Is LIV Golfer Brooks Koepka’s automatic qualification for Ryder Cup in jeopardy?
LIV star Brooks Koepka faces a daunting scenario of losing his automatic qualification spot at the Ryder Cup. Results at the next four PGA events will determined whether he will be on the mercy of being picked.
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Brooks Koepka (Pic Credit: BroBible)
Over the previous weekend, the world of golf witnessed a masterclass in golfing, as Brian Harman took home the Open Championship. The American’ dominated the tournament from the start and ended being six strokes clear of his chasers. This outing not only showcased his class but also made him a likely candidate for the Ryder Cup. His emergence has now put pressure on the automatic qualification of Brooks Koepka.
Koepka is one of the biggest names in the golfing industry. Despite not having a great performance at the Open, Koepka has a good time at the others majors. He won the PGA Championship after finishing as runner-up to Jon Rahm at the Masters. However, his position at the Ryder Cup is now in jeopardy due to his allegiance with LIV Golf.
Koepka was one of the big defectors involved. He joined LIV Golf and became captain of his team Smash GC. He was recently under the spotlight following his comments about his teammate Matthew Wolff’s ongoing performance. The five-time major champion is now in danger of losing his automatic qualification spot. The reason for this is the ranking system and points used for qualification.
How can Brooks Koepka ensure an automatic qualification?
Following his PGA Championship win, Brooks Koepka became a favorite to participate in the Ryder Cup. He also became the first LIV Golfer to win a PGA Tour event. After this win, things changed in the world of golf as the merger between the PGA and LIV was announced. Several queries arose regarding the Ryder Cup. The biennial tournament uses a separate qualification method to pick players.
Players participating in the PGA events are awarded points for their performances and total prize earnings. While the others in the standings are all PGA Tour players, Koepka represents LIV Golf. As a result of this, he gets few appearances than the others. Before the Open Championship, he was third. Brian Harman’s win has dropped him down to the fourth spot.
The situation here is simple. With four events left, Koepka will not earn any more points. The top six will automatically qualify for the team, while six others will be picked by captain Zach Johnson. The other chasers below Koepka have four more events on their hand to ensure a strong finish and overtake him. As per Golf Digest, every player gets one point for every $1,000 dollars they make. So if they earn $1 million, 1,000 points will be awarded to them.
If this scenario takes place and Koepka finds himself out of the top six, he then has to be picked by Johnson. Whether Johnson will pick him or not is a completely different topic for debate. Xander Schaueffle and Patrick Cantlay both need less than $1 million to knock him down.
The others will need around $2 million to chase him. This has certainly put Koepka in a spot he would have liked to avoid. These standings have made the 3M Open and Wyndham Championship an interesting event to look out for.
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Vinay Dave
(1916 Articles Published)