Brooks Koepka No Longer Has an Automatic Ryder Cup Spot – Should He Be Selected Anyway?

A lot happened at last weekend’s BMW Championship on the PGA Tour.

Viktor Hovland became one of the favorites for the FedEx Cup by shooting a personal-best 61 in yesterday’s final round to win the tournament by two strokes over Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick.

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Further down the leaderboard, Max Homa tied for fifth and Xander Schauffele tied for eighth, which was good enough to move both of them up one spot in the Ryder Cup standings.

Homa went to fifth, and Schauffele automatically qualified for the team by winding up sixth in the final standings.

That bumped Brooks Kopeka down to seventh.

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Remember, Brooks doesn’t accrue any points since he’s now on the LIV Golf circuit. In fact, it’s extremely impressive that he wound up seventh given that he only participated in four events where he was able to earn points (the Majors). But a win at the PGA Championship and runner-up at The Masters will do that for you.

18 golfers have won a major since 2017. Only 4 have won more than one:

Collin Morikawa (2)
Jon Rahm (2)
Justin Thomas (2)
Brooks Koepka (5)*

*Including 2023 PGA Championship

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) May 21, 2023

Now, Koepka must rely on one of U.S. team captain Zach Johnson’s six wild card picks.

And until the team is picked next Tuesday, there will be spirited discussions over whether Koepka belongs on the team.

We know where Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee stands. He and others believe that since Koepka wasn’t a member of the PGA Tour this year, he shouldn’t be eligible.

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The argument in Koepka’s favor is that he’s been a part of the last three Ryder Cup teams and not only performed well in the majors this year, but he also won two times on the LIV circuit over the past 12 months.

While those points don’t count, supporters believe he’ll help the U.S. team win – which they haven’t done in Europe since 1993.

It’d Be Insanely Stupid For The USA To Leave Brooks Koepka Off Our Ryder Cup Team https://t.co/COxoH2BX1g pic.twitter.com/3nMDBQfgU1

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) August 21, 2023

The six players will be chosen by Johnson on Aug. 29. The Ryder Cup starts one month after that in Italy.

Cover Image via Twitter