Brooks Koepka wants to play for America at the Ryder Cup and believes if he “handles business,” he should find himself at Marco Simone in September.
Speaking at the PGA Championship, Koepka admitted the biennial match with Europe isn’t his main focus, but further strong performances in 2023 could give US captain Zach Johnson no option but to choose the four-time major winner.
The 33-year-old won the LIV Golf Orlando event at the start of April before pushing Jon Rahm all the way at the Masters. It seems a fully fit Koepka is once again a dangerous one.
He is a two-time winner of the PGA Championship and another strong showing in New York could plant a seed in captain Johnson’s head that can’t be ignored.
“It would be awesome to represent the United States. Anytime we do it, it’s always fun,” he said at Oak Hill.
“I’m not focused on it. It’s not my first thought when I go play well this week. If I handle my business out here, everything will take care of itself.
“If you win, go second, first, first, first, it would be tough not to pick me, right? If you go handle business, I should be fine. But it’s not up to me. It’s up to Zach and what goes on.
“I just play my best and see what happens from there, but I would love to play for him.
“It’s tough to be in Zach’s mind or where he is at, but I would love to make it hard on him. That would be cool. The only thing I can do is go play good. If I play good, everything takes care of itself.”
Koepka has represented America in the last three Ryder Cups and earned two points for Steve Stricker’s side in their record-breaking win against Europe in 2021.
Advertisement
He has placed sixth and third in his last two appearances in the LIV Golf League, but with limited access to world ranking points, Koepka will struggle to make the top six automatic selection places.
His LIV Golf colleagues Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, and Talor Gooch are in the same boat relying on the majors to catch the skipper’s eye.
Johnson, who only won the Ryder Cup once as a player in five attempts, was asked about the prospect of choosing Koepka on Wednesday during his session with the media:
“I haven’t really seen where he’s at since Augusta. He played really good that one week, but it’s one week.
“I don’t want to sit here and say that it’s concrete, it’s the only thing we’re going to be looking at. It’s one week, at a major venue, at the Masters tournament. He played great. But there’s a lot of golf.”
Follow NCG on Twitter!
NOW READ: Luke Donald: LIV golfers can still play at the Ryder Cup
