Brooks Koepka second in the US Ryder Cup standings after winning the PGA Championship at Oak Hill; five-time major champion, now a member of LIV Golf, ‘would love’ to play for USA captain Zach Johnson – watch the Ryder Cup live on Sky Sports from September 29 to October 1
Last update: 22/05/23 20:39
Brooks Koepka’s victory at the PGA Championship boosts his hopes of playing the Ryder Cup in September
Brooks Koepka made a statement to Team USA captain Zach Johnson and boosted LIV’s likelihood of Ryder Cup participation with their PGA Championship win at Oak Hill.
Johnson said at the second major tournament of the year that it was ‘premature’ to discuss the prospect of LIV players in his squad for Rome in September, although he now has that as a realistic prospect after the win in two shots from Koepka in Rochester on Sunday.
The 33-year-old has been unable to compete in PGA Tour events since joining LIV last summer, but remains eligible for the Ryder Cup as a member of the PGA of America, with the majors offering Koepka and players on the Saudi circuit the opportunity to earn qualifying points. .
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Watch the moment Koepka claimed a third PGA Championship title with a two-stroke win at Oak Hill
Koepka has spoken of the prospect of making a fourth straight Ryder Cup appearance ahead of his latest major win, saying he would love to represent Team USA as the three-time PGA Championship winner has a plan to work his way through.
“If you pick second, first, first, first, it would be kinda hard not to (get) a pick, wouldn’t it?” said Koepka. “If you’re going to handle business, I feel like you should be fine. I’m just playing my best and seeing what happens from there, but I’d like to play for him [Zach Johnson].”
The victory over Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland is his fifth major title and follows his runner-up finish at the Masters last month.
Both results dropped the former world No. 1 to second place in the US Ryder Cup qualifying standings.
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Speaking ahead of his Rochester win, Koepka said he would love to play for Zach Johnson in the Ryder Cup
Scheffler holds a sizable lead at the top of the standings after winning the PGA Tour six times in the past 16 months, with the world No. 1 backing Koepka to make Team USA even if he misses automatic qualification.
“I don’t care about touring or anything like that,” Scheffler said. “I want to win the Ryder Cup. It’s something we talked about last year when we finished, or I guess a year and a half ago now. We want to beat those guys in Europe. It’s been a long time since we beat them.
“Whoever top 12 guys make a full team is different from individual tournaments. We want a team of guys who go out there together to bring home the Cup, and that’s all I care about. really matters.”
Koepka is 1,537 points clear of third-placed Xander Schauffele. Max Homa, Patrick Cantlay and Cameron Young currently complete the top six with three months remaining in the qualifying campaign.
Xander Schauffele is third in the US Ryder Cup standings, behind Scottie Scheffler and Koepka
Players earn one point for every $1,000 won in a PGA Tour event and two points for every $1,000 won in major tournaments, with the top six ranked players after the BMW Championship in August automatically qualifying for Team USA .
Koepka and his LIV colleagues will have just two more events to impress and add to their points tally, the US Open next month and the 151st Open in July, with Johnson then naming six captain picks after the Tour championship before the Ryder Cup which will take place from September 29th to October 1st.
“I think it’s too premature, frankly irresponsible, to even have any opinion on this. [picking LIV players]”, Johnson said after his last round in Rochester. “I think given the current situation, there are a lot of points there, No. 1.
Johnson says it’s too ‘premature’ to talk about LIV players likely to make his Ryder Cup squad
“No 2, you have a bunch of high events. No 3, if you go back to history, there are probably names right now on both tours that we don’t even mention that might have a chance considering of what awaits us.
“I haven’t even started discussing the picks with anyone I trust in my inner circle, especially the vice-captains. I feel like it’s not even relevant to discuss it. .”
And the European team?
LIV members who have resigned from the DP World Tour are ineligible to compete for Team Europe in the biennial contest, meaning Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood – all of whom competed in the 2021 contest in Whistling Straits – will be unable to feature.
Jon Rahm remains top of both the European points list and the World points list despite battling for a tie for 50th at Oak Hill, the Spaniard’s victory at the Masters last month his sixth world title in as many month.
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Rory McIlroy looks back on his tied for seventh at Oak Hill
Rory McIlroy closed the gap to the world No. 2 in both rankings after finishing the week tied for seventh, while HSBC Championship winner Abu Dhabi Victor Perez moved Yannik Paul to third on the European points list after earning a share of 12th at Rochester.
A second place in the PGA Championship for Victor Hovland moved him up two places to third on the world points list, with Tyrrell Hatton next in the standings after recovering from an opening 77th round to finish the week tied for fifth.
Matt Fitzpatrick holds the last automatic qualifying spot as it stands despite missing a cut in the second major of the year, with Justin Rose and Shane Lowry closing in on the US Open champion after finishing tied for ninth and 12th respectively .
Justin Rose pushes for automatic Ryder Cup selection after finishing top-10 at PGA Championship
Sepp Straka finished tied for seventh – his best showing in a major – to edge closer to the qualifying spots, while a top 20 major for Tommy Fleetwood and a 40th share from Adrian Meronk gave them more points in their effort to feature for Team Europe.
The top three on the European points list and the next three available on the World points list after the Omega European Masters in September will automatically qualify, with Luke Donald then having six captain’s picks to complete his squad.
Watch the Ryder Cup live on Sky Sports Golf between September 29 and October 1.