Zach Johnson explains why Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka are sat out for the Friday Morning Foursomes 

Zach Johnson surprised many with his decision to exclude Brooks Koepka, Nustin Thomas and Jordan Spieth from the opening Friday Foursomes at the Ryder Cup. The three are sat out for the start of the competition as Johnson has laid out his plans for the weekend.

This move surprised a lot of people, and it was one of the first things brought up at his press conference on Thursday. The US captain has a lot to balance over the entire weekend, but the prolific duo of Spieth and Thomas in particular seemed like a glaring omission.

Johnson said at his press conference:

"Well, the gist of it is, we've got 12 guys. Unfortunately, I can't play all 12 each session. At some point, somebody's got to sit. It's a golf course that demands a lot out of you physically. I think it's an ideal situation where you don't necessarily want to play everybody all five sessions. I'm not saying that's what we're going to do, but we're taking everything into account."

He continued:

"Not only that, but the eight guys I have down on paper are the guys we feel best put us in position to get off to a great start. Trying to fill in the holes for the next three teams, four sessions. "

Johnson was pressed on whether recent form, which has been poor for Thomas in particular, was a deciding factor in their absence on Friday morning:

"There's a lot of things that I'd like to keep internal there. But at the same time, I have the utmost confidence in these eight, and the utmost confidence in Jordan and Justin. I know we're talking about a great tandem, but it's a situation where, it's not about their form. They're playing great, so it's really just a matter of trying to dissect all five sessions."

The eight that were selected were Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns to start off. Max Homa and Brian Harman will follow them. The third session will see Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa before Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay finish the day.

That leaves Koepka, Thomas, Spieth and Wyndham Clark on the outside looking in for Zach Johnson's crew.

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Zach Johnson reveals controversial Foursome pairings

For the Ryder Cup, both captains have already set up their Friday Morning Foursome pairings, and the stage is officially set for the upcoming tournament.

Zach Johnson set his Foursome pairings for Friday

Zach Johnson has Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns up first. They'll take on Jon Rahm and Tyrell Hatton. They will be followed by Max Homa and Brian Harman, facing Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg, a PGA Tour rookie.

The third round has Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa facing off against the duo of Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka. Luke Donald's final duo of Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood will take on Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.

These are the confirmed matchups for the first session of the Ryder Cup, which begins on Friday, September 29.