Brooks Koepka only LIV golfer under consideration for U.S. Ryder Cup team; and it's a no-brainer
Zach Johnson has some difficult decisions to make when filling out his U.S. Ryder Cup team that will take on Europe next month in Italy.
But one that should not be so tough, in fact, should be as automatic as the first six who were named, is to select Brooks Koepka.
This should not be about LIV Golf or Saudi Arabia. This should be about what is best for this team.
And having Koepka on the team is best for the U.S.
Koepka unquestionably is one of the top 12 American golfers in the world, a fact so obvious it feels silly to point out. And adding the Jupiter resident to this team would not upset chemistry. He would not be alienated or shunned by his peers. This would not be Brooks playing the role of Phil Mickelson and the rest of the team in the role of Tiger Woods in 2004.
Just the opposite. He would be welcomed.
Consider his body of work this season in majors, plus his reputation for locking in while on the biggest stages and his experience playing in three other Ryder Cups. If a draft were held to pick the 2023 Ryder Cup team, Koepka would be chosen second, behind Scottie Scheffler.
In fact, it was Scheffler who cited how close Koepka was to being an automatic choice for the event that will be held at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club outside Rome.
“Brooks? I mean, I looked at the points list the other night," Scheffler said ahead of this week's Tour Championship. "I think he was 30 points shy? Which is, I think it, was the equivalent of like $30,000 throughout the year.
"So if he played one tournament on Tour I think he probably would have been on the team."
Scheffler led those Ryder Cup points standings, the top six earning automatic spots on the team. Koepka was No. 2 after winning the PGA Championship in May, which followed his runner-up finish at the Masters.
Koepka only had four shots at Ryder Cup points
But Koepka only had four chances to earn Ryder Cup points, those being the four majors. He finished seventh, 29.124 points behind No. 6 Xander Schauffele, and was in the top 6 until the weekend before the team was locked in. By comparison, Koepka was more than 1,232 points ahead of No. 8 Jordan Spieth.
And Koepka is one of three Americans to win a major in 2023. The others: Wyndham Clark (U.S. Open) and Brian Harman (British Open) are second and third, respectively, in the Ryder Cup standings.
And the best they did in their other majors appearances: Clark tied for 33rd at the British Open, Harman tied for 43rd at the U.S. Open.
Aside from winning his fifth major and finishing second at Augusta, Koepka finished T17 at the U.S. Open and T64 at the British Open.
Other automatic spots went to Patrick Cantlay (No. 4 in the Ryder Cup rankings), Max Homa (No. 5) and Schauffele. Those six, plus Johnson's vice captains, had dinner Wednesday to discuss the final six spots, which will be announced Tuesday.
More: A look at captain Zach Johnson's options for the final six spots on the U.S. Ryder Cup team
Considering Koepka's game, reputation and standing with PGA Tour players despite his decision to join the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV circuit, it would be shocking if Johnson did not pick Koepka.
Johnson has said he's going to find the 12 "that make the best team." In other words, the 12 that gives him the best chance to win and end the United States' losing streak in Europe that dates back to 1993.
"Brooks, he's right there," said Harman, who will be playing in his first Ryder Cup. "I think he would be a pretty good addition to the team. … The experience would certainly help, especially considering there's probably going to be a fair amount of rookies over there."
Keeping on the theme, the other no-brainer for Johnson is Spieth, who has played in three Ryder Cups. It's likely the final four spots garnered the most conversation during last week's dinner.
Koepka lone LIV golfer with a chance
Listening to Johnson, all year it appeared a golfer had to do something extraordinary to overcome the LIV stigma and make the team, which Koepka, and only Koepka, has done.
The next three LIV golfers on the points list are No. 37 Phil Mickelson, No. 40 Dustin Johnson and No. 48 Patrick Reed. Mickelson and Reed aren't even under consideration, for various reasons.
D.J.'s experience of having played in five Ryder Cups would have been difficult to overlook had he had a Koepka-like season and not stumbled through the majors, finishing 48th, 55th, 10th and missing the cut at the British Open.
As for LIV results, Zach Johnson has strongly hinted nothing that happened in a league with 48-man fields playing 14 54-hole, no-cut events has factored into his thinking.
But Brooks Koepka's results outside of LIV and his reputation has, which is why the captain really has no choice but to send him to Italy wearing the red, white and blue.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Zach Johnson needs to add LIV's Brooks Koepka to U.S. Ryder Cup team
