Brooks Koepka’s withdrawal from LIV Golf Dallas may have felt like a bit of a blow for Keegan Bradley, with the US Ryder Cup captain surely hoping to see the five-time major champion stake a claim to be included on the team at Bethpage.
As things stand, it is hard to see Brooks Koepka being picked for the Ryder Cup team. The 35-year-old is currently 65th in the qualification standings. And while that is largely down to the fact that he is playing on LIV Golf, it was impossible to ignore the fact that he missed the cut at The Masters and the PGA Championship.
There were much better signs at the US Open, with Koepka finishing in a tie for 12th at Oakmont.
That is why what happened on Friday at LIV Golf Dallas was so alarming, with Koepka seven over par before withdrawing due to illness. Koepka could not hide his frustration, smashing a tee marker after a wayward drive.
What Rory McIlroy could not understand as Brooks Koepka won his fourth major title at the 2019 PGA Championship
It would be a big boost for Keegan Bradley if Koepka is able to land a spot on his team. Not only is he a five-time major champion, but one of those majors came at the course which will host the Ryder Cup.
It threatened to be one of the most impressive major championship performances for some time when Koepka opened up a seven shot lead at the halfway stage at Bethpage during the 2019 PGA Championship. The lead remained seven shots with 18 holes to play in New York.
Koepka ended up winning by only two, but only after making a bogey on five of the last eight holes on Sunday. That meant that in less than two years, Koepka had gone from winning his first major to catching Rory McIlroy on four.
And speaking after his final round, McIlroy admitted that he was baffled by how Koepka – who had just two regular PGA Tour wins at that stage – managed to find another gear in the biggest events.
“I just don’t understand why he doesn’t do it more often. That’s my thing. He obviously gets into these mindsets of the majors, and he really goes and gets into a different sort of state. You’d obviously have to ask him. But it’s what he’s capable of, obviously. But it’s awesome. It’s great to watch,” he said.
“You know, I’ve unfortunately played pretty early the last couple days, so I’ve been able to watch quite a lot of it, and he’s just really in control. He’s got the golf ball under control with all aspects of his game, and I think more important than that is his mind is where it needs to be.”
How Brooks Koepka reacted to the Bethpage crowd turning against him during the final round
One of the most fascinating aspects of the upcoming Ryder Cup will be the crowd and how they respond to the action on show.
While many expect that they will be making life very difficult for the Europeans, the US side will know how quickly they could turn should Bradley’s team find themselves in trouble.
Koepka got a taste of that during the 2019 PGA Championship when his late run of bogeys opened the door for Dustin Johnson. The crowd certainly seemed to get behind Johnson at that stage.
Koepka was subsequently asked whether he was at all disappointed to receive that reaction.
“No, I don’t think so. I think I kind of deserved it. You’re going to rattle off four in a row and it looks like you’re going to lose it; I’ve been to sporting events in New York. I know how it goes,” he said.
“Like I said, I think it actually helped. It was at a perfect time because I was just thinking, okay, all right. I’ve got everybody against me. Let’s go. Yeah, I mean, I definitely heard the cheers, too. But the chants on 14 green with DJ was — I think that’s kind of when Ricky probably mentioned — for that question earlier — when I was kind of in shock. Kind of all that was going on at the same time.”
Bradley will definitely be giving a lot of thought to which players should be able to cope in the cauldron come September.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
