Ryder Cup skipper hails LIV Golf's Brooks Koepka amid Bubba's Talor Gooch plea

US Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson has hailed the impressive form of LIV Golf's Brooks Koepka amid Bubba Watson's Talor Gooch plea.

Ben Smith

06 Jul 2023

Ryder Cup skipper hails LIV Golf's Brooks Koepka amid Bubba's Talor Gooch plea — Ryder Cup skipper hails LIV Golf's Brooks Koepka amid Bubba's Talor Gooch…

U.S. Ryder Cup skipper Zach Johnson says it's 'extremely impressive' Brooks Koepka has an excellent chance of earning automatic qualification for his team this September as he addressed what his side could look like given the peace agreement between golf's leading organisations.

Zohnson, 47, is currently in Illinois for the PGA Tour's John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run.

It's a venue in which Johnson has an extremely impressive record of making 14 consecutive cuts.

He's clearly hoping to extend that but, as you would expect, his golf may not be the highest priority this year.

Johnson, undoubtedly, will have one of the strongest U.S. sides in recent memory when they touchdown in Rome and head to the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club and many believe they will become the first team to win on European soil since 1993.

The team at GolfMagic have already made their predictions for what the teams will look like.

Johnson told the media:

"Brooks is third on the list. The top six earn their berth after the BMW [Championship]. I don't know the date. [It's] Mid-August-ish in Chicago. So after that Sunday the top six are solidified, and then we make our six picks. The next week is the Tour Championship. The Tuesday after the Tour Championship is when I make the picks.

"We'll formulate 12 by then, but he has worked his way -- he worked his way to second after the PGA Championship because of how well he played at the Masters and at the PGA Championship. The majors kind of last year too, but they were smaller in points.

"He is third now after Wyndham Clark has had a nice little run. He has a really good chance of making the team, earning his way on the team, which is extremely impressive."

Another thing Johnson has to factor in is the climate of men's professional golf. The PGA Tour and DP World Tour have struck a peace agreement with LIV Golf's backers.

That came in early June and it brought an immediate end to the litigation as the parties agreed to workout a pathway forward to incorporate the breakaway tour into global golf.

Phil Mickelson has recently hailed what he believes is the 'full truth' about that.

While Lefty won't be involved in any capacity, Johnson told the media LIV players 'can still be a part of team USA'.

Johnson said:

"Number one, what's transpired, there's still a lot of unknowns. I think we have a pretty good idea as to what the intentions and motivations are for the PGA Tour.

"But when it comes to the Ryder Cup, our system, if you will, was already intact arguably last year even when we decided as a Ryder Cup committee as to how we wanted to navigate the landscape.

"My point in saying that is that what's transpiring in professional golf from a competitive level, competition level, is PGA TOUR; right? It's not PGA of America.

"So the individuals that are Americans that play on other tours that are not the PGA Tour, they could play, I mean, technically the Latin Tour or the Asian Tour or wherever.

"More times than not they're going to be members of the PGA of America for a number of reasons. Our liability insurance is number one and some other benefits.

"These guys that left the PGA Tour that had status and left to play on that other tour, the LIV Tour, they're still members of the PGA of America, so they are still able to garner points.

"They're able to play in the PGA Championship as a result because that's what the PGA of America runs. Obviously, technically, can still be a part of team USA."

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One player who could be involved is Talor Gooch. He's already won three times on the rival league in 2023.

Gooch believes he has already done enough to be part of the conversation but critics might point out that the conversion rate for winning on the PGA Tour after 54 holes is around 40 per cent.

That didn't appear to matter to Bubba Watson, who hailed Gooch and Rickie Fowler at LIV Golf London.

Watson said: "I don't know where Rickie Fowler is on the Ryder Cup standings, but he's got to be up there, too.

"But I would have to say those two have been the impressive ones the last few weeks, just their high finishes and how they've been playing pretty much all year.

"If they're not already -- if Rickie is not already in in points, he's definitely getting a pick, and Talor should definitely get a pick. He's playing that well, and he plays really good outside the U.S."

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