5x Major champion Brooks Koepka MISSES automatic Ryder Cup qualification as team US announces first six members
Reigning PGA Champion Brooks Koepka has missed out from automatic qualification for the US Ryder Cup team as he fell out of the top six spots.
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Brooks Koepka (Pic Credit: GolfMagic)
The qualification for the prestigious Ryder Cup is in full swing. While Team Europe still has time to decide their warriors, the US Team captains are expected to announce their six picks as the top six have automatically qualified for the tournament as per NJ.bet. On Sunday, following their incredible performance at the BMW Championship, Max Homa and Xander Schauffele overtook Brooks Koepka and threw him out of the top six.
The LIV golfer is now on the hopes of a captain pick. He became the third major winner and first, since Phil Mickelson to lose out on automatic qualification. This was because of his ties with LIV. With Koepka playing on the Saudi-funded tour, he had fewer chances to gather points than some of his compatriots. His triumph at the PGA Championship and a tied runner-up finish at the Masters helped him remain in the automatic qualification spot.
While currently ranked number one Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay had already booked their spots, the other four spots were up for grabs. The final four automatic spots are now filled with Homa, Schauffele, and the two other major winners – Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman.
Clark and Harman took the golf world by storm with their epic triumphs at US Open and the Open Championship respectively. The duo along with Homa will make their first appearance at the Ryder Cup this September.
Brooks Koepka’s Ryder Cup fate lies in Zach Johnson’s hands
After spending the majority of the golfing year in the automatic spots, Brooks Koepka is now out of it. The PGA Championship winner is now in seventh and will be among those who could be picked by captain Zach Johnson and his vice-captains. He will have to wait till August 29 to find out whether he makes the cut for the team or not.
His allegiance with LIV Golf has made things somewhat difficult for him. Recently Johnson in an interview gave a subtle answer to his likely picks. The captain hoped that the six players he picks are Americans and those who play on the PGA Tour. “It’s hard because I’m not able to witness what they’ve doing and see their form,” Johnson said.
There had been reports that Koepka might miss out on automatic qualification and so it has proved now. However, despite their differences, he is one of the favorites to be picked by Johnson. Koepka could also be the only LIV Golfer to be selected as Talor Gooch, Bryson DeChambeau, and Dustin Johnson all stand far below in the rankings due to their poor performances at PGA events this year.
Apart from Koepka, Collin Morikawa and Rickie Fowler are the other two names likely to be picked. The major question that remains is the selection of Justin Thomas. He has had a difficult year and could see his name not being drafted among the captain picks.
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Vinay Dave
(1817 Articles Published)