Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka both want to play for Team USA in the Ryder Cup this fall, but they realize the decision — especially after making the jump to LIV golf — isn't up to them.
And, at least at this point, team captain Zach Johnson isn't sure about either of them.
Zach, speaking ahead of this week's pga Championship at Oak Hill country Club in Rochester, New York, admitted he hasn't seen much of Dustin or Koepka since leaving for the controversial Saudi Arabia-backed league. This makes it difficult for them to commit to using one of their six captains.
Zach said Wednesday, “I don't travel anywhere but the PGA Tour and the majors … I don't know.” “I haven't really gotten down to the statistics and the crunching of the data and that sort of thing, so it's not really fair for me to say this is the only measurement. But I'm in golf circles. I know what's going on.” I am not ignorant of things.
“The way I see it is every guy who wants to make the US Ryder Cup team should try to make the top six. However it looks, you have to play well and work your way into that team.
Scotty Scheffler currently leads the rest of the field in the US Ryder Cup team standings by more than 10,000 points. Max Homma, Xander Schoeffel, Cameron Young, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Cantlay again rounded out the top six. The top six in those standings will automatically make Team USA after the BMW Championship.
Zach would then choose the final six players himself to round out the 12-man squad. Sam Burns, Justin Thomas, Colin Morikawa, Wyndham Clarke, Tony Finau and even Rickie Fowler are all in a position to be in contention.
Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka both want to play in Ryder Cup
Both Dustin and Koepka would be solid choices for a Ryder Cup team.
Dustin, who won 24 times on the PGA Tour before leaving for LIV Golf, went 5-0 in Team USA's blowout win over Europeans at the last Ryder Cup in Wisconsin in 2021. He is currently ranked 37th in the points standings but has little chance of moving up now that he is no longer on the PGA Tour.
Dustin, who won the LIV golf tournament in Oklahoma last week, finished T48 at the Masters last month. he is ,
Dustin said, “I don't know if I'll be selected.” “Obviously, if I continue to play really well for the rest of the year, there's obviously a chance. Yes, I would definitely like to play in the Ryder Cup. It's one of my favorite events, especially after the last After the Ryder Cup. Obviously had a great week. And, yeah, it's just a great event; and yeah, I'd love to be a part of it.”
Koepka is also in a similar position. He has played on the last three Ryder Cup teams and has an overall record of 6-5-1 there. Koepka also finished T2 at the Masters last month, though he was four shots behind winner Jon Rahm.
he is listed on And is 22nd in the points standings.
Koepka said, “It would be awesome to represent the United States.” “Anytime we do it, it's always fun. But I'm not focused on it. It's not my first thought when I play well this week. If I handle my business here, everyone Something will be fine automatically. If you win, go to second, first, first, first, it will be hard not to choose, right? If you go to take over the business, I think I should be fine.
“But it's not up to me. It's up to Zach and what's going on. I just play my best and see what happens from there, but I'd love to play for him.”
What about the European team?
Like his American counterpart, Team Europe captain Luke Donald will have a tough decision to make as LIV Golf members head into the Ryder Cup in Rome this fall.
However, for European golfers to be considered, they must be part of the DP World Tour. This automatically removes longtime team members Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter – all of whom have since left for LIV Golf.
“It's a shame that there have been some resignations,” Donald said in New York on Tuesday. “A lot of these guys have built their legacies around being members of the DP World Tour and their involvement and everything with the Ryder Cup. But ultimately it was their decision and unfortunately for me they are now off the table for selection purposes.” are done.
But, at least for now, Donald said he hasn't talked much with Zach about what he should do about LIV Golf members. There is no “captains agreement” or anything like that.
What Zach wants to do with his team, Donald said, is up to him.
“To be honest, I think the team selection should be quite different,” Donald said. “I'm in charge of the European team and what's best for us, and he's in charge of the US team and what's best for him. I think that's how it should be.