning two tournaments this late in the qualifying process the system's flawed."
The Ryder Cup qualification process was changed to make room for the hottest golfer entering the competition, and that's why Brad Faxon says Lucas Glover has to be on the team.@BradFaxon | @Lucas_Glover_ | @RyderCupUSA | @MichaelBreed | @therealGFD pic.twitter.com/BGpG0PqF7xAugust 15, 2023
Alongside the adjustment to the length of the qualifying window, changes have also been made in recent years to give the captain a greater say in the makeup of their teams. Prior to the 2021 Ryder Cup, the US increased the number of captain's picks from four to six with Europe following suit for this year's tournament.
Currently, Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark and Patrick Cantlay are the only three confirmed on the team. Brian Harman, Brooks Koepka and Max Homa currently occupy the final three automatic spots with Xander Schauffele, Cameron Young and Jordan Spieth almost certain to make the team as well.
That leaves Glover competing with the likes of Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, Keegan Bradley, Tony Finau, Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas for one of Johnson's final three picks.
"This system is tougher [for the captain] with six automatic and six captain's picks," Faxon argued. "I feel for Zach Johnson - he's a stand-up guy and he'll be a great captain - but if he has to pick someone over Lucas Glover, I would say that is probably not the right situation."
Johnson is set to announce his picks after the conclusion on Monday 28th after the conclusion of the FedEx Cup Tour Championship.
