Brooks Koepka opens up on Ryder Cup omission: "It's annoying"

Brooks Koepka says he 'cannot be disappointed' after he was left off the US Ryder Cup team. 

Team captain Keegan Bradley named his six wildcards on 26 August and omitted the five-time major champion. 

The news was not particularly surprising, given Koepka was simply relying on his reputation after a poor season.

Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young and Sam Burns got the nod to represent Team USA in four weeks' time. 

Koepka told Off The Ball at the K Club ahead of the Amgen Irish Open he simply hasn't played well enough this year. 

In the major championships, Koepka missed cuts at The Masters, PGA Championship and The Open. He did not win on LIV Golf, with his best finish a runner-up to Joaquin Niemann in Singapore. 

"I played my way off it so I can’t be disappointed," Koepka said. 

"I did it myself. It's not anything I'm not aware of. I'm not shying away from it. It's just bad timing. 

"You have one down year but if it's the year after the Ryder Cup it’s a whole lot easier to play catch-up."

Koepka denied playing his golf on the PIF-backed breakaway has had anything to do with his dip in form. 

"I don't think LIV had anything to do with me not being on the team but it was more of the timing of the year and trying to get that ball rolling which I've been doing," he said. 

"I haven't played very good this year. It's felt good and then its completely disappeared. It ebbs and flows. Golf's crazy. 

"You feel one minute you're never going to find it again and then all of a sudden its one swing and you're back for six months."

Koepka said he believes his putting has been particularly poor this season. 

“If you're not making putts, you’re not comfortable and not confident, it makes it very difficult," he said. 

"I haven’t really made anything inside eight feet which has been the bread and butter my whole career. 

"It's tough, it means you’ve got to hit it close, it puts a little more pressure on your irons and hit it in the fairway.

"It goes through your whole game at that point."

Koepka said missing the cut at The Masters in April really set him back. 

He was comfortably inside the projected cut, only to make a bogey at the 17th and drop four shots up the last. 

“I missed a couple short ones there and then you lose a bit of confidence and can't progress.

"It's annoying. Golf's one of those game's where you sit there and overthink it. 

"When you play your best you're not thinking about anything, you just go out and hit the ball… you just get up and hit it.

"When things aren't going well you question everything so you’ve just got to turn your mind off and go work on the basics and go from there."

Koepka has plenty of time off now given LIV Golf's season has concluded. Their 2026 season begins in February under the lights in Saudia Arabia. 

In the meantime, Koepka will play on the DP World Tour. He has been handed an invite to the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth next week. 

He's also in the field for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.